Can't sleep = Moving out ?'s

[iamwiz82]

you can definately make it.

 

[Savij]

I make $12
rent is 760/month
power ~70/month
dsl/phone ~70/month
water ~30/month
no cable tv

I'm doing ok with a roommate.

 

[snooker]

yes you can handle it. Do not be afraid to move out into the 'real world' away from mom and dad..........

I will not attempt to add everything up, because whenever you do something like try to make a budget, something will always come up to make you through that budget out the window....


But ya, you make approx $1400 month after taxes. I think you can make it on that by yourself, let alone with a roommate.

Go for it and good luck!

 

[chin311]

sounds like you should be fine...as long as your roomie is reliable like you say...

i say go for it :beer:

 

[zixxer]

All my expensive toys have been purchased. Nice watch, nice car, nice computer, nice camera, etc. etc.

The only thing I want is an LCD monitor and I have a second job actually.. I work at best buy like 3 or 4 hours a week just to keep my discount.. so even if I want more toys their cheap

 

[BunLengthHotDog]

where in ATL are you looking to move, I have been here 5 years and spent 4 of those in various apt complexes. Money wise you should be just fine though

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: se7enty7
I have NO CLUE what utilities average to be or whatever.. That's mainly what I'm trying to figure out

Speaking from experience here, I think it sounds doable. Let's assume that you're making about $1500 after taxes. Utilities will probably run you about $50-60 a month total if you only pay for electricity. Most places at least throw in water and gas.

$1500 to start.

Rent=$367

1/2 Utilities (assuming you pay for electricity only and you're not sucking electricity down constantly with stuff like A/C, etc.)=$25-$35. This will probably be more like $45-$50 if you have to pay for water or gas or both.

Groceries=$200-$250 a month if you shop smart and you keep your stuff separate from the roommate's. If you've got a Food 4 Less near you, go there. You can save mad money on just about everything you might need in the way of groceries. My wife and I shop there all the time because we can get an assload of groceries for less than $200 for two weeks.

1/2 Phone/DSL=$50-$60 possibly.

1/2 Cable?=$20-$25 if you just get the basic package and not all the pay channels, probably.

After all this, you've still got somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 a month to cover car payments, emergencies, etc. You would get raped bigtime if you didn't have a roomie to cover half the bills, however.

Above all, though: Can you trust your roommate to not dick you over? Who's going to have their name on the bills? I suggest that you split these up so that one person doesn't have their name on all the bills. Whoever has their name on a certain bill pays that bill and the other person gives them their share of the bill being paid. I did this with my old roommate, so I had the phone and cable through Cox and he had the electricity. We just gave each other cash for our end of the bills. Rent will obviously be in both your names.

Sorry, I'm rambling a bit but I hope this helps some. Good luck if you decide to do it!


EDIT: Forgot gas money. Depending on how far you have to drive and your car's MPG, I'd set aside at least $50. I drive about 60 miles roundtrip every day in my 2000 Civic and usually spend about $40-$50 a month on gas. However, you'll probably want to have more set aside for road trips, etc.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: cerebusPu
its doable.

just make sure your job is steady for at least the length of the rental contract.

you havev some savings

you know how to budget decently.

And make sure yor roommate wont skip out on you. You would have to be prepared to pay all the rent and utilities until you found another roommate. I guess you could get both names on the lease, but that does not help you one bit when the rent is due.

 

[zixxer]

As far as roommate skipping out: I've known the girl for like 5 years. I know she wouldn't up and leave.. even if she wanted to, we are both going to be on the lease.

I picked an apt complex (off of barrett parkway in kennesaw) that is like 2 minutes from where I work.

I'm not sure about bills yet.. should we get both our names on all the bills, or half and half, or what?

I know phone/dsl is $70. That's it. I don't think any utilities are included.

What is renter's insurance? Do I need it?

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: se7enty7
As far as roommate skipping out: I've known the girl for like 5 years. I know she wouldn't up and leave.. even if she wanted to, we are both going to be on the lease.

I picked an apt complex (off of barrett parkway in kennesaw) that is like 2 minutes from where I work.

I'm not sure about bills yet.. should we get both our names on all the bills, or half and half, or what?

I know phone/dsl is $70. That's it. I don't think any utilities are included.

What is renter's insurance? Do I need it?

Thumbs up on the location. If you can walk to work, that will save you $$$ on gas, plus wear and tear, etc.

I think you can only get one person's name on the bills. As I suggested before, I would definitely consider splitting these up so you don't have one person's name on all bills. My old roommate several years ago and I did this so that I had cable and phone and he had the electricity bill. I called and had phone/cable set up under my name and he called and had the electricity turned on under his name. We just gave each other cash for our end of each bill and each person mailed off the bills he was responsible for with a check drawn on his account.

Renter's insurance is a good idea if you can afford it. It covers you in the event of fire, flood, etc. so anything you lose, you get comped for. Also, it is supposed to cover you in case someone injures themselves in your apartment or anything like that.

EDIT: If water and gas are not included, you're probably looking at another $25-$35 tacked onto your end of the utilities, I'm guessing. I've never lived in a place that didn't at least cover water and gas, though.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

I make $11/hr and work 40 hour weeks. My rent is $670 for the appartment which doesn't cover water, sewer, garbage, and electricity. Those total usually under $100 per month. I bring home $660 per paycheck. Rent, for my half, is $335. Half of those utilities is usually under $50. I bring home $1200 per month and pay out about 25%-30% for rent/bills.

It's not that hard to live on your own.

 

[BatmanNate]

That's definately feasible. When I first moved out I split a place with a couple roomies and was making 7.50 p/t. When I moved into my own place I was making around 12.50 F/T and that was 700/mo plus all bills and everything else and it was still comfortable.

 

[zixxer]

Thanks for positive support... I feel a lot better now

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: se7enty7
Thanks for positive support... I feel a lot better now

Good luck and hope all goes well for you! Having your own place can be scary at first once you realize you're not under Mommy and Daddy's wing, but it's well worth it to have your "own space".