what's the easiest way to see if I can afford to move out?
what's the easiest way to see if I can afford to move out?
I can easily find things like rent, internet, insurance prices, but how do I find things like grocery prices? I honestly don't even know what an average grocery list might look like, are there resources to help with this? my gf and I are looking into moving out, and assuming a monthly income of ~4400 USD and rent being 500 USD, I think we should be okay, but I need to be 100% that we won't be barely scraping by or anything. thank you everyone
Rent is a pretty good measurement for cost of living for an area, and if you're only paying $500 a month while making $50k a year I don't think you have anything to worry about. Most people spend around a third of their pretax income on rent/mortgage and 10-15% on food. Transportation is going to vary a lot on your needs and what you have, but 20% would be on the high end. If you want to be sure, you could start tracking expenses and start an emergency fund to cover unexpected issues when things are most volatile. Most other things like entertainment can be pretty flexible.
Start buying your own groceries to get a sense of how much that costs while you're still living where you are now. Become self-sufficient for food and eat only what you buy yourself. Explain to everyone else in the household what the experiment is and gain agreement that they won't eat the things you label as yours. Start preparing meals so you have an idea of what you need in various instances. This will include things like spices that you otherwise might not have in mind. This will also help you budget travel expenses if you don't drive.
Is $500/month a typical rate in your area? That is unheard of around me, but I think you're in decent shape if so. Make sure you have enough for the security deposit, it's usually one month's rent.
Other recurring expenses to budget for will be utilities (water, sewer, trash, electricity, maybe gas, internet, and phone - you can estimate from whoever pays these where you're staying now), auto fuel/maintenance/insurance unless you use public transport or bike, and food as others have covered (I think your idea of practicing grocery shopping and cooking is a good start).
Beyond that, have realistic expectations for more variable expenses like clothes, home goods, entertainment, eating out, etc. Be mindful, but don't be afraid to treat yourselves every now and then if you can afford to.
It's also wise to save up an emergency fund that can cover you both for six months. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but think of it more as a goal you can keep contributing to with the money you have leftover each month.
Moving can be expensive, especially the first time when you don't have many of the essentials. Keep an eye out in thrift stores and online marketplaces for things like cookware, dishes, vacuums, and furniture. These are often much cheaper second hand, and you can upgrade down the road when you know you're financially comfortable. Good luck!
no, I'm looking at places about an hour away to get the rent that cheap. here its 1k minimum
most of the essentials were getting from our grandmas lol
The other side of that coin is the cost of commuting to work, assuming you live where you work presently.
You'll have to consider gas and/or public transportation if you're commuting 2 hours daily for work or school. That doubles if your girlfriend will be commuting separately. Insurance may also increase if they consider your communiting distance, but definitely for annual mileage.
On top of commuting, have you considered your utilities such as gas, electricity, and internet?
That $500/month, is it for an apartment to yourselves or a room in a rooming house? If it's a rooming house, there are other costs to consider like stolen food, cleaning and hygiene products. Lost time due to roommates not cleaning up after themselves. Other problems like the other people being psychotic.
If it's for an apartment you'll have to yourselves, just consider why it's only $500/month over and above it being an hour away. Is there heavy crime in the area? Is there high joblessness in the area? Is it falling apart and/or moldy? Are there multiple apartments in the same town as low as that or is this a one-off, which makes it even more suspect.
Generally speaking, if possible you want to keep your housing expenses under 33% of your net income. So even $1k/mo you're under that. 66% of your net income not going to housing expenses means you should be able to spend decently on food, wants, other needs, and savings.
Take time to consider all that and look for free financial literacy education. Being financially literate goes a hell of a long way to not putting yourself in the shit.
Weird pitch, would you guys be able to cook your own meals or eat out for a week?
As in, don't use anything you didn't buy yourself for a week just to get an idea. Obviously that is not going to help you save up for your place, but the research might be worth it.
Also if you still live at home use this time to consider what you use to cook (pots, pans, utensils, etc)
I had no idea what food costs were until I moved out, I learned the hard way that I had to learn to cook or my budget would be forever broken, but grocery costs and budgeting are a whole other skill so it isn't automatic that shopping and cooking will be cheaper if you don't shop carefully.
Good luck, the very fact that you are thinking about this ahead of time is a good sign!
I might be able to try that, thanks for the idea. I need to learn to cool anyways. not that I'm bed I just do it sooooo rarely
I'm learning to budget now, its much easier with a stable paycheck, but the money still flows so easily
Oh yeah, it is way easier to spend than to earn! Cooking was a challenge for me, but after a handful of somewhat embarrassing failures my partner and I each have a decent list of things we can cook. We also have random "fend for yourself" nights where we eat leftovers, sandwiches, or whatever we can find. It definitely helps when you need to cut out some stress. Granted those are rarely healthy meals. I always keep at least one horrible (health wise) frozen item around just in case!
You're definitely doing the right thing by asking these questions first!
If you're not comfortable cooking by yourselves yet, I'd suggest focusing on that before moving out. The alternative is to eat out a lot, which is bad for your body and wallet. Once you do cook regularly, you'll have a good sense of how much groceries cost for you.
Grocery costs are highly variable depending on your tastes and cooking skills.
Simple vegetarian meals cooked entirely from scratch might run $3/person/day. If you’re only buying prepared foods and shop at Whole Foods could easily spend $30/person/day.
Don’t either of you ever help with family grocery shopping?
in the olden days it was 1/3rd your income but that rule does not work in todays housing prices.
The classic advice, which is still good today, says to spend no more than 1/3 of pretax income on housing.
The poor often spend a lot more than 1/3 on food, and the rich never do.
I thought housing was supposed to be 30%
for us it would actually be close to 20%
holy crap 20%. I actually do a third and consider myself to have a nice housing deal for my area.
- Track what you eat over a week.
- Go pretend grocery shopping for those items and add up the costs.
- If you want to save money, learn to cook and buy staples (rice, pasta, pinto beans) in bulk. Just ensure you have insect-proof containers for them.