Living on your owns

[Moosader]

Or at least... away from parents. ;o

I'm trying to really flesh out a budget of how much income I would need before I could possibly move out of this place, so I have questions for those of you who are teh fortunates ( or, in Falco's case, spoiled D: )

Questions are for current or any past living stuffs... I'm basically looking to move out in my own apartment (or, if I can find anybody, with a roommate).

• How much do groceries cost you per week/month?
• How much are utilities, usually?
• How much is rent?
• How much do you pay on other things? (Phone, cable/internet, car)
• How much "emergency money" do you keep saved up? (My cars have a tendency to break down)
• Do you have a roommate? What are some difficulties, and do you split rent, utilities, and internets in half?

Thanks for the infoes.

[Andy K.]

Or at least... away from parents. ;o

I'm trying to really flesh out a budget of how much income I would need before I could possibly move out of this place, so I have questions for those of you who are teh fortunates ( or, in Falco's case, spoiled D: )

Questions are for current or any past living stuffs... I'm basically looking to move out in my own apartment (or, if I can find anybody, with a roommate).

• How much do groceries cost you per week/month?
• How much are utilities, usually?
• How much is rent?
• How much do you pay on other things? (Phone, cable/internet, car)
• How much "emergency money" do you keep saved up? (My cars have a tendency to break down)
• Do you have a roommate? What are some difficulties, and do you split rent, utilities, and internets in half?

Thanks for the infoes.

Poor Rachel J. You dislike your stepdad so much XD

Anyway, I'm a perfect example because I'm poor, and I'm in school. Let's see...

How much do groceries cost you per week/month?

I usually very between $35-50 a week or so. That is just me personally. I eat a lot of veggies and stuff so it cuts down costs, but you can eat good on a budget of $50-$70. It depends really for what I'm in the mood for or what's on sale, but I try to stay in $35-$50 area. (Ramen is your best friend)

How much are utilities, usually?

I lucked out, because of the apartment layout I get a lot of my utilities for free. (it shares with the neighbors) so it's all paid together by the land lord. You can find apartments that include utilities within the rent.

How much is Rent?

This really depends on the area that you want to get an apartment in. I lucked out and only have to pay around $300 a month. Which is pretty cheap for apartment costs.

How much do you pay on other things? (Phone, cable/internet, car)

My internet and phone is $50. Gas prices are down now, so about $25 a week for gas. And I used to pay around $35 for my television, but I canceled that because I never watch the freaking thing because I always have video games on, or a DVD. =P Also I have SiriusXM which I do a yearly plan so I don't have to worry about it. Oh, and college tuition which is $350 a month, and it's past due a month! XDDDDDD <_<; I gotta pay that sometime...

How much "emergency money" do you keep saved up? (My cars have a tendency to break down)

I am very bad. I don't have anything saved up... Actually, I think I have about $300 in the bank, but I'll spend all that in games and bills... I really need to learn to save. =( Which I am doing a good job of lately because I didn't buy Persona 4! ^_^

Roomate?

I used to have a roomate which was my ex. I have lived with buddies in the past before, too. Rent should be split down the middle... Which you can get a nice place for half the cost, if the person is responsible to pay their share. You should each choose what utilities you want to pay. Sit down with them, and talk it out. Roomates can be alright, but I prefer to live alone =P You can walk around nekkid! But you know I'd do that anyway XD

Living on your own is tough. There will be some months where you're hard off, there will be some months where you can take it easy. Starting off is the hardest part. When I first moved out of my parents house I had $3,000 saved up and that made it a bit easier. After a month or two, you should get your independent legs, and be on your own for gud!

Actually, I'm planning on moving back into the city. So I am actually trying to save up for that, too. You could always come crash with me when I move (I won't rape ya or nothin... you could probably beat me up =( XD), if you wanted to live in Morgantown. You could go to WVU XD But, I do walk around nekkid =P NO EXCEPTIONS XD

[ultimatedragoon69]

* How much do groceries cost you per week/month?

i spend about $25 on food a month. Of course i wouldn't suggest that budget to anyone. I'm just kinda money hungry so i decrease until it starts hurting lol.

* How much are utilities, usually?

i spend about $75 for the pg&e and phone

* How much is rent?

i spend about 300 on rent but i have a roommate that pays the other half.

* How much do you pay on other things? (Phone, cable/internet, car)

phone + internet = $50 i don't really use anything else.

* How much "emergency money" do you keep saved up? (My cars have a tendency to break down)

i just spent all the money i was saving on a samsung 305t plus cost me 1320, so currently only have $200 saved of course i have never had an emergency that requires money

* Do you have a roommate? What are some difficulties, and do you split rent, utilities, and internets in half?

i have a roommate, which we normally just keep to ourselves so we don't have any real big problems. we split all bills directly down the middle.


i have been out of my grandparents care for about 2 years now, and i think its definitely worth it.

[Falco Girgis]

or, in Falco's case, spoiled D:

I resent that. How am I spoiled? I am completely financially independent of my parents. I work for everything that I own. Yes, my dad helped me buy the house that I'm living in. It's not my house, though. He wanted land, I wanted a place to stay. I'm renting, so how is that any different from renting any house? The only difference is that my dad owns it.

How much do groceries cost you per week/month?

Maybe $80/week, and something like $200/mo. I eat constantly, though. I have to eat at least 4 meals a day with good amounts of protein and all of that crap for my gym routine, so your groceries would probably be less.

How much are utilities, usually?

Usually around $260 for electric and $30 for water.

How much is rent?

$800

How much do you pay on other things? (Phone, cable/internet, car)

$250/month paying off the car, $400/6 months of car insurance, $40 for DSL, I'm on my mom's phone plan, so she does that, and we don't have a home phone.

How much "emergency money" do you keep saved up? (My cars have a tendency to break down)

A few thousand.

Do you have a roommate? What are some difficulties, and do you split rent, utilities, and internets in half?

No issues, we are both shifty, shady motherfuckers. We split bills.

[programmerinprogress]

i'll be going to university next year, so i'll be living away from my parents, the real benefit of living in the uk is you do actually get a bit of help when you leave for university.

They don't just give it to you for free (although I believe that was the case a few years ago, and nurses/doctors get bursaries that cover the costs), but you do get small starter grants, and then you also have student loans that you don't begin paying back till you earn 15k a year.

So it's pretty good, but I too will have to manage my finances, i've categorised these into the following:

-food (to survive)
-shiny things (I need some way to stay amused :P)
-Booze (lots of it, the student unions are so cheap!, can't wait till freshers week, parties all the time!)
-rent (rent is very low if you live on campus, about £60 a week where I'm going, but can be as high as £100 per week (not likely though))
oh... and books (I have a watwerstones card, so hopefully my accumulated reward points will pat for those )

Good luck lusikka with sorting your finances

[Trask]

Here an interesting read:

CNet has an article about a couple who saw the writing on the wall, recession-wise, and canceled their satellite TV package. Surprisingly, they are, in fact, still alive and not at all depressed.

Here\'s what they did instead:


\"Using an existing rooftop antenna, James plugged her TV into the hook-up to get more than 50 high-definition TV channels over-the-air. The cost for these HD channels: zero.\"

Instead of HBO — Netflix for $17 a month allows you to rent 3 movies at a time over the mail and watch lots of movies on demand — including ones from Starz.
Hulu, Fancast, Joost, YouTube, and most major TV networks\' Web sites offer TV shows and other video content for free.
They spent $600 on a computer that will serve as TV tuner, has a High Definition Multimedia Interface cable for carrying high-definition video, and an embedded Blu-Ray/DVD player, and can be used as a DVR. The cost of the new computer was paid off in about six months.

They upgraded their DSL to 3 Mbps downloads and 512 Kbps uploads for an extra 5$ per month.



According to CNET this ended up saving them $93 a month and they say they prefer this set-up to Dish Network. Something to think about.

Got it from: http://consumerist.com/5114240/how-to-c ... -miserable

[MarauderIIC]

* Groceries + fast food budget:
$3/meal = my upper limit
Can eat chili and ramen for about 80c a meal.

* How much are utilities, usually?
I think they're usually like $60/mo but...

* How much is rent?
Mine is $470 + cat = $490/mo
Utilities are included (IOW my rent probably includes more than average utility cost but my rent never changes). I live across the street from the mall in an apartment complex.

* How much do you pay on other things? (Phone, cable/internet, car)
Cell phones are paid for by others... cable internet + cable tv = $75/mo. College tuition is totally paid for by financial aid (government)
Car, sit down and figure it at $2/gallon at (your MPG here, start tracking your odometer and how much gas you put in the car) with a usual commute of (google maps mileage here) and don't forget trips to grocery store and some flex mileage.

* How much "emergency money" do you keep saved up? (My cars have a tendency to break down)
I try to keep more than $500 in the bank at all times.

* Do you have a roommate? What are some difficulties, and do you split rent, utilities, and internets in half?
Just my fiancee. The biggest problem with roommates are the ones that eat your food. When you get a roommate you need to sit down and agree on rules, or you'll suffer silently like a stupid person who didn't talk to her roommate. My roommate and I, when I was living in the dorms, sat down and went over rules such as:
Never eat the other's food unless it is offered.
If I am trying to sleep, no more lights on in the room than the one on your desk, and please wear headphones.
I don't care if you do drugs but if you get caught I'm not going to have your back.
No sex while I'm in the room. Call if you want me to stay out for a while.
Don't go through my desk or use my computer.
...and I'll do the same for you.
Another big problem is room temperature. Try to find someone that likes it "cold" or "warm," the same as you.

You'd be surprised the number of people that don't have respect for other people's space. You have to make these clear or you'll regret it later.

[trufun202]

* How much is rent?
Mine is $470 + cat = $490/mo
Utilities are included (IOW my rent probably includes more than average utility cost but my rent never changes). I live across the street from the mall in an apartment complex.

$470 in rent is pretty damn good. I had an apartment 5 or 6 years ago and the rent was $750.

[MarauderIIC]

A lot of it depends on location :P I live in Lexington, Kentucky.