Solo Living in the UK: The True Monthly Cost of Running My Home Alone
When I started my house buying journey, I wanted to know all the details; from the process to the timeline to the cost of buying and then how much it costs to run a UK house alone once you get there, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who looks for this kind of information! I know that sometimes it can get a bit dicey when talking about money, with many feeling as though it's something that shouldn't be spoken about publicly for one reason or another, but I look at things in a different way.
I hope that being transparent about my spending will be beneficial in providing context and understanding. I want to share a breakdown of my monthly household expenses to show what it looks like to keep things afloat for those of you who are looking to buy a place, or are just curious about the cost of living solo in 2026.
For context: these are the monthly running costs for a 2 bed semi detached house that cost £200,000 in the East Midlands.
Non-Negotiable Monthly Costs
Mortgage (4.69%) - £879
My term is 34 years, however I overpay between £100 - £250 a month which will shorten my repayment length by around 13 years.
Home Insurance - £20.82
Council Tax (25% discount) - £108
Octopus Energy (Gas & Electric) - £99 (used to be £103 but they've reduced it.)
Broadband & Telephone - £24
Water - £31
Total = £1,161.81
These are the necessary bills needed to keep a roof over my head, the foundational costs. In addition to these, I have some additional costs that I pay from month to month that add a little extra to this amount. I've separated these as the ones above are the non negotiables, and the following are optional.
Additional
Income/Mortgage Protection - £51
HomeServe - £19
British-based multinational home assistance company that provides repair plans and insurance coverage for unexpected home emergencies
Mobile (Unlimited plan) - £41
I've been on this plan for over 7 years, they keep trying to get me to upgrade and I absolutely will not be doing that.
Deliveries (UberEats, Deliveroo) - around £100 (down from £250)
If I'm in need of something and I'm unable to leave the house owing to an endometriosis flare-up, I use delivery services to order meals, groceries and at times other items. Thankfully my flare-ups (Although very present) have been a lot less since moving in which has reduced my need for as many instant delivery use.
Total = £211
Overall Total = £1372.81
I haven't included things like groceries or pet supplies and online subscriptions as these can change from month to month and will vary from person to person regardless of where they live!
Hopefully this gave you a clear idea of what monthly costs could look like, although there are many factors that will affect these specific bills from household to household.
