financial stuff, thinking about moving out, got questions

[Voiceontapex]

im 23 just got a promotion at work and I am now making $18.50 an hr

Id like to move out soon but have no idea how much i can afford

i work 40 hours a week

324$ month car payment
158$ month insurance
70$ month cell bill

whats the most i can spend on an apartment per month and still have enough for utilities and some extra spending money and stuff to still go out and have fun(golf) haha

how much on average are heating, electric, water, internet, cable etc. how much on average do all the utilities and stuff cost per month?

[Pinseeker81]

You should shoot for rent to be no more than 1/4 (roughly) of your take home. You and I make almost the same thing. Somewhere around 600-800 for rent wouldn't be out of line.

I don't know where you live, but my Electric bill was running around $250 in the summer, water was around $35-40. My Cable/Cable Internet runs right at $125 a month. Renters insurance is around $450 a year.

If you can't pay off that car fairly soon (2 years or less) I'd sell it and get something you didn't have a payment on. Big car payments start to hurt when you're trying to eat, lol. Not to mention the interest/depreciation, but that's another topic.

Check out www.daveramsey.com for the best financial advice you're gonna find. Been working his stuff for a couple years now.

[Voiceontapex]

yea my car payments a bit high being my first car and no cosigner, and my car insurance will go down when i turn 25 when i first got my car i had allstate they wanted 350 haha no accidents or NOTHING and they wanted more than my car payment was so i looked around and got esurance haha so i saved a good bit on that one

I live in maryland but im looking to move into pennsylvania sometime its much cheaper

id like to try and get my brother on board and maybe rent a house, cause I play drums and that just wouldnt work out in an apartment lol

so 800 a month tops for an apartment thats pretty good and if i could get some type of roommate that would make it even better

[Pinseeker81]

Roommates can be a good way of cutting the costs. Just keep in mind that if for some reason they don't pay that month you're gonna have to come up with the whole thing.

[Voiceontapex]

yea i think my only room mate at this point would be my brother, i coudlnt imagine putting an ad in the paper like i see sometimes for roommates, that woul just be wierd

[uttexas]

Be sure to invest at least 8% of what you earn. This is a great time to start investing for the long term. Does you company offer a 401K or similar retirement plan? Do they offer matching? If they offer matching, at least maximize that. Be sure to diversify---ie do not put everything in the company stock. If your company does not offer a program, check out Vanguard and open a Roth IRA. Vanguard has extremely low fees.

I made less than you as an intern/resident per hour. I survived on cereal, soup, apples, oranges, peanut butter/bread, OJ, milk, ground beef, and oatmeal. Never impulse buy. Walk into a store with a plan and only buy what you planned to buy. Do not get a shopping cart--this only encourages you to buy stuff you don't need. You are at the age when all your friends will be getting married soon. Buy one or have parents gift you one nice dark blue or black suite that you can use for weddings and any potential interviews.

If your time is flexible (play golf on Tuesdays/Wednesdays twilight) usually best rates. Find out if courses offer cards-play five rounds get one free. Some states and cities have public golf "memberships" In Texas, there are cities that offer $88 for 8 rounds of golf (M-->Th)

[Fraser]

I'd say coming up with an accurate budget is hard as there are always things you spend money on but forget to take into account. Things that aren't an insignificant amount of money that you might not spend on every month; service costs for car, travel, other unexpected costs etc.

I made less than you as an intern/resident per hour. I survived on cereal, soup, apples, oranges, peanut butter/bread, OJ, milk, ground beef, and oatmeal. Never impulse buy. Walk into a store with a plan and only buy what you planned to buy. Do not get a shopping cart--this only encourages you to buy stuff you don't need. You are at the age when all your friends will be getting married soon. Buy one or have parents gift you one nice dark blue or black suite that you can use for weddings and any potential interviews.

What? No advice about washing hands after going to the toilet?

[uttexas]

If you like beer, learn to brew your own beer. You break even after the second batch. The key to homebrewing is keep everything as clean as possible. There are homebrew stores in Hagerstown http://www.crackedcork.com/
and Frederick http://www.flyingbarrel.com/ and of course Baltimore.

People at homebrew stores are very enthusiastic. Just let them know that this is your first batch, and want the basic supplies and easiest method to homebrew (this will be a prepackaged can of liquid malt and powdered baking sugar + large pot to boil water (use large spring water container if local water isn't good---the key to good beer is good water) + yeast culture. You will also need large plastic container to brew the beer, bottles, bottle caps, bottle capper, and siphoning hose. Keep all equipment clean---this is key.

[Voiceontapex]

i do have a 401k and my company matches full 3 percent and half of the 4th and 5th percent so for every 5 percent i put in they match 4 of it

[silentfink]

If I were you, I would try to tough it out as long as I can without paying rent. Yeah, it puts a huge damper on the social life, but if you can save all of that rent money instead of spending it, you'll be FAR better off later on in life. And, whatever you do, don't get into debt. Credit cards are EVIL!!!!!!!!!

[Ben]

yea i think my only room mate at this point would be my brother, i coudlnt imagine putting an ad in the paper like i see sometimes for roommates, that woul just be wierd

I don't know how active your town is in on craigslist, but I found a great spot there with roommates. Give that a try.

But honestly, at 23, I'd still be living at home if I could. Hell, I'm 32, and would still love to be living rent-free. It's kinda a bum move. But not having to pay rent each and every month is extremely comfortable. Rent F'in sucks! You could be doing so much more with your money. !!Do NOT move in with a girlfriend!!

[uttexas]

i do have a 401k and my company matches full 3 percent and half of the 4th and 5th percent so for every 5 percent i put in they match 4 of it

Perfect, strong work. You are ahead of the game.

[Fraser]

Credit cards are EVIL!!!!!!!!!

Only in the hands of the financially irresponsible. The OP has shown so far in this thread (even by just starting it!) that perhaps they are better than that.

I find credit and chargecards to be excellent. I put everything possible on them and it is a good way to see how much I'm spending each month (I get the utilities charged to them as well) plus I earn frequent flyer miles and get to defer payment for almost two months (by buying at the beginning of the 'month' and paying bill on due date). The latter saved me several hundred dollars on one item as I earned interest on the money as it was invested for that time.

But honestly, at 23, I'd still be living at home if I could. Hell, I'm 32, and would still love to be living rent-free. It's kinda a bum move. But not having to pay rent each and every month is extremely comfortable. Rent F'in sucks! You could be doing so much more with your money.

Maybe it is just me or my boarding school upbringing but I was happy to move out of the house as soon as possible. If I was in my late 20s and dating I'd be embarrassed to say I lived with my parents!

[uttexas]

If you do get a credit card, Only get ONE. Get one that rewards you for using it (miles, points, cash) Pay it off on time regularly (you can set it up so that your bank automatically pays the credit card every month).

If you do get ONE credit card, make sure it also has no or minimal annual fee, etc.

[Fraser]

If you do get ONE credit card, make sure it also has no or minimal annual fee, etc.

Or if it does have an annual fee check to see whether there are any benefits that come with it and if they are worth anything to you.

All my credit and chargecards have annual fees but the benefits I get are worth much more to me than the cost of the annual fee. Additionally if you don't think you'll be able to pay off a rewards card (earns cashback, frequent flyer miles etc.) in full every month and on time then don't get one. They have horrible interest rates which kill any financial benefit from owning them dead.

[Chief Broom]

If I were you and considering budgeting $800 a month for rent I take a serious look at buying. A lot of this depends upon where you live and housing costs there but here in the south you can find something modest, but nice, in a good neighborhood for that kind of a house payment. Things to consider before you buy would be how long you think you'll be staying in that city/location. Owning a house doesn't have to be a long term commitment, but the last thing you want to do is take on all of the upfront costs of buying (closing costs, renovations, etc.) and have to turn around in a short amount of time and not be able to recoup those costs because the market is soft (slow to sell) in your area. Still owning can be a very smart move to make since your out of pocket costs can be similar to what you'd pay in rent while at the same time accruing equity in the property.

I used to live in a neighborhood of small "starter" homes that had a lot of medical students from the nearby college living there. One industrius young student had bought a house and had three other student roomates that he was charging rent too. That rent covered his mortgage costs and when he finished school and left for his residency he sold the house for a modest profit. So essentially he lived rent free for 6 years and left town with a little money in the bank (I believe it was about $10K or so). Obviously he had to assume some risk if one or more of his tenent/roomates left unexpectedly, and he had to assume responsibility for the up keep of the house, but he still ended up financially much better off for having gone to this trouble.

[uttexas]

I would only buy if you can afford at least 10% down. Mortgage rates are very low right now. Before considering a buy, also consider property taxes, home owner associations, and maintenance costs (mowing the lawn, changing light bulbs, replacing broken appliances.) It is just not the cost of the house, but the cost of everything that goes with it (airconditioning in the summer and things listed above, etc)

Also, I wouldn't buy unless you think you will be in the same 50 mile radius for the next 10 years (the time it will take for the housing market to recover)

[Voiceontapex]

i dont see myself leaving the area anytime soon, id love to buy but i dont have enough for a down payment

someone said 10% were talking over $10,000

but when your buying a house and spending all that money, does 10,000 really matter?