Housing costs: £0. I moved in with my partner 18 months ago when he was close to paying off the mortgage (he has since paid this off). We agreed I wouldn’t pay rent and would instead save so we could buy somewhere bigger. Aside from this little unemployed/freelance spell, that’s still the plan! I do feel very lucky to be free of rent, which was £700 per month for a two-bed unfurnished terrace before I moved in with him. That’s a worrying figure when you work in the third sector and the funding for your role is coming to an end.
Loan payments: Student loan from an undergraduate degree, a PGCE and a master’s, although it’s currently paused since I’m not earning anywhere near enough to make repayments.
Pension?: Around £7,000 when I last checked but nothing has been paid into it since March 2024 when my last job ended.
Savings?: £2,000 between two easy access savings, although one is basically feeding the other at the moment so I can earn interest on it. The other is further depleted because I keep dipping into it while I look for more hours.
Utilities: £69 council tax, £13.50 wifi, £29.90 electric, £16 water. We have oil instead of gas in our area and we get our tank filled up roughly once a year which costs £500-£600. We pay this in one go.
All other monthly payments: £10 phone, £6.68 opticians bill/insurance. Subscriptions: £1.49 Disney+ (my half of a three month special offer), £1.49 HP Instant Ink.
