Tulsa Budget (apartment, renting, how much)

[erl1945]

Hello All,

My wife and I plan to return to live in Tulsa sometime this year. It has been 4 years since we have lived there and enjoyed it a lot. We currently reside in the Philippines and I am trying to work up a Tulsa budget to be sure we can live on our fixed income of about $2,000 a month.

I will be paying cash for a house, about 1200 square feet, and cash for a vehicle. Last time we lived there we were renting so this will be a little different. Hopefully things have not gone up to much in 4 years.

So if anyone could help I would like estimates on:

1. Heating and cooling costs, gas heat. (1200 square feet) older house probably 1970 vintage. (when we left in 2003 we never had a combined electric/gas bill of $120 a month for an 1100 square foot apartment.)

2. Water costs, two people. (Where we rented it was about $17.00 a month.

3. Total taxes on say a $90,000.00 house.

4. Cable TV costs average for basic cable.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Also if I am forgetting any other major expenses please let me know and include them.

Regards & thanks,

Eric Lilley

[Synopsis]

I'd like to help you out, but since I don't live in Tulsa, my information might not be accurate. But, I can make an estimate.

Heating and cooling costs: Winter (heating) - 120 sounds about right, maybe even a little less. Summer (cooling): With your thermostat set at about 78 degrees you should be able to cool the small house (depending on insulation) for around the same price. My guess would be $100 +/- 20.

Water Costs: Depends on how much you water your lawn. You could average anywhere from $35/month in the Winter, to (again, depending on how much you water your lawn) to $150/month in the summer.

Total Taxes: Probably around $500 a year +/- $100.

Cable TV costs: Don't quite know, but probably around $35/month.

Hope this helps. I think this will give you a general idea of the costs. If I had to guess, I'd think I'm within 15 - 20 % of being right in every area.

Cheers