costs of living

[canuckhead]

don't know where this really belongs but i just have a question.

to all those ppl who live on their own (away from parents), how much is the cost of living nowadays anyways? like say ur rent would be around $1000...how much do u spend for the month for paying other bills (electricity, heat, water, gas, car, groceries)? how much do u have left for entertainment? on average, how much do u spend a month? I'm just trying to get some info before i decide to move out...thanks.

[LostInMyThoughts]

HOw much you have left over all depends on how much you make and how much you spend.

 

Rent - $960

Car - $420

Insurance - $100

Cable + Interweb - $100

Food - $250

Cell - $50

Phone - $20

Electricity - $50

Gym - $30

 

Plus a bunch of other minor expenses. It still leaves me with quite a bit left over, but again it depends on how much you make a month vs how much you spend.

[monkey1]

I can live on $1600 a month and that's including some wiggle room to play with. I probably spend around $1000 for rent, bills, groceries and my monthly kickboxing membership.

 

I don't have a car, kids or any expensive hobbies.

[canuckhead]

r these by ur own (like by urself, no roommates or s.o.) or r these already ur half?

[lillady898]

A lot of the costs vary depending on where you live. For instance, in the US the cost of living is wayyyyyy higher in Alaska than, say, Indiana.

[LostInMyThoughts]

r these by ur own (like by urself, no roommates or s.o.) or r these already ur half?

 

This is on my own.

[LostInMyThoughts]

A lot of the costs vary depending on where you live. For instance, in the US the cost of living is wayyyyyy higher in Alaska than, say, Indiana.

 

Not really. Your only costs that fluctuate are rent and energy.

 

Insurance might change depending on the crime, but car payments, cable, food, are all pretty standard.

[shes2smart]

A lot of it is going to depend on what city you're living in. The prices LostInMyThoughts put up seem high to me, but I can't put it in context for the city/area where he lives since he never mentioned that. For his area, it may be low...but what he's paying in rent is a little over $200/mo more than my monthly house payment.

 

There are always ways to economize if you want to live on your own with no roommates -- such as living in an efficiency apartment (i.e. - one room), driving a cheaper/older car, having second-hand/hand-me-down furniture, keeping your thermostat set low in the winter/high in the summer, eating at home/brown-bagging lunch to work instead of restaurants, and so forth.

 

I lived in an efficiency apartment for about 5 years. It was 12'X20' with a tiny kitchen and tiny bathroom. It wasn't in the greatest neighborhood (but I never had any problems), and heat & water were included in the rent.

 

However, it was all mine (no roommates) and living in such a small space really taught me how few material things I really need.

[shes2smart]

Insurance might change depending on the crime, but car payments, cable, food, are all pretty standard.

 

Not necessarily. Those can vary depending on the choices you make.

 

F'rinstance, my car payment (when I had one, I paid it off about a year ago...it's an 02 saturn, which I bought new) was $210.

 

I have a dial-up internet connection that runs me $17/month. I have basic cable which is $50....and sometimes I question if I really "need" to have cable at all.

 

When shopping for homeowners insurance for this house, rates quoted varied from $60/month to $25/month.

 

There are always ways one can be more frugal...I'm fairly thrifty (ok, truthfully, I'm cheap), but even I have my limits. I'll spring for the national brand ketchup because the store brands/generic brands don't taste right.

[ComputerGuy]

I live by myself now on $250 a week and still have a little left over each week - it all depends on how well you can budget.

[Iceman26]

I lived in a 3 bedroom apartment for $2400 a month.

 

360k will you get you a cardboard box where I live. It's pretty bad out here. I am moving at the end of the year.

[RayKay]

All depends on where you are.

 

I live in a nice, large, safe & clean one bedroom apartment in a highrise for $609(CDN)/month including parking. I live downtown so don't have a car as I walk to work, and ride my bike elsewhere. My partner has a truck though we use for longer distances, to go to races and he uses for work when he goes to the office (he works from home 75% of time). I can live right now on about $1000 a month including rent, bills, food costs and racing & gym fees and so forth. However, right now really I am on $1500 a month as I am paying off a loan as well, so that eats up both my paychecks. I also have incidentals for new cycling and running gear every few months (ie shoes, clothing, bikes (but that is a bigger cost so only every few years), new components, etc. I also have a bunny rabbit which adds feeding/care costs (and unexpected ones like the vet, I had to take him in a couple weeks ago which added $215 to my budget this month), so pets cost money too.

 

We are moving in less than two weeks to a house we just bought, where our mortgage payments will only be a bit higher than the rent (though then there are property taxes, water, etc to pay for). The housing market is pretty aggressive here right now (a seller's market) however housing is still in comparison to most places very affordable which is why we were able to do it now. There is no way we would of been able to afford what we bought somewhere in certain parts of BC or Alberta for example, it would be 5x+ more expensive! I am also going back to school in the fall, and will be driving an old car in order to get there (bf's old Sprint) as it is not on a good commuting route, which will add costs for transportation/parking however it is VERY good on gas and insurance is reasonable for it. I will also be having to take on student loans and lines of credit, so my part time working costs definitely won't cover it all, and I will graduate with more debts! However, I am planning to budget to live on $850 a month while in school and when I work in the summers full time (hopefully in a legal firm) I should make a good dent in the debt I accumulate over the next 3-4 years.

[novaseeker]

Location is everything, because housing cost is the single largest item in the budget, typically. There's a huge difference in cost of living between, say, the Washington DC area and, say, Greensboro NC in terms of housing cost. A huge difference, which has a substantial impact on budget and cost of living. I agree that everything else can be rather similar, but when a 1 BR goes for ~900 in one place and ~1900 in another place, it's a substantial difference in terms of cost of living.

[LostInMyThoughts]

Not necessarily. Those can vary depending on the choices you make.

 

My post was regarding to cost of living varying by location. A car payment for a $35k car is going to be the same, regardless of where you live, along with cable, internet, phone, etc.

[shes2smart]

My post was regarding to cost of living varying by location. A car payment for a $35k car is going to be the same, regardless of where you live, along with cable, internet, phone, etc.

 

Gotcha.

 

But with all those things, there generally are cheaper alternatives if you shop around, and if it's more important to you to save some money than have faster internet or a more expensive vehicle or every feature the phone company can sell you on your phone service.

 

F'rinstance, I don't have any of the bells & wistles on my phone service. It runs me $22 a month. If I had call waiting/caller ID/call forwarding and so forth, I could easily add another $10 a month to my phone bill. I'd rather have the $10 in cash in my bank account than give it to the phone company for services I'd use only sporadically at best.

 

That's what I meant by making more frugal choices.

[LostInMyThoughts]

Gotcha.

 

But with all those things, there generally are cheaper alternatives if you shop around, and if it's more important to you to save some money than have faster internet or a more expensive vehicle or every feature the phone company can sell you on your phone service.

 

F'rinstance, I don't have any of the bells & wistles on my phone service. It runs me $22 a month. If I had call waiting/caller ID/call forwarding and so forth, I could easily add another $10 a month to my phone bill. I'd rather have the $10 in cash in my bank account than give it to the phone company for services I'd use only sporadically at best.

 

That's what I meant by making more frugal choices.

 

Oh, most definitely, I agree completely.

[lillady898]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lillady898

A lot of the costs vary depending on where you live. For instance, in the US the cost of living is wayyyyyy higher in Alaska than, say, Indiana.

 

 

Not really. Your only costs that fluctuate are rent and energy.

 

Insurance might change depending on the crime, but car payments, cable, food, are all pretty standard.

 

I was going to transfer to Alaska Fairbanks from Michigan, but the reason I didn't make the move was because of the costs of food, gas, etc. I was able to find cheap housing as a student by living on campus, but everything else was just unbeleivable due to the fact that everything is imported.

[ScaredFawn]

Oh my God I cannot believe how expensive your apartments are... In Quebec we have it GOOD. Im paying 500$canadian a month for a nice, big, 4 and a half with a nice view in a calm neighborhood (god i can never spell that word). Half an hour from Montreal, quebec, canada.