What I spend In a Month as a 23yr old in london | my rent, transport & savings

Summary

In this insightful video, the creator provides a detailed breakdown of living expenses in London for individuals in their 20s during 2023. As a self-employed content creator, they share their monthly costs, including rent, bills, groceries, and discretionary spending. The video offers a practical perspective on budgeting using the 50/30/20 rule, highlighting the high cost of living in central London and personal finance strategies such as utilizing a 16-25 Railcard for savings. The creator's experience offers valuable insights for those considering moving to or living in the city.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video is an updated breakdown of the cost of living in London for someone in their 20s in 2023, focusing on the creator's personal expenses over 30 days.
• 💼 The creator is self-employed as a full-time content creator for various platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
• 💡 Skillshare is highlighted as a resource that helped the creator improve skills for content creation and secure freelance work, which contributed to their full-time job after graduation.
• 🏠 The creator lives in a one-bedroom flat in central London, Zone 1, with a monthly rent share of £1,300, which is considered high but aligns with London's median rent.
• 💸 The creator's monthly bills include gas and electric at £46.15, Wi-Fi at £8.50 (expected to rise to £17 after a welcome offer), water at £108, and phone at £16.
• 🛒 Groceries are purchased both online for heavy items and from local, more expensive stores, with a total monthly spend of £21.57.
• 🚶‍♂️ Living centrally saves on transport costs, with the creator using public transport and bikes, spending £57 on transport in total for the month.
• ☕ The creator enjoys coffee and bakery items, but has reduced spending in this area to £52.20 per month.
• 🍽 The creator spends an average of £50.40 on dining out, enjoying the variety of restaurants in London without overspending.
• 🏋️‍♀️ A ClassPass gym membership at £65 per month is part of the creator's regular expenses for fitness.
• 💳 The creator's variable expenses, excluding savings and investments, total £838, while total expenses including savings and investments come to £2,588.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to break down the cost of living in London in one's 20s in 2023, based on the creator's personal expenses over the past 30 days.

How does the content creator make money?

The content creator is self-employed and makes money through creating content for various platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and newsletters.

What is Skillshare and how did it help the content creator?

Skillshare is a platform that offers classes taught by world-class creatives. It helped the content creator improve their editing, SEO, and thumbnail skills, which contributed to their success as a full-time content creator after graduation.

What is the 50/30/20 budgeting rule mentioned in the script?

The 50/30/20 budgeting rule allocates 50% of income for needs (bills, rent, utilities, groceries), 30% for wants (shopping, eating out, entertainment), and 20% for future savings and investments.

How much does the content creator spend on rent per month?

The content creator spends £1,300 per month on rent, which is shared with their partner.

What is the average percentage of income spent on rent by an average Londoner?

The average Londoner spends 43.2% of their income on rent.

What is the significance of the 1625 rail card for the content creator?

The 1625 rail card helps the content creator save approximately 33% on every off-peak tube ride, saving them between £20 to £50 each month.

How much does the content creator spend on groceries in a month?

The content creator spent £21.57 on groceries in the past month.

What is the total amount spent on set expenses or needs by the content creator in the past month?

The total amount spent on set expenses or needs is £1,750.

What is the content creator's approach to saving money on eating out?

The content creator saves money on eating out by choosing reasonably priced restaurants, not drinking alcohol, and being a small eater.

What is the total amount spent by the content creator in the past month, excluding savings and investments?

The total amount spent on needs and wants in the past month is £2,588.

Outlines

00:00

🏙️ London Living Expenses in Your 20s

The script begins with an introduction to a personal finance breakdown of living expenses in London for someone in their 20s in 2023. The narrator, a self-employed content creator, provides an updated view of costs since they are no longer a university student. The video aims to be informative for those planning to move to London or are curious about post-graduation expenses. The narrator discusses their income sources, including a partnership with Skillshare, an online learning platform, and how it contributed to their ability to turn passion into profit. The video will cover expenses based on the 50/30/20 budget rule, which allocates 50% of income to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings and investments.

05:02

📈 Detailed Monthly Expense Breakdown

This paragraph delves into the narrator's monthly expenses, starting with housing costs, which are the most significant at £1,300 per month for a one-bedroom flat in central London. The narrator acknowledges that this is higher than the median rent for Londoners, which is £1,250 per month, but justifies the cost due to the importance of the space for their job. Other expenses include utilities, Wi-Fi, water, and phone bills, which total around £81.45 per month. The narrator also discusses grocery shopping habits, transport costs, council tax, and insurance, highlighting ways to save money, such as using a 16-25 rail card for public transport and living close to friends to reduce Uber expenses.

10:02

🛍️ Wants, Subscriptions, and Lifestyle Choices

The narrator moves on to discuss 'wants,' which include subscriptions, coffee and bakery expenses, dining out, experiences, and shopping. They mention being on family entertainment accounts, which reduces personal subscription costs to £58.10. Despite living in central London, the narrator has managed to cut down on coffee and bakery spending to £52.20 and dining out to £54.40. They also talk about the importance of experiencing London's restaurant scene and how they keep costs down by choosing reasonably priced options. The paragraph also covers gym memberships, shopping habits, and beauty expenses, with the total variable expenses amounting to £838.

💰 Savings, Investments, and Financial Planning

The final paragraph focuses on the 'future' part of the 50/30/20 budget rule, which includes savings and investments. The narrator discusses their student loan repayments, various savings accounts for different purposes such as holiday savings and a rainy day fund, and investments in an ISA with index funds. They emphasize the importance of financial planning and provide insight into their personal approach to managing money. The total expenses for needs and wants are calculated to be £2,588, with the narrator noting that this is not a standard for all young adults in London, as their rent and bills are on the higher side.

Keywords

💡Self-employed

Self-employed refers to individuals who work for themselves rather than for an employer. In the video, the creator mentions being self-employed as a full-time content creator, which is central to the theme of personal finance and lifestyle in London. The term is used to illustrate the source of income that allows the creator to live and work in London, emphasizing the flexibility and potential income variability that comes with self-employment.

💡Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes taught by practitioners. It is highlighted in the script as a platform that helped the creator improve skills such as editing and SEO, which are crucial for content creation. The platform is presented as a resource for turning passion into income, aligning with the video's theme of financial empowerment and personal development.

💡50/30/20 Budget

The 50/30/20 budget is a financial guideline where 50% of income covers needs, 30% covers wants, and 20% goes to savings and investments. This budgeting approach is central to the video's theme, providing a framework for the creator's spending and saving habits. The script uses this concept to organize and discuss expenses, emphasizing the importance of financial planning and discipline.

💡Rent

Rent is the payment made by a tenant to a landlord for occupying a property. In the context of the video, rent is the most significant expense, with the creator's share being £1,300 per month. The term is essential to understanding the cost of living in London, especially for young professionals and students, and is used to discuss the trade-offs between living in a central location and the associated costs.

💡Bills

Bills refer to periodic payments for services such as gas, electricity, water, and internet. The script details the creator's monthly bills, which include gas and electric, Wi-Fi, water, and phone services. Understanding these expenses is key to grasping the total cost of living and the creator's financial management.

💡Groceries

Groceries are food and other household items purchased regularly from a store. The video discusses the creator's grocery shopping habits and costs, which are influenced by living in central London. The term is used to explore the relationship between location, convenience, and expense in daily life.

💡Transport

Transport refers to the means of moving people or goods from one place to another. The script mentions the creator's use of public transport, including buses and bikes, and the associated costs. The term is relevant to the video's theme as it contrasts the cost of personal vehicle ownership with the savings from using public transport options in London.

💡Council Tax

Council tax is a local tax collected by local authorities in the UK to fund services such as street cleaning and rubbish collection. In the video, the creator explains the council tax as part of the monthly expenses, clarifying a common misconception about its purpose and emphasizing the additional costs of living in a city like London.

💡Subscriptions

Subscriptions are recurring payments for services or products. The video mentions the creator's subscriptions, which include streaming services, as part of the monthly expenses. The term is used to illustrate discretionary spending and the creator's approach to managing such costs.

💡Restaurants

Restaurants are establishments where meals are prepared and served to customers. The script discusses the creator's dining out habits, including the costs and the strategy to keep expenses reasonable. The term is integral to the video's exploration of lifestyle choices and their financial implications.

💡Investments

Investments are assets or property acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation. The video touches on the creator's investment strategies, including stocks and ISAs, which are part of the 'future' category in the 50/30/20 budget. The term is used to highlight the importance of long-term financial planning and wealth accumulation.

Highlights

The video provides an updated look at the cost of living in London for individuals in their 20s in 2023.

The creator is self-employed as a full-time content creator across various platforms.

During university, the creator relied on scholarships, part-time jobs, and a side hustle in digital marketing.

Skillshare is recommended as a platform to learn skills that can turn passion into income.

Skillshare offers thousands of classes taught by industry professionals to help with side hustles.

The creator uses the 50/30/20 budgeting rule to categorize expenses.

Housing costs are the most significant expense, with the creator paying £1,300 per month for rent in central London.

The median monthly rent for Londoners is reported to be £1,250, with an average of 43.2% of income spent on rent.

Bills, including gas, electric, Wi-Fi, water, and phone, are direct debited monthly.

Grocery shopping habits and costs are discussed, with a monthly spend of £21.57.

Transportation costs are kept low by utilizing public transport and living centrally.

Council tax and insurance costs are shared with the creator's boyfriend.

Subscriptions are minimal due to sharing accounts with family.

The creator spends on average £300 per month on shopping, varying with the season.

Beauty and hair care costs average £150 per month, with highlights done every 2-3 months.

The creator discusses savings and investments, including student loan repayments and various savings accounts.

Total expenses for needs and wants amount to £2,588, not including ad hoc costs or savings.

The video concludes by emphasizing that the presented figures are not standard and vary greatly among individuals.

Transcripts

today we're breaking down how much it

actually cost to live in London in your

20s in 2023 and we're doing that through

looking at everything I spent my money

on in the past 30 days exciting now I've

done a fair few of these videos in the

past but I thought it'd be interesting

to do an updated version as I'm no

longer in uni and have actually been

working for a full year hopefully this

video will be useful for you if you're

planning a mooving to London maybe

you're actually going to move or maybe

you're just in University and you're

curious about what the costs are after

your graduate I know I was so without

further Ado let's get into it firstly I

want to talk a little bit about how I

actually make my money because when I

was in university and even before I

moved to London that was definitely

something I was quite curious about so

I'm self-employed I'm a full-time

content creator meaning I create content

for YouTube Tik Tok Instagram

newsletters Etc that was not always the

case though when I was at University I

was relying on my scholarship as well as

my part-time job in digital marketing to

afford to love in London and I also had

my little side hustle of doing YouTube

videos and this leads me to the very

fitting partner of this video which is

skillshare skillshare has everything you

need to turn your passion into paycheck

or seure side hustle throughout

University at the same time that I was

doing you know my part-time job and

actually studying I would also spend

hours and hours every single week

learning how to improve my editing

improve my SEO and improve my thumbnails

just so I could make sure that every

video I put out was better than the

previous one and the skills that I

learned in that process not only helped

me get a lot of freelance work for

Brands doing like user generated videos

and that kind of stuff but it also is

the sole reason that I was able to do my

decid hustle full-time as a job after I

graduated from University and skillshare

literally has thousands of engaging CL

class is taught by world class creatives

who successfully launched their

lucrative side incomes one of my

favorite classes is this one by Ali

abdal where he literally teaches you

everything you need to know about how to

create a good YouTube video and oi has

literally grown his channel to 4.9

million followers the fact that you get

to learn how he thinks about things like

passes b-roll timing with music is

simply just incredible if you want help

to improve your own videos but if that's

not your thing skill showare has classes

L by pros from a variety of Industries

we walk the walk and have an active

community of members ready to tear you

on whatever your side also is the first

500 people to click the link in the

description box below get a one month

free trial of skillshare so definitely

check it out give it a go and let me

know how you get on and now I'm going to

get my computer and actually get into

the cost from the past month so I got my

computer and for reference the way I'm

organizing this is going to be based off

the 50 3020 budget I explained it

briefly in my last video All About

savings and Investments you can watch

that there or there but essentially it

means that 50% of your income goes

towards your needs such as you know

bills rent utilities groceries

all that 30% goes towards your WS such

as shopping eating out takeaway

restaurants coffee Bakery all that and

the final 20% goes towards your future

which is like saving and investing

however it does have a little limitation

in regards to needs which we'll get into

because rent is just so expensive if you

live in a big city like London like New

York like Paris but we'll talk more

about that when we talk about my rent

later so first things first let's talk

about my set expenses or needs the first

need I have is also the most expensive

one it is my housing welcome to my

humble

abod this is our one bed I think 55 me

flat in central London we're in zone one

we actually rented it at on a frish

basis so all the things you see in this

flat are pretty much ours also this flat

is actually not just a flat it's a

amonet as it's called so we have two

stories if you come on up we have the

bedroom and the

bathroom this is the bathroom this is

the hallway and then that is the bedroom

and I won't be doing a full flat tour

yet because we still have some things to

sort out in regards to furniture in

regards to like decorations that kind of

stuff but let's see the bedroom out of

all the flights I liveed in in London

this is definitely the biggest bedroom

out of all of them I think it's like 17

18 square meters it's absolutely massive

and I love it cuz we're two people we

get the split the rent which is very

convenient and my share of the rent is

£1,300 per month if you're not from

London or a big city like New York or

Paris or Tokyo or something like that

you may think that 1,300 is just an

absurd amount to spend on rent and I

totally understand that I was the same

before I moved here as well however

according to the um evening standard

median monthly rents for londoners

that's what they pay is

£1,250 every single month and the

average Londoner spends 43.2% of their

income on rent I will say though

although that is the median um average

rent in London most of my friends who

are the same age went went uni together

don't spend 1,250 on rent it's likely a

little bit less being a ple honest the

reason I like voluntarily choose to

spend more money on my rent is because

my apartment is so important for my job

it needs to be a space where I can film

that has good sunlight that has enough

space to put my camera my equipment all

that stuff I also have a lot of bills

every single month that you know just

get direct debited out of my account so

for gas and electric my share is £46 15p

for Wi-Fi every month my share is £8 50p

although we are in a welcome offer so I

think the price will be £17 for me after

that welcome offer is over my water bill

every month is £108 and my phone bill

every month is £16 although the these

bills are technically set expenses I do

know for sure that our gas and electric

is definitely going to go up you know

throughout the winter months we Tred to

not heat our house to above 19° but it

is still costing us a little bit more

and I think probably my gas and electric

will be closer to like 70 a month

throughout the winter months but yeah

that being said I currently now spend

£81 45p a month on bills now next up we

have groceries and we have a few

different ways that we get our groceries

probably not the smartest way to do it

and probably not the most economical way

to do it but I'll run you through how

that works because we do live in central

London and we don't have like a massive

cheap grocery store next to

us every month around twice a month we

order a for everything that is typically

very heavy to carry home from the

grocery store like drinks

laundry oatmeal stuff like that and we

find it really convenient because we

don't own a car so everything that we

buy from the supermarket needs to be

carried home so doing this kind of just

makes our lives a little bit easier we

also have a few grocery runs every

single week and because we then do that

shopping in the more smaller and more

expensive stores our grocery bill at the

end of the month often ends up costing a

little bit more than what it typically

should be costing one thing I will say

in regards to like things I actually do

save some money on when it comes to

grocery is that we used to always buy

these like free Cut packs of like V stir

fry like things to put in the oven and

now we just buy the fresh ingredients

themselves and it ends up like costing

us half the money just because we're

getting the ingredients cutting it

ourselves instead of just getting it

like prepackaged like this yes it does

take some extra time but it's easy it

doesn't take that long and it saves you

some money but yeah

21.57 is what I spent on groceries in

the past month so living Central is

maybe not the best for saving money on

groceries but it definitely is for

saving money on transport neither me or

my boyfriend own a car there's

absolutely no need to we can get pretty

much everywhere we want either by

walking by taking a bike or by going the

tube or a bus one of the smartest things

I've done to save money on the tube is

actually getting the 1625 rail card you

can link it to your o

and that helps you save like 33% off

every single tube ride you take off peak

I think this trick like depending on how

often I take the tube saves between like

20 to 50 every month it's crazy

definitely do it if you haven't already

so between tfl buses and sender bikes in

the past month I've spent £57 on

transport another great thing about

living in London is that lucky you you

also get to pay council tax every month

as a foreigner this word is a bit

misleading because I thought like I was

paying the taxes of the landlord but

council tax is more something that goes

towards you know the cleaning of the

streets the collecting of rubbish that

kind of stuff so the council tax I pay

every single month is £51 and again

that's split in half between my

boyfriend and I next up we have

insurance I pay

£475 uh for home insurance and I split

that again with Theo and I also have

travel insurance for £5 a month and that

brings the total set expenses or needs

to

£1,750 ATP now we're going to go through

my wants and the first thing we have

here is my subscriptions and I was

actually really surprised when I went

through my bank statements to do this

video because I don't have a lot of

subscriptions and I think it is because

me and Theo are both on like our

family's um entertainment accounts I

think it was Olivia Neil who said

something like I will never be adult

enough to go off my parents Netflix and

Disney Plus account and I couldn't

really anym like I pay for my own flat I

you know I save I invest but I'm still

on my parents Netflix account with all

that in mind that brings the

subscriptions total to £58 and 10p if

you watch any of my videos you also know

I'm a big coffee and bakery lover Al

although I have actually skimmed down on

how much I spend in coffee and bakeries

in the past month which I'm really happy

about it used to be like 10000 a month I

become a lot better and in the past

month I only spent £52 20p living in

London also means you have so many cool

restaurants to go out and explore and

try out personally I feel like if I

don't go out and try some of those

restaurants and eat out with my friends

like at least a couple of times a month

I'm kind of missing out on the reason I

chose to live in London in the first

place same thing goes for like

experiences and stuff so in the past

month I spent £5 and 40p on restaurants

I'm completely honest I don't think that

number is too bad often when I talk to

people they say like they spend 50 like

per restaurant visit in total I think I

went to like six or seven restaurants

last month and how I kind of make sure

to keep that sum that I spend down is

one I'm a small eater so I don't eat a

lot that's very helpful I also don't

drink alcohol when I'm out eating in

restaurants and three there are so many

good restaurants in London that AR like

ridiculously overpriced yes you can find

restaurants that will literally charge

you £100 for dinner we can also find

really good ones like my favorites like

bankon and Bone daddiy both don't charge

you more than 20 of dinner meaning you

can go out you know for more dinners and

have more fun and not spend like 80 100

on a dinner in regards to experiences

and drinks I would say last month was

probably on the low side but I only

spent £30 on that in total on Ubers and

black ABS in the past month I spent £7

90p and the majority of that is just

getting home from friends or getting

home from parties in the evening and a

really helpful thing to save money on

this for me has been the fact that I

live really close to my friends now if

I'm going home with my friend and she

lives close what we do is that we add

like two locations to the Uber so that

you know we're stopping at mine and then

we're stopping at hers and because we

live close there's like a 5 10 minute

gap between those and so it ends up

being a lot cheaper than getting two

separate Ubers or two separate Black Ops

I also have a class pass gym membership

which cost £65 a month and it's been

like the best thing I've done for myself

I love my class pass membership in

regards to shopping this varies so much

based on what type of the year it is you

know in December I spent a lot of money

on gifts on stuff for the home like

things like that in November and late

October I haven't spent any money

shopping but the month before that I

spent like 400 shopping so on average

between gifts home and clothes I spend

£300 on average on shopping every month

and finally on beauty and hair I spend

150 a month I don't use a lot of makeup

I have a quite simple skincare routine

so the majority of this money goes

towards my hair which I get highlighted

every 2 3 months and that often comes to

around like 270 so that was all the

categories of my variable expenses and

in total that comes to £

838 obviously these expenses do not

include ad hoc costs like buying

furniture cuz you moved or um going to

the dentist because you have um an

inflamed wisdom tooth like I don't know

but since we're doing this video in the

style of the 50 30 20 budget and that 20

part is all about savings and

Investments I do want to walk you

through kind of the different accounts

that I have and the different things

that I often invest in and Save in every

single month just to get an essence of

what that is for me first things first

we have my student loan yes I do have

student loan I graduated last year and

I'm still paying that down and it is

approximately like 00 a month it depends

a little bit on the currency because the

norian croner has been quite weak lately

but between like 180 and £200 I also

have a few different accounts for

savings and what I save in each account

kind of varies a little bit between each

month like right now for example I'm

saving up for my upcoming holiday

because I really do want to go to

Central America and obviously that costs

money in regards to those accounts we

have my rainy day fund with Barkley's we

have my mortgage savings which is in a

Saving Bond and we also have my fund

fund which I call out which were my

holiday savings and those kind of

savings go and in regards to Investments

I also have a stocks Insurance Isa with

two different index funds in them so

those was all the categories we've gone

through my needs we've gone through my

wants and we've gone through my future

I'm only going to calculate what I

actually spent in needs and wants

because the Future Part kind of varies a

little bit between each month but in

total in the past month I spent £

2,588 on ATP now I'm not in any way

saying that that is the standard for all

20-some year olds living in London my

rented bills alone which are definitely

on the higher side equate to over

1,381 of that total so yeah that's the

decision that I made that is definitely

costing me a lot more money but I hope

you found this video interesting and

educational anyway thank you so much for

watching and I will see you in the next

one bye

guys