To those with apartments, some help

[shikhan]

Hey guys,
I'm going to be moving into a two person apartment next year and was wondering if i could get some advice as to what I should expect utilties (Just water and electricity) should cost and what I should figure in for a food budget. I'm going to eat in most of the time too. The place i'm moving into is about 700 sq feet. Heating is provided through floorboard heating (or its called something like that). There is an air conditioner in the living room but I don't think we'll use that too much. We're in champaign-urbana, IL.


Any rough estamites? Thanks!

 

[Night201]

I live in northeast NJ and I pay for electric & gas. My bill is usually about 30/month. Though, now that my a/c is on more, it is a little higher. I think I paid about $45 this last month.

I budget about $200 for food a month.

 

[TranceNation]

$60-$90 in AZ with air conditioning always turned on

 

[amnesiac]

As can be expected it will depend on the cost of living in your town..

Here in LA:
Water - paid
Parking - paid
Electric - $50-60
Gas - $5

For food budget, it depends on what you eat and how you shop, really.
I always buy higher quality items, and I use a lot of less common ingredients in my cooking. I spend about $200 or more a month on food :Q
To cut down shopping costs, plan a menu. Know exactly how much food you're going to cook and when. That will eliminate wasteage.
Use coupons. The few cents here and there will add up. There's a forum for smart grocery shopping but I can't think of it right now.
If you consume a lot of the same items, try shopping in bulk at a warehouse store. You can save LOTS of money that way.

 

[iamwiz82]

I dont pay water or gas, so i abuse it I do pay electricity, which is around $30 give or take. Phone is $25 now, DSL is $50. Between my girlfriend and i, we spend around $200-$250 on food a month. $200 per person is ton of food. Start using coupons

 

[Jzero]

I live near Philadelphia in a smallish studio apt.
I have 2 computers and 3 monitors.
I pay for electricity. There is no gas, and water is included.
Electric bill has been $60 in the winter and $80 in the summer. For whatever reasons (computers and radiant heat from my neighbors, I guess) I didn't need to use my heater all winter.

For food, I've found that you can eat pretty cheap. Your freezer is your friend. You can keep stuff frozen for months. For instance, I bought 1.5lb of super-duper lean ground beef for like $4. I made 6 burgers. I keep a bunch of rolls in the freezer ($2) and frozen vegetables ($2). I just got 6 meals (a burger and a bunch of veggies and maybe some chips/salad) for $8!
Trader Joes (if you have those near you) sells frozen fish fillets and steaks VERY cheap (1.8lb (3) marlin steaks, $5!).
Make use of leftovers. Don't be afraid to eat the same thing twice in a week.

I also agree with planning a menu and knowing what you need. I probably spend $100/month of food stuffs. I eat in most every weeknight. I'm usually away on weekends, so I don't count that.

 

[EvilYoda]

in Ann Arbor, MI, we pay about 30 for cable, 40 for cable modem, and the power is around 50-60 a month. The utilities are fine, but the housing rates are what's insane around here.

 

[txgixer]

700 sq feet is a tad small for 2 ppl ???

Here, about $1200-1400 rent, $200-300 electric, $10-20 for water

Satellite cable is $50

Broadband is $50-150 depending upon what you want ....

Food budget eating in is $100 per week or $150-200 eating out a bit

 

[MichaelD]

San Antonio TX where it's above 95F, humid, with no breeze. From late May to early Oct. :Q

My one bedroom apt is 710 SF. I pay:

$10-$15 water
No gas anywhere in this city...everything is electric
Electric; winter $50 mo, summer $140-$160 mo. I live on the top floor, so that may contribute to it. My AC unit is one year old. It runs about 16 hours a day.
Phone: $40/mo + long distance
Cable: $46mo for standard service (CNN/Discovery/no HBO) $40 mo for internet (2000/384) I get 1800/384 so I ain't complaining.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Free? Well that's what it is at mine- the University pays for that.

(ok, indirectly I pay for that in the 'room' fee... whatever)

 

[shikhan]

Oh yea, no gas for us either. Which I think is good.

700 sq feet is a tad small for 2 ppl ???

Actually, I thought it was a pretty nice size for a university apartment. I loved the size. And its got a gigantic bathroom (not included in the square fottage as this was taken from web estimates] since its a handicapped room (no, neither me nor my room mate is handycapped]

Cable TV is "free" and this is in central Illinois (champaign-urbana) and first floor so I dont expect heat to be too high.

 

[RossMAN]

Here's an example on how you can save on food.

Recently my wife and I were shopping at Albertson's and had Safeway coupons, Safeway double coupons _AND_ manufacturer coupons with us.

Our total before coupons was $86, total after factoring in the Safeway pricematching coupons, the doubled manufacturer coupons was $64 that's a savings of $22!

Also shop at your local CostCo/Sam's Club, some of the best prices on food out there.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: txgixer
700 sq feet is a tad small for 2 ppl ???

Here, about $1200-1400 rent, $200-300 electric, $10-20 for water

Satellite cable is $50

Broadband is $50-150 depending upon what you want ....

Food budget eating in is $100 per week or $150-200 eating out a bit

How big/what kind of specs (2 bed, 2 bath, et al) is your apartment there, txgixer? Since I'll be settling down in the metroplex in a year, I'm using your bills as a reference. Curious about the rent costs around the North Dallas area, but in a modest apt in a good part of town. You spend $200-300 a month for electricity??

EDIT: taking averages from everyone else's figures here, it looks like I will be paying about $15k per year in living expences ($800/mo rent, electricity, water, cable internet, cable TV, phone, water, auto gas, $150/mo food)... and I have no idea where to start on health care.

 

[txgixer]

Originally posted by: shikhan
Oh yea, no gas for us either. Which I think is good.

700 sq feet is a tad small for 2 ppl ???

Actually, I thought it was a pretty nice size for a university apartment. I loved the size. And its got a gigantic bathroom (not included in the square fottage as this was taken from web estimates] since its a handicapped room (no, neither me nor my room mate is handycapped]

Cable TV is "free" and this is in central Illinois (champaign-urbana) and first floor so I dont expect heat to be too high.

did not read that it was college

i had an off campus apt all my years at college and had 900+

I hate roomies, hope you get along well

 

[shikhan]

Originally posted by: txgixer

Originally posted by: shikhan
Oh yea, no gas for us either. Which I think is good.

700 sq feet is a tad small for 2 ppl ???

Actually, I thought it was a pretty nice size for a university apartment. I loved the size. And its got a gigantic bathroom (not included in the square fottage as this was taken from web estimates] since its a handicapped room (no, neither me nor my room mate is handycapped]

Cable TV is "free" and this is in central Illinois (champaign-urbana) and first floor so I dont expect heat to be too high.

did not read that it was college

i had an off campus apt all my years at college and had 900+

I hate roomies, hope you get along well

Heh, i want to live close to campus as parking on campus is horrible! Thats why i'm taking a bike. The cars there to go shopping/movies and anything off campus. As for roomates, i think i'm going to get along great with my roomate. We're gonna have a ball. And at worst, he can't be any worse than my roomate junior year in high school. Bah!

He's bringing 300 vcd's of anime and a bunch of chinese cookbooks. How can i complain about a roomate like that! :-D

 

[TNTrulez]

More $$ then I want to spend.

 

[txgixer]

It is only money . . . . .

 

[shikhan]

Originally posted by: TNTrulez
More $$ then I want to spend.

Eh, i feel as the reason you get money is to have fun. You save money so you can do the more enjoyable things. Hording money and not doing anything is pointless. (Note this is not to say that saving money is bad. But saving money for the point of saving i think is pointless. Emergancies, long term plans is not saving for saving's sake). Of course, if you would rather put money into something else, that is another issue.

But then again, this is 300 vcds from china, so its not exactly "expensive" :-D