Can i practically afford this?

[Regards]

So i'm looking to move out to an apartment located closer to the city (where i work). I would say before taxes i make approximately $2400. My monthly debts include $110 phone bill $300 food $100 gas. The apartment i'm looking at is $645 a month with water, sewage, gas, and trash included. The water heater and furnace are all gas powered. Please leave thoughts and input. Also, this is a 1 bedroom apartment.

[bjcheung77]

So i'm looking to move out to an apartment located closer to the city (where i work). I would say before taxes i make approximately $2400. My monthly debts include $110 phone bill $300 food $100 gas. The apartment i'm looking at is $645 a month with water, sewage, gas, and trash included. The water heater and furnace are all gas powered. Please leave thoughts and input. Also, this is a 1 bedroom apartment.

I don't see an issue, is the place more or less expensive than what you're paying for rent now? It should be do-able!
Basically, it's $2400 - ($110+$300+100+$645), so you have over a grand ($1245) left to save up for school each month...
Use that money wisely and save up for whatever else you need, you go do it if you think it's better for you...

[Regards]

Thank you for your input, bjcheung77. I guess i should add in utilities like electric also, i currently don't pay rent, but i have like (5) $1.3k classes left to complete before this year is over. Oh and i have a $40 gym membership i forgot also :willynilly:

[dfrecore]

Wow, I remember when my life was this simple!

I would say that you seriously need to look at your take-home pay rather than your gross pay. Your pretax amount is irrelevant.

Also, you shouldn't call monthly bills "debts" because debt is entirely different (student loans, credit cards, car payment, mortgage, etc.). Monthly bills are just monthly expenses that you can't ever really pay off and get rid of that payment.

You should also look to see if you can get a better phone plan, $110/mo for 1 person sounds crazy high to me. We don't pay double that for 4 people and 15G of data each month.

You also didn't say if you have anything in savings. You have to have some money, because you'll probably need to pay first and/or last months rent, a deposit, and you may need some money for moving. That's also not counting anything else you may need to pay for like oil changes, new brake pads, new tires, any type of mechanical problem your car may have at some point. New shoes or clothing you may need. Spending money to go out once in a while.

You also didn't say how you're paying for the $6500(?) remaining for your degree. $1300 per class is a lot of money for someone in your financial position. Yikes, that would be painful to pay.

Anyway, just some other things to think about. People regularly underestimate their budgets. There are always more things to think about than just the regular monthly bills that come up, and that's what can hurt the most, is the unexpected things that come up. Or things that you do often, but don't think about much (that daily trip to Starbucks, or going to the movies every week, or whatever kinds of things people do where costs add up).

[Johann]

OK. So right now, you're living rent free. Ask yourself - do you have $645 in your pocket at the end of every month?

If you can live without supporting some landlord - I say, do it, unless there's something intolerable where you live and somehow, I seriously doubt that.
If you did decide to take the apartment, there would likely have to be some major budget readjustments. If your circumstances are reasonably comfortable now, aside from the longer commute, there are benefits to staying where you are.

I know a guy who lived at home till he was 38. He moved out and with his savings, bought a house - cash, no mortgage, for about $180,000. That was 12 years ago; it's probably worth $450,000 or more today. A year after he bought the house, he got married, as planned. He still lives in that house - with his wife and two boys. It's half-a-dozen blocks from his parents' place. He wanted it that way, so he could be around to help them when necessary. They're doing fine, in their 70s now.

If you had no educational obligations, you might be able to swing the apartment - but I think $6500 due and payable within a year takes it out of the running for a bit. Whatever you decide, your budget needs a complete examination. As dfrecore pointed out, $110 for a phone is out-of whack. I was paying close to $50 for my land-line and $12 all-in for a pay-as-you-go cell-phone. Now I'm $50 a month richer. That's $600 a year. And little things - 2 small coffees a day at $1.50 per, is over $1,000 a year. They all add up. And you itemized some car expenses - but what about insurance, etc.?

I suggest - get out your pencil & paper, or a spreadsheet if you prefer. Do a complete job. The math will tell you what to do. If you decide to delay - there will be another apartment next year or whenever. It's not the last one.

J.

[cookderosa]

So i'm looking to move out to an apartment located closer to the city (where i work). I would say before taxes i make approximately $2400. My monthly debts include $110 phone bill $300 food $100 gas. The apartment i'm looking at is $645 a month with water, sewage, gas, and trash included. The water heater and furnace are all gas powered. Please leave thoughts and input. Also, this is a 1 bedroom apartment.

2400 gross
1700 take home (I'm estimating)

-300 food
-100 gas
-110 phone

You'll need to also allocate money for bills that come once or twice per year:

-car insurance (example: 600 per year would mean you'd need to set aside $50 per month)
-car registration / tags


You didn't say, but you'll need to also calculate any costs you have for
-medical, dental, vision care / deductibles / insurance premiums

My suggestion is that you consider a roommate for the first year living independently. (I just went through this with my oldest son). It gives you a little extra cushion for costs until you're more experienced budgeting.

While it looks like you have a lot of "extra" I promise that you only have extra when you're not saving for your next car, not saving for car repairs, not ever going out on a date, not ever going on a trip, not ever saving for a 401k etc.

[rebel100]

Not really just $645/month.

Electric: $100/month?
Internet: $50/month
Gonna have cable TV? $75/month

You'll probably be adding closer to $1000 a month than $645.

[sanantone]

Avoid cable and get something like Sling TV or another TV streaming service. They're a lot cheaper, and you don't have to pay for 1,000 junk channels you don't watch. The cost should be $20-40 per month. You can save money on phone bills with companies such as MetroPCS, Cricket, and Straight Talk. They should cost $35-50 per month depending on how much data you want. I don't know about the others, but Cricket is owned by AT&T and uses the same network.

[dfrecore]

2400 gross
1700 take home (I'm estimating)

With that income, I'm guessing you're making maybe $1900 after taxes, but that doesn't say if you're paying for medical insurance (which could be a LOT), or state taxes. That's why you really need to say what your after-tax (net) paycheck is.

[dfrecore]

Avoid cable and get something like Sling TV or another TV streaming service. They're a lot cheaper, and you don't have to pay for 1,000 junk channels you don't watch. The cost should be $20-40 per month. You can save money on phone bills with companies such as MetroPCS, Cricket, and Straight Talk. They should cost $35-50 per month depending on how much data you want. I don't know about the others, but Cricket is owned by AT&T and uses the same network.

My kids used Ting (wholesale AT&T or Sprint) and had limited data, but only paid $16/mo. They did get into the habit of not using data when they were out, and only use it on WiFi at home.