How much will I need to pay the bills?

Hi,

I've recently started a job in London, and getting a bit sick of living with the parents and commuting. I've arranged to move up to London with a friend, somewhere South West/West such as Fullham, Clapham, Brixton, Holland Park etc. I'm trying to put together a budget so I can work out where I can afford and I was just wondering about how much I'd expect to spend on bills (apart from rent) so all the stuff like Electricity, Council Tax, Water, Gas etc per year.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

Mike

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Move somewhere in Westminster, the council tax is incredibly cheap - I now live in Surrey and my council tax is twice what it was in St John's Wood. There are huge differences in Council Tax between the central London boroughs.

For the rest of the bills I wouldn't expect to spend more than £75 a month on the lot if sharing a house.

Make sure you agree who's paying what and stick to it, it's very easy to get shafted on shared house arrangements.

Also, I'd add about to 20% on your monthly budget as a buffer as something always needs paying for - if you budget down to your last pound you're going to struggle in the big smoke.

Hope that helps,
Mogwai

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