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I'm 20 years old with a monthly income of $1600. I'm trying to find a place so I can move out and get away from my parents. I decided I need to leave because they treat me like a child still, etc. I wont get into all this but I need some help with figuring out bill amounts for the following.
Electric
Water
Cable/Internet
Phone
Car Insurance
I get a SSI Check monthly thats like $680, but once I get all my paychecks back into my name that's probably gonna go away since I'd be making to much. I really don't care if it goes away since I don't wanna depend on it forever. Are there any apartments around Raleigh that I could get without sharing one and live okish there until I save enough to buy a house.
My job is a work at home job as a video editer and I'm pretty sure that my boss would help pay the cable and internet bill since it's for work as I already write it off on taxes. But I need some help with the other things.
Bryce, it depends A LOT on the individual apartment that you rent as well as our own usage. Size, insulation, etc. When you call in search of an apartment, you can ask the apartment manager how much typical utility bills will run and what utilities are include in the rent. For instance, some places have cable or trash included in their rent.
Yes, it does depend a lot on your apartment and your usage, like will you have a washer/dryer, do you take baths or showers, etc. Like Daniel said, each community can offer you an estimate of what your total utilities will be and what they include.
In the apartment industry, the standard of what someone can afford is 3 times their gross income. So, if you're making $1600 a month, you could afford roughly $530 a month for rent. I think you can definitely get a good apartment for that price. It's not going to be the newest, most luxurious apartment, but it will certainly be a great first apartment and much better than living with mom and dad!
I'm 20 years old with a monthly income of $1600. I'm trying to find a place so I can move out and get away from my parents. I decided I need to leave because they treat me like a child still, etc. I wont get into all this but I need some help with figuring out bill amounts for the following.
Electric
Water
Cable/Internet
Phone
Car Insurance
I get a SSI Check monthly thats like $680, but once I get all my paychecks back into my name that's probably gonna go away since I'd be making to much. I really don't care if it goes away since I don't wanna depend on it forever. Are there any apartments around Raleigh that I could get without sharing one and live okish there until I save enough to buy a house.
My job is a work at home job as a video editer and I'm pretty sure that my boss would help pay the cable and internet bill since it's for work as I already write it off on taxes. But I need some help with the other things.
Thanks.
Bryce
Like eveyone said it will depend a lot on what you end up with, but lets run a few numbers.
Electric/Gas - Figure atleast $100 a month unless the place is small and does not require much for heat and AC
Water - This is billed bimonthly, I am a single guy, 1 shower a day, dishes in a house (so I use water for lawn and some things you might not) but plan on $55 every 2 months or $27.50 a month. Look for an apartment that includes it.
Cable/Internet - Internet min is $25. Cable depends on what you want anywhere for $20 to over $100. Personally I have Roadrunner full speed for $50 a month, $13 for Netflix and watch TV via antenna.
Phone - If you have a cellphone just use that. If no cell phone plan on a min of $20 a month, if you have high speed internet consider VOIP services. Remember if you lose power you lose telephone service with VOIP.
Car Insurance - This depends on your driving record, age, insurance company, etc. I am 34, have a safe driver record, no points and a 2005 pickup and I pay $80 a month.
Also think about:
Food
Gas
Renters Insurance
Deposit Money
Cleaning Supplies
Sheets
Towels
Pots and Pans
Furniture
Toilet Paper
You get the idea, there is a lot that you don't think of when first getting out of the house and on your own. Make a list of everything you use each day and then go to a store and look at the cost. There is nothing worse than getting out on your own and finding misery because you are picking and choosing what bill to pay and eating Ramen Noodles every night.
I've been making a spreadsheet for monthly expenses and such, but $530 for rent seems ok for me. I hardly use water, lights, so the bare minimum cost would probably do it for me. I'm someone that just takes a shower once a day, then gets on the computer and works for ~20 hours. I'm not very needy, just need to keep myself online for work and such. So, the bare minimum for water, lights, etc are all I need to substain myself. I do however eat out all the time and rarely cook, so yea. All I require in an apartment are the following:
1 bedroom
1 bathroom
Cable and Internet for work
Electricity
Water
Heat/Air
And then SSI gives me Medicaid, so medical is covered. Only other thing I see me needing to pay is car insurance and cell phone bill, which is around $130/mo for me if I just use that and no regular phone.
I just moved to Durham and this is our second billing cycle pretty much. We have a 2 bed/1bath house about 970 sqft, central heating. Our Electric came to approx. $50, Gas $57. Water is paid by our landlords. $30 (deal for first 6 months or something) for RoadRunner high speed. We also decided not to get cable tv, and just use an antenna (made out of a coat hanger!).
For electric (Duke here) I had to pay $150 deposit before it was set up. This is based on your credit and is returned at the end if you keep good status. I've been told it can be more than this too.
Our rental insurance is $106 a year. I'm trying to think of everything else.. but it's not coming to me at the time. I also keep an excel record of everything.
You might want to try http://www.whitefence.com - I didn't use them to set up my utilities, but if you put in an address you're thinking of living (or even a nearby location) it'll give you average numbers of the utilities if possible. It didn't have gas or electric for me, but like others said you can usually call the company and ask for estimates on past months.
Edit: Also there was a gas deposit! I'm not certain the exact amount because we misheard on the phone, but ended up putting in $250 dollars. Don't forget about rental application fees too! Usually they were $60-75 for us.
I'm also pretty cheap and try not to use lights or heat as much as possible. Do your research ahead of time to look on how to save money on all the different billings. We're still seeking out jobs so we're home pretty much all day, and are on our computers (1 desktop, 1 laptop always plugged in) to give an idea of how the costs relate to our usage. We try to always unplug anything we can, keep our temp on 68 during the day, 55 at night.
You may want to consider a studio apt. also. I don't know if that'd actually save any money over a 1 bedroom, but something to consider. The eating out issue is major though. That can quickly eat up your bill money so you'd better learn to cook fast. Cooking is a life skill and learning how to do it can save you a lot of money.
Another thing to consider in moving expenses is your security deposits for utilities. I know when I first moved down here I didn't know they expected deposits for power since we had no prior service with Duke Energy. Our former company up north didn't require it. Phone, gas, and water if applicable may require it also, but some companies accept guarantors or letters from other utilities which you won't have since you're living with parents now. Definitely inquire about all that.
Same here. I work at home and have 5 computers (4 desktops, 1 laptop) that are mine and online all the time, 2 work computers that are online all the time. That's really all the power I need, I usually watch TV on the computers, so cable isn't needed and cuts out that bill. I was making an excel document on expenses, can anyone look over it if I post it here?
Same here. I work at home and have 5 computers (4 desktops, 1 laptop) that are mine and online all the time, 2 work computers that are online all the time. That's really all the power I need,
In the winter time that amount of computers probably goes a long way to heat a small apartment/ room/ studio. So you might save on your heat bill. BUT in the summer that amount of computers are going to be a bear to cool. And you are probably very aware that if computers get too hot they don't work. Just something to keep in mind.
Here's an excel of expected expenses. Does everything look alright?
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