$43,000/year enough for two? (Colorado Springs, Craig: apartment, for rent, car insurance)

[tobbe]

Hi,
Great forum!
My wife and I are contemplating a move from Seattle to Colorado Springs. I would be making ~$43,000/year. We are planning to rent (~$500/month), and I have a car loan that I’m paying off. I understand we won’t be rich, but do you think this amount will be enough for us in Colorado Springs? All the calculators on the internet is showing lower cost of living in Colorado Springs compared to Seattle.
Thanks!

[froggin4colorado]

Well, beginning teachers make less than that here. A teacher with a masters degree makes less than that.
I helped a fellow teacher find an apartment for rent at that same price, it isn't ritzy by any means, but she lives in a one bedroom place and still does "stuff" like whitewater rafting, travel, see concerts, etc. She is single but has a significant other who lives in a separate apt and makes about 33,000.00 annually.
Hope this shines some light on what your lifestyle will be like.
Short answer, yes you can live here on that salary.

[Bullitt007]

A lot depends on your lifestyle and if you really can find a place for $500 a month. I don't know of anyplace that you can find for that price. People certainly do it, but considering the cost of a move and other intangibles, things may be very tight.

[toxicavenger]

If you are able to survive in Seattle then you will be okay in the Springs.

[tobbe]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I'm making more in Seattle, and my wife works here too.

[ryanek9freak]

Between my DGF and I, we pull about $55k a year, and we barely scrape by. But we have a house, 3 dogs and a 5 year old, not to mention my truck and tool payments.

[COflower]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

Between my DGF and I, we pull about $55k a year, and we barely scrape by. But we have a house, 3 dogs and a 5 year old, not to mention my truck and tool payments.

Dude, you live beyond your means if you can't afford that. I make much less than half than the OP stated and somehow I make it.

Of course my bills consist only with rent, phone/DSL, car insurance, utilities...I don't have a car payment, etc...it aint pretty and I live pretty poor but live in a decent sized house house with two animals.

Perhaps you need to downsize the vehicle and look at your other expenditures.

It's not that hard to live well here if you have a healthy outlook on what you "require" in your life. Lots of things are dependent on how you think you should live and how you can actually live. I haven't had a car payment since 1996. I love it.

[mental_complex]

Dude, I make 39,000 a year. I'm single, and my rent is 675 a month. I don't have any car payments, but own a puppy and I think I need to make more money to do everything I want to do. You guys are going to really have to adjust your way of living.

It can be done, but it won't be easy.

[toxicavenger]

one of the things I have done is start buying stuff used like on Craigslist. also like I mentioned before in another post I buy alot of my stuff on Black Friday after Thanksgiving. plus I have a small house on the Westside that is only 1000 square feet with a full 2 car garage. I got it for 120k about 5 years ago. so if you are careful you can do it without spending lots of money. another plus is I do go to Goodwill for some clothes for my family and we try to use our Honda Fit for transportation as much as possible so that we don't pay out alot on gas. so i would say go for it and some of us her can help you with ideas on how to cut corners. a site I use to help make sure all my bills are in order is mint.com and it shows you what you are spending money on too. good luck.

[ryanek9freak]

We don't buy anything we don't need. I require a truck, I need it for my job. A car wouldn't cut it. I wish I could, cause the gas milage sucks, but oh well.

I'm not friving something super expensive, it's just an 02 Dodge ram, but i'm still paying on it.

And i'd never give up my dogs just to downsize. I should mention that the 55K i mentioned, I bring in about 80% of that. My Gf could get a better job, but the one she has works out good cause she works from home on her PC part time for $10 an hour. It's nice cause we don't have to pay for daycare.

We make enough to pay the bills, but not really enough to save alot of money.

And not having a tool payment is also NOT an option, without my tools, i wouldn't have a job.