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Old 05-16-2010, 02:15 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,559 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi everyone, I'll be graduating from pharmacy school soon and have a position ready for me in LA. I did some number crunching and really don't know how I'll survive. Are there any guidelines on how much of your income should be spent on rent/mortgage, cars, and other living expenses? I hear your housing shouldn't be more than 30% of your income, but is that after taxes or before? I know everyone's circumstances are different, but it would be good to have an idea.

Basically, we're a gay couple so we don't plan to have any children, so that lessens our expenses. I am stuck with a 110K student loan though The job pays 120K and my boyfriend makes 10K less, but he has no loans. After taxes, my take home is probably less than 72K. It goes down from there after I start subtracting my expenses. Also what's important to us is that we enjoy our lives now while we're young. I'm in my early 20s so paying off the loan all at once is not my concern. I'd rather enjoy my 20s as this is priceless and can never be returned to me. I already have a 1-bedroom apartment waiting for me in West Hollywood for $1569/month. Sorry if my questions sound so simple, but I'm a new grad with little skills in money management. I was taught how to help people in school only to realize right after that I have myself to worry about also in the real world
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Old 05-16-2010, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,771 posts, read 104,756,288 times
Reputation: 49248
Quote:
Originally Posted by Benzodiazo View Post
Hi everyone, I'll be graduating from pharmacy school soon and have a position ready for me in LA. I did some number crunching and really don't know how I'll survive. Are there any guidelines on how much of your income should be spent on rent/mortgage, cars, and other living expenses? I hear your housing shouldn't be more than 30% of your income, but is that after taxes or before? I know everyone's circumstances are different, but it would be good to have an idea.

Basically, we're a gay couple so we don't plan to have any children, so that lessens our expenses. I am stuck with a 110K student loan though The job pays 120K and my boyfriend makes 10K less, but he has no loans. After taxes, my take home is probably less than 72K. It goes down from there after I start subtracting my expenses. Also what's important to us is that we enjoy our lives now while we're young. I'm in my early 20s so paying off the loan all at once is not my concern. I'd rather enjoy my 20s as this is priceless and can never be returned to me. I already have a 1-bedroom apartment waiting for me in West Hollywood for $1569/month. Sorry if my questions sound so simple, but I'm a new grad with little skills in money management. I was taught how to help people in school only to realize right after that I have myself to worry about also in the real world
actually 30% is pushing it, but you can do it. I would add, if you are careful you can still enjoy a social life, pay your student loans and live on $72,000 clear. In fact you should be able to do this easily..You can probably even save a little for a rainy day. This doesn't mean you will have money to throw away or be able to take off in any direction every weekend but you will be just fine.

Nita
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Old 05-16-2010, 03:27 PM
 
10,624 posts, read 26,739,553 times
Reputation: 6776
You sound like you'll be in a good financial situation. You might want to ask some of your questions on the general finance forum, but for what it's worth, in LA a lot of people spend far more than 30% on housing; obviously it is much, much better to keep it under that percentage, and not higher! Enjoy life, don't go crazy, chip away at your loans, and build your savings.
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Old 05-16-2010, 03:50 PM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,199,581 times
Reputation: 3626
between you and your partner's salaries, the two of you should definitely be able to afford and enjoy most of LA. congrats!!!!
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Old 05-16-2010, 04:05 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,559 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you for the responses. As a student, I'm barely making any money right now and I'm doing fine. I don't spend much day to day and don't feel deprived. I feel, however, that with a bump in income also comes with a load of responsibilites (bills). I'll do some search on some financial forums and broaden my understanding a little.
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Old 05-16-2010, 06:28 PM
 
4,538 posts, read 10,631,284 times
Reputation: 4073
The job pays 120K and my boyfriend makes 10K less, but he has no loans.

You have a combined income of $230K and you are sweating if you can afford a $110K loan and $1600 a month apartment?

Am I missing something?
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Old 05-16-2010, 07:56 PM
 
Location: SoCal
2,261 posts, read 7,233,328 times
Reputation: 960
Yeah, I don't get it. I made $55k/year (this was several years ago) and paid $1300/mo for an apartment and I did fine. Went out to eat, went on vacations, etc...

This seems like a weird post to me. I've noticed there have been a lot of posts, lately, about "I'll have $10K/month for housing... can I afford anything?" and "I have $3.5 million to buy a house... not sure where to look!" and even "Will an open mind serve me well in Los Angeles?"

Being worried about not being able to live on $230K/year just doesn't have the ring of truth to it. Even enjoying life at 20 as it is priceless and can never be returned to you. I've never heard someone in their 20s talk that way, but hey... what do I know?

I apologize if this is a genuine post.
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:04 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,559 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnG72 View Post
The job pays 120K and my boyfriend makes 10K less, but he has no loans.

You have a combined income of $230K and you are sweating if you can afford a $110K loan and $1600 a month apartment?

Am I missing something?
I wish we were getting 230K after taxes. The truth is I'll get about 6K/month without any tax break. My loan payment would be $1000 already+car+insurance+etc. I'm just wondering what would be a proper percentage of my income for all these expenses. I hear that a lot of people live beyond their means. I'm just trying to avoid that.

[mod cut: in response to deleted post]

Last edited by uptown_urbanist; 05-16-2010 at 08:33 PM..
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:36 PM
 
10,624 posts, read 26,739,553 times
Reputation: 6776
Let's stick to the original topic, please.

Last edited by uptown_urbanist; 05-16-2010 at 08:44 PM..
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:48 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,455,391 times
Reputation: 7586
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnG72 View Post
The job pays 120K and my boyfriend makes 10K less, but he has no loans.

You have a combined income of $230K and you are sweating if you can afford a $110K loan and $1600 a month apartment?

Am I missing something?
Maybe he minored in drama in college.

With that kind of income under one roof, they'll be fine unless someone has a coke habit.
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