Help me save up and move out!

[huy]

You really need to sit down and figure out your monthly expenses to see if it is even possible for you to live on that income.

Example:

Income after tax = $1800

Expenses:
Rent = $1000
Utilities = $75
Food = $300
Insurance = $50
Gas = $50
Student loan = $200
Alcohol & bars = $75
Entertainment = $50
Misc = $100
Total expenses = $1900

That is just an example, but you can see that if rent and utilities are over $1000 you are not going to have that much money for everything else. You can make some small sacrifices like living with roommates, cooking more often, going out less often, etc. that will put you into a better financial situation.

After that is done, you can figure out how much savings you need to live if you lost your job (4-12 months depending on how much of a cushion you want).

The more frugal you are, the quicker you can leave your parent's house.

 

[CYstyle]

I'm with Lord Barrington. You are fortunate to have parents that will let you live with them rent free, take advantage. There's nothing fun about paying rent. If you are a car enthusiast, I'd suggest leasing a car for now. Since you only live 15 miles from work, you won't go over your miles. I leased a camry for $235/month 0 down. That way you just have a regular car to get you places, and you'll have some money saved up. You can upgrade to a nice car if you want/can afford it when the lease deal is up.

You can still go out to bars w/e and if you want to hook up with someone go to their place. Besides sacrifice now, save money, work hard and then party later. 10-12k/year if you invest and get a 4-7+% return on your money. In 4 years you'll have saved more than45k.

the other thing too is you will probably work harder working from home. use that I don't want to live at home drive to keep you working at work, less distractions from roomates, roomate drama etc. I had a roomate that would talk to me every time I saw her, and it would be like 3 hour talks, and she'd forget she told me this 3 hour story everyday since she moved in..

 

[BlacKidLA]

You really need to sit down and figure out your monthly expenses to see if it is even possible for you to live on that income.
Example:
Income after tax = $1800
Expenses:
Rent = $1000
Utilities = $75
Food = $300
Insurance = $50
Gas = $50
Student loan = $200
Alcohol & bars = $75
Entertainment = $50
Misc = $100
Total expenses = $1900
That is just an example, but you can see that if rent and utilities are over $1000 you are not going to have that much money for everything else. You can make some small sacrifices like living with roommates, cooking more often, going out less often, etc. that will put you into a better financial situation.
After that is done, you can figure out how much savings you need to live if you lost your job (4-12 months depending on how much of a cushion you want).
The more frugal you are, the quicker you can leave your parent's house.

Actually I put a little something together for living at home and away. Tell me what you guys think:

At Home:

($1950)

Savings - $800
Car - $400*
Gas - $150
Misc. - $100
Entertainment/Going out - $200
$300 Left over (To be split to Savings or whatever else)


Moved Out

($1950)

Rent+Utilities - $1000
Food - $300
Gas - $150
Entertainment/Going Out - $300
Misc. - $100
$100 Left over




* I plan on purchasing the car, this would be my monthly payment. I'll keep the car until I'm promoted and ready to upgrade. The reason why the payment is so high is because I would want to pay off the entire car before I move out so that I have one less bill to pay.

I figured I would save up around $23,000 before I moved out. Why so much? Here's why:

$2000 Furniture
$3000 New Wardrobe
$1500 Rent Deposit
$2000 Car Deposit (From first couple of months of working)
$14,500 still in my Savings Account

If I ever go over (which I shouldn't) in my expense while moved out, I can dip into this $14.5k. That should be enough dip in money to last me another 2-3 years before I get promoted right?

What do you guys think? Am I missing anything?

Thanks again in advance!

 

[Lord-Barrington]



Actually I put a little something together for living at home and away. Tell me what you guys think:

At Home:

                                                   ($1950)

Savings -                                         $800
Car -                                               $400*
Gas -                                              $150
Misc. -                                            $100
Entertainment/Going out -                 $200
                                                      $300 Left over (To be split to Savings or whatever else)


Moved Out

                                                  ($1950)

Rent+Utilities -                              $1000
Food -                                          $300
Gas -                                           $150
Entertainment/Going Out -             $300
Misc. -                                         $100
                                                   $100 Left over




* I plan on purchasing the car, this would be my monthly payment. I'll keep the car until I'm promoted and ready to upgrade. The reason why the payment is so high is because I would want to pay off the entire car before I move out so that I have one less bill to pay.

I figured I would save up around $23,000 before I moved out. Why so much? Here's why:

$2000 Furniture
$3000 New Wardrobe
$1500 Rent Deposit
$2000 Car Deposit (From first couple of months of working)
$14,500 still in my Savings Account

If I ever go over (which I shouldn't) in my expense while moved out, I can dip into this $14.5k. That should be enough dip in money to last me another 2-3 years before I get promoted right?

What do you guys think? Am I missing anything?

Thanks again in advance!

Your plan looks a hell of a lot more sound than the "moving out right now" plan, which looks terrible. And keep in mind that Harvey_Birdman and that other guy are dinosaurs who don't know what the hell they're talking about.

 

[thenanyu]



Your plan looks a hell of a lot more sound than the "moving out right now" plan, which looks terrible. And keep in mind that Harvey_Birdman and that other guy are dinosaurs who don't know what the hell they're talking about.

+1

 

[Harold falcon]

Yes, I'm a dinosaur. In particular, a Sexual Tyrannosaur who got laid between the ages of 21-25. Ignore everything I write and enjoy your celibacy.

 

[BlacKidLA]

Your plan looks a hell of a lot more sound than the "moving out right now" plan, which looks terrible. And keep in mind that Harvey_Birdman and that other guy are dinosaurs who don't know what the hell they're talking about.

Sweet, thanks. It'd be great to move out immediately but I think the biggest thing keeping me from doing that is that I need a new car and even if I didn't need a car I'd still be living paycheck to paycheck.

I've never been financially sound so having that extra $14.5k behind me would be great.

 

[BlacKidLA]

Yes, I'm a dinosaur. In particular, a Sexual Tyrannosaur who got laid between the ages of 21-25. Ignore everything I write and enjoy your celibacy.

I want to get laid too. :'(

 

[gettoasty]

You're not ready to live out on your own if you have to ask for such advice IMO.

Live at home, save up money, BUY your own place (why the hell would you want to rent??), and then settle down.

If you got too much pride for all this, don't think you'll survive long.

 

[thenanyu]



Yes, I'm a dinosaur. In particular, a Sexual Tyrannosaur who got laid between the ages of 21-25. Ignore everything I write and enjoy your celibacy.

********* is soooooo big

 

[gort]

$300 a month on going out in LA, is that feasible? One thing to keep in mind is that it is very hard to plan and stay within budget if you do go out regularly. A few more rounds of drinks sounds like a good idea in the heat of the moment, but the next morning a $150 bar tab just zapped 50% of your going out budget within the first Friday of the month.

 

[BlacKidLA]

$300 a month on going out in LA, is that feasible? One thing to keep in mind is that it is very hard to plan and stay within budget if you do go out regularly. A few more rounds of drinks sounds like a good idea in the heat of the moment, but the next morning a $150 bar tab just zapped 50% of your going out budget within the first Friday of the month.

This is so true and I'm quite the party-man. I'll have to instill some self-control.

 

[Lord-Barrington]



Sweet, thanks. It'd be great to move out immediately but I think the biggest thing keeping me from doing that is that I need a new car and even if I didn't need a car I'd still be living paycheck to paycheck.

I've never been financially sound so having that extra $14.5k behind me would be great.

I don't know what your relationship is with your parents is like but I suggest you use the time at home to build up a better/closer relationship with them. The time I spent at home after college was really great in that regard and it also allowed me to spend a lot of quality time with my younger siblings.

Boomers all moved out when they were 18 and will rub your face in how much "freedom" it afforded them but the reality is that tons of people from this generation never built meaningful relationships with their parents or siblings because they literally spent less than a year of their adult life at home. This has led to a generation of children who don't have any contact with their parents beyond an annual Thanksgiving Day visit and an awkward phone call here and there.

A meaningful relationship with your family is one of the most rewarding relationships you can build so I strongly suggest you use this time to do that.

 

[Lord-Barrington]



Yes, I'm a dinosaur. In particular, a Sexual Tyrannosaur who got laid between the ages of 21-25. Ignore everything I write and enjoy your celibacy.

You only got laid between the ages of 21 and 25? Hope you made the most of that brief window.

 

[Harold falcon]



You only got laid between the ages of 21 and 25? Hope you made the most of that brief window.

Where did I write only?