Hi everyone, 21F, I am hopefully moving into my first apartment this upcoming week, I do not want to rent for very long. I am terrible with spending money as I have been grasping for straws with places to live, and I have not had a kitchen for a few years now since moving/kicked out of my parents house. I live in a small town, and drive an hour to work and back. Right now I make $17/hr, but I was hired through an hiring agency so once I am signed on to them, they drop me to $15/hr (I will most likely be looking for something closer at that rate). At some point USPS will finish taking forever on my background check and I will be a PTF RCA with is $20/hr. But I only work Saturday, and whatever days the main RCA calls out. I will be buying a RHD Vehicle, which thanks to someone I know, I will be picking one up for $500 and then dropping a new engine in it, which will hopefully not cost more than $2k. I am considering selling my main car and just using the RHD for everything.
My Bills once I’m in the apartment will be:
Rent - $1065
Car Payment - $244
Insurance - $181
I believe I spend around $200 on gas a month.
I hope to be able to move into a house eventually… and my goal is within at most 5 years, which may be an unrealistic goal. I am looking to stay in my small town too. I want to cook as much as I can now that I will finally have a kitchen and a full size fridge! I will also be looking to other subs to budget my food, but I want to know what’s realistic for one person to spend in a month. Thanks for any advice!
@Kaius
Living with my parents is unfortunately not a choice. I was kicked out at 17. I make 2.5 the rent atm, which is recommended, the only other thing I have is a small dog but I do not spend much on her. Her dog food is $30 and I only need to buy every 3 months. I will occasionally buy holiday-themed collars and some chews for her.
I do side work of taking care of two horses, which I was getting paid $250 twice a month for, but they get moved for the winter, and then I will just be mowing their lawn every other week for $70 until it dies and there’s no more leaves to mow up.
The rent covers all utilities besides power, but I have no idea how much I will be paying, to be honest. I work full-time and will work more than that when I finally get my second job. I don’t have many other expenses honestly. I spend a lot in gas meandering on dirt roads.
Maybe I will try out a budgeting app and see where it gets me. I certainly don’t want to be living paycheck to paycheck anymore.
r/Ynab has a free trial over a month and lots of free videos online with helpful hints. Very useful even if you never pay for the YNAB subscription. Many in the subreddit say YNAB has been extremely helpful and ‘life-changing’ and worth the price. Helps to find/allocate dollars and pre-plan inevitable expenses. Gives a free year to students.
Some plans to consider:
There’s a how-to when-to wiki at r/PersonalFinance and it’s helpful reading.
r/TheMoneyGuy has a financial order of operations
r/DaveRamsey has a plan
r/MrMoneyMustache has a savings rate chart and other good information
r/Bogleheads
progression of r/PovertyFiRe r/LeanFiRe r/CoastFiRe r/FiRe also r/EarlyRetirement
One of the best ways to reduce the paycheck-to-paycheck anxiety is to start tracking your free cash flow (inflow - outflow = free cash flow). Essentially, what you’re left with after you’ve paid off everything.
Even if you’re left with say, $10 at the end of the first month you track this, see if you can get to $25 the next month (trust me, you’ll be motivated to beat that $10).
And every time you are left with something, give yourself a pat on the back (most people struggle to achieve free cash flow) and put the money away, like in another account (but don’t open a bank account just for that - you’ll end up paying monthly servicing fees and reduce cash flow further).
At 21, you’re thinking in absolutely the right direction. Keep up the financial awareness! It will serve you well forever.