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Rent at $500? $500 a week, maybe. $500 a month - no place. Even the cheap places, three deck city apartments, around here rent for $900 to $1200 a month. If you are stuck with a $24,000 a year job move in with somebody with a better job and combine your incomes.
I looked at teaching as a profession four decades ago. It looked like a ticket to near poverty then and has only gotten worse. Unfortunately it has also gotten worse for computer programmers etc and much worse for blue collar trades.
If you are stuck with a $24,000 a year job move in with somebody with a better job and combine your incomes. ]
Or move out of New England. Plenty of apartments for that price out across the Hudson River in Terra Incognita, safe neighborhoods, good management. $24K jobs available, too.
25%?? where do you live that you can rent anywhere liveable for 500 dollars?
I live in Eastern, NC and my one bedroom apt is $405 a month. The walls had fresh paint, the floor had brand new carpet and also had a brand new oven/stove.
I have a nice 1 bedroom apartment 8 minutes from work. I have 1 truck paid off, an ATV paid off and working on paying off my truck I drive daily now. I also help out my parents whenever they need any help and I still save $400 a month.
You don't have to have a large income to save money. You just need to know how to work your money. I know people around me that make almost twice as much as I do and they never have any money.
there was a great article in Money Magazine about this a while ago. A couple in Nebraska with 5 kids was making $160,000/yr. According to the article, that should go a long way, even with 5 kids. Yet they kept spending spending spending.
Point is - no matter what you make, you have to budget. if you pay yourself first, that's your savings. maybe you can't save $500/month, but you can save $100, or $50...
if i were married, 100% plus $1,000 in accumulating credit card charges each month.
whoever said -- 2 can live as cheaply as one-- was mentally ill. its easy to fill up a cash bag, but not if there are large holes in the bottom.
but to answer the question
per month
rent zero bought my own and its paid for.
food 150 to 250 sam's club bulk only.
(do not eat out much like to cook let me spell that for you as most people dont know this term c o o k)
gas 200, for the BMW 540i, hey a guys gota drive dont he?
debt payments - zero
clothes - $30?? depends if i catch the 50% off sales at salvation army every wednesday or not.
Lets say you earned $ 2,000 a month take home pay. What are the percentages that your Bills should work out to be ?
Like Housing what % ?
Utilities % ?
Food / Insurance / Misl ?
How much of that should be put into savings ?
So that you live a frugal life that is not beyond your means ?
I would define a frugal life as living below your means.
The question on saving should be the first consideration and move backwards. Set milestones for your savings account and reward yourself with a nice meal in a resturant or something when you reach each one on time.
The rest should be as low as possible. If you define housing as 33% of your expenses, for example, then you'll always feel entitled to that amount. Why not find a nice solid, easy to maintian home that is cheap and pay it off. Then your housing goes down to the amount of the taxes and insurance.
There are plenty of places that are $500/month or cheaper. People just rather blow their money than take the time to look.
Another thing if you're single, rent a studio or a one-bedroom apt. Don't rent a 2-bedroom. Guest can sleep on the couch.
Easier said than done in some areas. Where I live people rent out their 30' 5th wheel trailers parked in their backyard for $800 a month. A decent sized (re bigger than a closet) studio in a complex goes for about the same. And if you have pets? Forget it.
Rooms in houses rent starting at $500 and you'll probably have to share the room with someone else.
Easier said than done in some areas. Where I live people rent out their 30' 5th wheel trailers parked in their backyard for $800 a month. A decent sized (re bigger than a closet) studio in a complex goes for about the same. And if you have pets? Forget it.
Rooms in houses rent starting at $500 and you'll probably have to share the room with someone else.
The perks of living on the coast of California
We live in the same country but we live in two completely different worlds .
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