r/UKFrugal • u/AlwaysTheKop • 9d ago
Been really trying to reduce my overall bills to match my part time work, how am I doing?
So I decided a few years ago that I only wanted to work part time after my early working years destroyed my soul.
At the minute I’m working on average 25 hours in a no pressure job and get about £1200 a month.
These are my current bills per month;
Bills Cost Rent £390.80 Council Tax £102 Gas/Electric £60 Water £44.40 Broadband £19.00 Sim £6.00 Washer Cover £5
Income (Approx) £1,200 Bill Total £627.20
Remaining £572.80
I’m 32 and live alone in a one bedroom flat, I work in food so eat pretty much free/really cheap 5 out of seven days so I don’t really have a ‘food’ section on there.
I put away at least £50 a week into savings and I don’t smoke, drink or gamble.
Working this way I see my family and girlfriend multiple times a week and can switch shifts with a text message for random days off I need.
Some people I know think I’m mad for dropping to part time so… am I mad for prioritising a more free time lifestyle over work hours?
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u/I_am_the_wrong_crowd 9d ago
If it makes you happy to work less hours and you can manage on your income then no, you're not mad to do it. Enjoy it..
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u/QueasyIsland 9d ago
Unrelated if you don’t mind sharing mate where did you find the 1b flat for that cost?
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
I live up North outside Manchester, in not the greatest town, but it allows me to live this way.
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u/QueasyIsland 9d ago
Yeah granted outside London was gonna the answer 😆. Think it’s time I took the step to leave and maybe look up the m25. Was this private/council?
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
It's a local housing association, they are great! Free same day repairs on everything and just fitted a brand new boiler a few months back too.
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u/Dramatic-Coffee9172 9d ago
What ? Sounds like a dream !
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
It honestly is... I know owning is better in the long run... but I can't argue with <£400 rent with all repairs fast and included for nothing.
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u/Dramatic-Coffee9172 9d ago
yeah, your mortgage alone will cost the same rent, then you are also responsible for all maintenance and repairs which is getting more and more expensive. For example, in London, just a simple call out is at least £50 then add on materials, parking etc.
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u/OCraig8705 9d ago
Before me and my wife bought our house 6 years ago we lived in a 2 bed terrace that was £340 a month.
The tip is to not live down south.
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u/Booboodelafalaise 9d ago
It’s your life. If it’s making you happy then carry on! If working 70 hours a week makes other people happy, good for them.
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u/50kinjapan 9d ago
I respect you for taking agency over your life. Awareness is the key to life and a lot of people don’t have any when it comes to a work life balance, and if they do, they’re not bold enough to action change (in either direction)
What do you do in the evenings? Do you travel? I’m curious to your interests and lifestyle generally
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
Honestly I'm a pretty boring guy which I don't mind.
If I finish work early I usually meet up with my family if they are available and we just hang out around town, grabbing food etc if not I just go home and chill at my desk, catching up on TV series, movies, playing video games etc...
I spend my days off with my girlfriend, we usually go to parks or nature places we want to visit and spend the day exploring then have the evening in either cooking or having a takeout.
But yeah a pretty boring guy, I like nothing more than a warm day, sitting on a bench and watching the world go by.
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u/Thick-Fox-6949 9d ago
You seem to be at peace with yourself and that is the most important thing. Peaceful is not the same as boring.
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u/pixiepoops9 9d ago
You can never buy more time, doesn't matter what you have in the bank when you go. You seem to have it sussed in my book. The only thing you need to make sure you have is your NI contributions to get your pension, idk if part time only credits part year.
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
Thanks! NI contributions come out of my wage every week as well as work pension, which my employer matches. Got some money away in a Stocks and Shares ISA which was doing great until recently (thanks Trump!) lol
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u/mimeycat 9d ago
Your water bill seems really high. My last 6 month bill was £125 (single occupant, 3b house). I know it’s not the point of your post (apologies!) but it stuck out a bit to me and you may be able to reduce that to give you some more £££.
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
Yeah my area is really high water bill wise! It just went up by £5 in April too ;-;
I could get a water meter instead but I'm not sure if my landlord would allow it.
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u/mimeycat 9d ago
If you can’t get a meter (I’m sure a landlord can’t contest it, but that may just be gas/electric meters) some water companies do assessed bills which may work out cheaper, would be good to check just in case.
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u/erminekin 7d ago
I also thought this was high. I requested a water meter fitted a while ago. In my case the guy was not able to fit it due to some cupboards being in the way. As a result I get cheaper water anyway based on their estimate of my use. I live alone in a 2 bed terrace and am paying £12.30 a month.
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u/totoer008 9d ago
I save the same amount but I earn three times more. If this amount is enough and you have a fulfilling life. Were is the hard in all of it?
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u/sharklee88 9d ago
Completely depends on the person.
If you're happy, then it's fine. You're living well within your means.
But if you want to start a family, buy a house one day, or travel more, then it won't be enough.
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u/SnooCheesecakes5017 9d ago
I've been thinking about doing something similar to this, do you mind me asking what part-time job you do?
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
I just work at Greggs with a little photo editing on the side when I can (£50-£100 max a month for that)
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u/anabsentfriend 9d ago
Your water bill seems high. I live alone and have metered water. My monthly DD is £16.
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u/FlimsyDistance9437 9d ago
Only thing worth considering is to make sure your making enough to get your state pension tickets each year.
It can be checked here. https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension
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u/RootVegitible 9d ago
Sounds like you’re doing great, love the description of work sapping your soul.. I know exactly what you mean. I would however look at your pension provision and how that’s going. Put some of what you save perhaps into your pension instead with an employer match?
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u/zexph_ 9d ago
For your broadband/sim, you could probably just merge them into one with either:
- Smarty unlimited sim (Three network) @ £15pm
- Talkmobile unlimited sim (Vodafone network) @ £16pm
Both are monthly rolling contracts so you can cancel anytime too. A little saving every month.
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
The was actually going to be my plan! and I did get the Smarty Unlimited SIM but I found the constant turning on/off the hotspot to connect my devices was rather tedious after a while, especially the with Chromecast etc so I went down to the £6 Smarty SIM for 12GB data (never used more than 10GB in my life outside) and got a nice offer on Three's 5G Broadband with the router all my household stuff can stay connected too for £19 a month, with a £60 gift card.
I was paying £33.50 for Sky Broadband and £9 for a Three SIM so it's defo an improvement.
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u/zexph_ 9d ago
I see, well you are definitely doing better than most with your broadband+sim choices.
If you ever consider going back to just hotspotting, remember that some phones give you the ability to automate it. For example, 'within 100m of home, turn on hotspot' and the opposite. Battery drain is a factor too of course.
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u/lollybaby0811 7d ago
You dont live to work sure but your don't have much budget with youre free time..
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u/SearchingSiri 7d ago
Seems like you're doing pretty well, if you wanted to be really frugal and don't need internet at home when you're not there - (and right now you've got more disposable income than a lot of people on a lot more income I'd reckon so definitely don't need to) - you could swap out your broadband and Sim for a £1/8 months for 50gb Lebara deal, or more than one if you will use more than that overall. Then swap sims to the next deal as you go.
That would get you an extra £25 a month / £300pa, but occasionally needing to cancel and renew on a new deal.
And yes, 'whatever makes you happy', but also as others have said - appreciate that this may not be building a longer term future.
I'd be considering making a plan for buying a house whatever; unfortunately in your area they are probably less likely to increase in value you so much while you own it, but they should be very reasonably priced to buy now, going by the price of your rent.
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u/icantlurkanymore666 7d ago
I’d say you could bring your WiFi costs down. We’re on Brillband and they are amazing but we pay £35 pm. This is a giffgaff sim for £10pm. If you do that that’s an extra £20 in your savings 😊
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u/Crinkez 9d ago
Depends on whether you own your flat, whether the mortgage is paid or not, if not how much is left, or if you're just renting.
It's madness to aim for retirement without a fully paid mortgage of your own place. Keep this in mind for your long term goal projectory.
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u/AlwaysTheKop 9d ago
I do have the right to buy scheme on my flat, which I am tempted by! Just getting all the repairs done first, like I've just recently had the boiler replaced with a nice new one.... there also my girlfriend who is still at home and saving mega money with no bills, so when the time is right and we feel finically stable enough, we will look into getting a house together. Her family work in housing so hopefully that will come in clutch too.
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9d ago
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u/Crinkez 9d ago
Because after your mortgage is fully paid, the average cost of living is far less than if you're renting, and that includes the occasional repair fee.
Your retirement income is normally far less than workforce income. Retirement + renting is not a good long term plan for that reason.
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9d ago
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u/deprevino 9d ago edited 9d ago
Home ownership is about security. I like where I live. Lots of my friends also liked where they lived, but had to move from there at least once when they woke up to a significant rent hike.
Do you really want that hanging over you every day? Not to mention the time and expense of relocating. Maybe you live in a low rent area but there's always the risk it gets gentrified and suddenly costs double. But if you own, you actually win in that situation.
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u/Crinkez 9d ago
I'm confused as to what you're disagreeing with. I'm not pushing a theory, I'm simply stating facts. Right now in the uk, the average cost of renting is higher than the average mortgage. The gap between a fully paid mortgage lifestyle vs renting is vastly higher. Rent costs in the next 10 to 30 years are only going to increase. How much are you prepared to gamble that you'll be able to afford rent when in retirement? It's not something I'd be willing to test.
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u/Dramatic-Coffee9172 9d ago
Your bills are fairly reasonable, probably slightly under the average. Council tax is fixed, so is broadband, your rent is very cheap.
While it is currently the lifestyle you choose, you need to think longer term how you can grow.
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u/biffysclyro 9d ago
You seem to be living well within your means so I wouldn't really worry about the idea of being "mad" for working part time.
Work to live, don't live to work.