Living on $25,000 in Minneapolis?

[zetsoc]

A general rule of thumb to follow anywhere is that you should spend no more than 30% of your gross income on rent plus utilities. To be safe, throw transportation in as well. That basically means your maximum budget for rent/utilities/transportation is going to be about 650 bucks. I don't live in Minneapolis - I'm moving there later this fall. But from what I've seen, this wouldn't even be particularly difficult if you were to get a roommate. I'm looking into two some pretty nice two bedroom apartments that would leave me well under your makeshift budget.

And you can fudge a little on the 30%. I'm spending about 750 a month on those things right now on about your salary (in a different city), and I'm doing fine. It's well worth pointing out that the average University of Minnesota grad student probably has a more difficult financial situation than you have, and I'm sure they're making it.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by zetsoc

A general rule of thumb to follow anywhere is that you should spend no more than 30% of your gross income on rent plus utilities. To be safe, throw transportation in as well.

Rent should not exceed 30 percent (unless you want to make money from elsewhere in your budget), but I recently read that rent plus transportation can be up to 45 percent of your budget. With an inexpensive rent payment and an unlimited ride bus pass, this could be quite easy.

[zetsoc]

Yeah, definitely. I just like to play it a little cautious.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by JmanAA

Well, I had the chance to visit both cities, and I've decided to stick with Minneapolis. I was not very impressed with Seattle, and you can add me to the list of people who think Seattle is overrated. I'm very happy with the choice I made in making Minneapolis, MN my home. Infact, I'm in Minneapolis right now. So, it's just a matter of establishing myself, which I'm doing right now. I really do regret the money I spent visiting Seattle, that's money I wish I could have back, but at the same time I guess it was all for the better since I had been curious about Seattle for a long time. Now, I won't be second guessing my choice and I won't be wondering what I might be missing since I know I'm not missing anything. Minneapolis is the city for me.

Ofcourse, saying this without experiencing a Minneapolis winter, but I have faith I'll be able to handle the winter weather very well, and continue to be very happy here.

I wouldn't beat yourself up too much on spending that money, it bought you the knowledge of knowing you made the right decision. Now you can focus on what you'll like about Minneapolis.

MN winters tend to be brutal, but if you have the right clothing you can endure (even I say as one who has come to despise the winters).

One last note...be mindful on the "30% rule". Some landlords require you show income of 3X rent, though it's usually gross income. In other words, at the $25,000 - or $2083/month - a number of landlords will not qualify you to rent with them if rent is above about $694/month (in your case). That said, you can still find something in Minneapolis for that dollar figure assuming you have no other ongoing debt.

Welcome to Minneapolis!