There is no doubt about it that owning a property is an expensive business with bills coming in constantly from all angles. There are the basic amenity bills such as home insurance, TV licence, refuse bills and government taxes which have to be paid before you even think of the upkeep on the property.
Of course, it helps if you can do much of the upkeep yourself instead of hiring someone in. If you are handy with a paintbrush, pressure washer and a drill then you can do many of the odd jobs around the house yourself.
There are so many little jobs that need to be done, so many little things that need to be repaired on a regular basis that it would cost a fortune to get them done professionally.
Then there is the upkeep on the garden too and if you have a full time job you may find it difficult to keep on top of this yourself so many people decide to hire gardeners to mow the lawn or trim the hedges.
It really is a balance of how much time you want to spend looking after your house and home versus how much you are prepared to spend for someone else to do tasks so that you get to relax at the weekends instead of having to do odd jobs.