Advice From Chicagoans Needed (apartment, rent, credit) - City-Data Forum

bigcity123 · 03-23-2009, 08:22 AM

I will be going to school to become a Physician Assistant. Here's what my paycheck will look like each month after taxes. I selected the monthly pay frequency option to show what I'd make in one month to be as accurate as possible.

A few sites recommend that you divide your salary by three, and that'll show you how much you should spend on an apartment. It came out to $1,688.88. Could I spend a little bit extra to get a slightly better apartment? How well would I do in Chicago with 5k a month? Thanks.

icebergsyndrome · 03-23-2009, 08:27 AM

Um, I wish I were in your "predicament". You can afford a variety of very nice places for a budget of $1700 per month.

jdiddy · 03-23-2009, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigcity123

I will be going to school to become a Physician Assistant. Here's what my paycheck will look like each month after taxes. I selected the monthly pay frequency option to show what I'd make in one month to be as accurate as possible.

A few sites recommend that you divide your salary by three, and that'll show you how much you should spend on an apartment. It came out to $1,688.88. Could I spend a little bit extra to get a slightly better apartment? How well would I do in Chicago with 5k a month? Thanks.

I think the 33% rule loses its significance the higher your take home salary. If you're making under 50K, its important to abide by it. But at the level you have, even after paying 2 grand for an apartment, you'll still have 3 grand remaining on bills/spending/saving. So, sure, you can probably get by with spending 40-50% of your income on rent if you wanted to - provided you do not have large student loan payments to make as well. Its more a question of whether you need to and whether that's the smartest longterm financial decision.

And the reality is, no, you really don't need to spend that much. $1,500 will get you a great place in this city.

softdev · 03-23-2009, 11:04 AM

When I first started and was only making 80k I was able to comfortably spend 2 grand a month on an apartment with plenty of money left over to eat out every night.

softdev · 03-23-2009, 11:05 AM

^^ That was in NY and DC too which is a quite a bit more expensive to live in

CarolinaBredChicagoan · 03-23-2009, 11:14 AM

As I've said to folks with similar numbers before, unless you've got a mountain of debt or a moderate-to-serious drug habit, you'll be okay.

eskercurve · 03-23-2009, 02:25 PM

You should live below your means. Your job will likely be secure and stable for years, since it is in healthcare.

Personally, what I'd do is save money each month, live in a cheap place (but not in a dangerous area), commute by public transit and do without a car if you can, save up for a house. Or keep saving pre-tax or post-tax money in an IRA or Roth IRA.

If you live high on the hog you'll be happy but down the road you'll wish you had saved a bit more. Of course, to each his own.

Avengerfire · 03-23-2009, 07:14 PM

I would spend $1000 tops on an apartment and save/invest at least $2000 a month. If I could I would save/invest $3000 a month.

ajolotl · 03-23-2009, 07:30 PM

When I started work life many years ago I was making a similar amount (70K I think). I thought I was rich. Learned the hard way that I wasn't. The best lesson I learned from those days is to just keep it very simple and have lots of slack in your budget. Specifically, don't spend money on things that "lock you in" for extended periods (like car payments, high rents, etc.). If you want to treat yourself to a nice trip or some luxury one month, that's fine, but always be able to pull back whenever you need to. No job is guaranteed, and the thrill of owning new junk disappears quickly. Peace of mind is priceless.

Gelasia · 03-24-2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajolotl

When I started work life many years ago I was making a similar amount (70K I think). I thought I was rich. Learned the hard way that I wasn't. The best lesson I learned from those days is to just keep it very simple and have lots of slack in your budget. Specifically, don't spend money on things that "lock you in" for extended periods (like car payments, high rents, etc.). If you want to treat yourself to a nice trip or some luxury one month, that's fine, but always be able to pull back whenever you need to. No job is guaranteed, and the thrill of owning new junk disappears quickly. Peace of mind is priceless.

You are so right.
I wish I had more discipline with money. I love to spend it. When I first started dating my husband he was a tight wad but after years of talking him into buying stuff he is now worse than I am about spending. I am the one who has to talk him down from buying everything.
The shiny does wear off soon but thats when you guy buy new stuff. lol

Seriously though too many people live on credit. Dallas is soooo pretentious and they are home to the 30k millionaires.