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First off if I make 30-35g and live on my own what do I pay for along with electricity, gas, water etc? What else do I pay for and can somebody give me an approximation of how much if I make 30-35g a year? I'm trying to save money for trips and if I have a kid too.
It depends on where you live. A one bedroom apartment in a high COL city may be $2,000 to $3,000 a month or more, $1,000 or $1500 a month in a medium COL city and $500 a month in a low COL city. Even in the same city the rents can vary dramatically depending if you want to live in a "nice" area or a high crime, run down area.
Many places have you pay the first months rent, the last months rent and a security deposit when you sign a lease. And, the security deposit can vary widely from a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollars (maybe even more).
And, don't forget all of little things like renters insurance and that your car insurance probably will go up if you move away from home.
Hubby and I used to live in a three bedroom house with a full basement and a two car garage. We paid the same amount for electricity & gas & water in that place as in our much, much, much smaller two bedroom apartment (I am still wondering how that could happen). And, of course, cable/internet/telephone was the same price, too.
IMHO, talk to all of your friends who rent. They can give you information about the costs in your city.
It depends on where you live. A one bedroom apartment in a high COL city may be $2,000 to $3,000 a month or more, $1,000 or $1500 a month in a medium COL city and $500 a month in a low COL city. Even in the same city the rents can vary dramatically depending if you want to live in a "nice" area or a high crime, run down area.
Many places have you pay the first months rent, the last months rent and a security deposit when you sign a lease. And, the security deposit can vary widely from a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollars (maybe even more).
And, don't forget all of little things like renters insurance and that your car insurance probably will go up if you move away from home.
Hubby and I used to live in a three bedroom house with a full basement and a two car garage. We paid the same amount for electricity & gas & water in that place as in our much, much, much smaller two bedroom apartment (I am still wondering how that could happen). And, of course, cable/internet/telephone was the same price, too.
IMHO, talk to all of your friends who rent. They can give you information about the costs in your city.
Good luck.
I live in Modesto. What's COL? Cost of living? Well from the outside looking in I ask but to you how reasonable is it to save let's say $400-$500 a month?
1} if you want to save $3-400/m, PAY YOURSELF FIRST. Save that FIRST, {after taxes are taken out} then budget what you have left.
you can search on CL {Craigslist} for cost of an apartment in the part of town that is reasonably priced, safe and close to work. then construct your budget about in this manner {with your after tax take home money} [and let's assume you get paid weekly, if you get paid biweekly (every other week), double the amounts needed for weekly]:
1} pay yourself..you want to save $400/m so budget $100/w out of your take home and SOCK IT AWAY In savings. {you WILL need savings for more than having a kid...you will need an emergency fund = to about 6-9 pay, plus savings for any big purchase you want [car, house], Plus savings for RETIREMENT
5} utilities {if not included in your rent} [nat gas, electric, water sewer, garbage collection]
6} Food
8}clothing
9} entertainment and misc. {misc. should include TP, kleenex, shampoo, dish soap laundry soap, etc}
Financial advisers recommend and time has borne them out to be fairly true:
A} save 10-20% of your pay for savings
B} keep your housing expense to no more than 20-22-25% of your pay TOPS, lower is better {that really should include utilities too}
C} keep your transportation costs to about no more than 12-15% of your pay
IF you keep those at the MAXIMUM percentages for those 3 items listed just above, that will leave you 40% left over for clothes, entertainment and misc. and what ever else crops up.
you DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ALL YOU MAKE. if you have some left over at the end of the month, sock it away in savings.
If you live cheaply now {say rent a room}, you can save big for the future {marriage, retirement, kids}, then you will little problems affording those future things. If you live tight now {big expensive apartment, big flashy expensive car}, you may NEVER be able to afford those things! {contrary to popular belief , the flashy expensive sports car may get laid, but won't necessarily get you a spouse}
Savings: set up separate accounts for: emergency fund {keep cash liquid}; retirement fund {investable as well as some in cash and bonds}; Car fund; house fund; kid fund, and lastly, "fun fund" [vacations]
Choose wisely, my child, and all other things will fall into place.
I tell you this based on personal experience, and what a myriad of financial advisers have successfully advised over the years.
$35K can Sound like lots of money, but it can go through your fingers like water if you are not careful!
If you have no record of credit with other power and phone companies, then you may have to leave a deposit to get power or a home phone turned on when renting a home or apartment. Cable may be the same but many condos come with cable, expenses will be what you make them, so electric on a one bedroom can be inexpensive if you keep the a/c thermostat up or the a/c off when not using it. Water can cost $100 a month and garbage pickup usually will be a cost in apartments or homes but is included in most condos, again your choice where you live, should you pick a condo to rent, then cable, water, garbage and even no need for insurance if you do not have visitors and the landlord does not reuqire it, lots of savings built into the one condo monthly fee, that may likely be included in your monthly rent.
Florida and some other states have no income tax, so one less thing to worry about and with the sales tax at 6% in Broward, that is less expensive than many other areas in the country and even other parts of Florida, so look for low sales tax too in order to keep costs down.
First off if I make 30-35g and live on my own what do I pay for along with electricity, gas, water etc? What else do I pay for and can somebody give me an approximation of how much if I make 30-35g a year? I'm trying to save money for trips and if I have a kid too.
Where will you live? Also, it's a lot cheaper if you rent a room than if you rent an apartment.
Will you be moving completely on your own, or will you have roommates? On 30-35k I would say that you would be hard-pressed to save $500/month without roommates. Your rent will likely include heat, hot water and garbage. You would still be responsible for electric, cable/internet, phone, groceries, gasoline, car insurance and renter's insurance. Figure out what your net monthly pay would be and then figure out what you are paying for these other expenses. If you can rent a room or have roommates it would be a lot easier. Look on Zillow in your area to see what the rates for apartments are.
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