I think moving to NC is a smart move. The cost of living is much lower and with all the college towns there are many more opportunities for shared, reasonable cost, housing. Check into how long you have to be there to get in-state tuition and start heading back to school when you can. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:$400 a month for a car, insurance and gas is too much?

With gas and insurance included, I don't think it's too much.

Anonymous wrote:Are all your health care costs covered by your employer?

I understand your not budgeting savings/retirement yet, but you need to start sometime.

I don't know how anyone eats on $150 a month.

Ask your parents to keep you on their insurance plan. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, you can be covered until age 26. You can handle the co-pays yourself.

$400 a month for a car, insurance and gas is too much?

Your car payment is too much for your income. Get rid of your car.

Thank You

I'm moving officially to NC and transferring my job. To answer a few questions, I had a 2000 toyota and it kept breaking down and I ended up putting almost 5k into it in 14 months. Sold that an bought a newer Toyota because it still wouldn't work right. No more getting stranded or overheating issues! I do spend about $130-150 month on food because I eat cheaply. I buy fruits on sale or buy frozen fruits, farmers markets, I don't drink or smoke. My sister constantly gets me personal care items and tons of clothing for Holidays and my birthday. It ends up turning my closet into a mini stockpile of shampoo, soaps, and other stuff I use. She also gives me almost new clothing that she would have donated. Usually I browse the mall, go to parks or do free activities.

In my budget it looks like I'll have about $1300 left for utilities and rent. If I rent the place at $800 I'll have about $500 left for everything else. I've also got an emergency fund for just in case moments. Enough to pay for my *now* expenses for 8 months.

You don't need a roommate. You need to rent a room from someone or have a group shared arrangement.

Anonymous wrote:You're 20, stop thinking about the nickels and dimes. Right now your most important asset is your youth. Invest in your future self. Being a retail manager isn't going to cut it. Go and join a startup and develop some real skills you won't learn in school. That type of investment will pay off handsomely.

Such as? How do you go about doing this?

Anonymous wrote:20 years old and just a few weeks until I finish college. Have a Manager position at a retail store that pays more than what I can find with my degree (At this moment and I'm always looking). Its a two year basic associates degree. Work full time. Where and how can I cut expenses when I move out on my own. Zero college debt since I worked and paid it off. Went to community college. Staying at home is not an option once I graduate. My sister is willing to let me stay for up to 6 months for "really cheap" in NC. Here's my question- Should I move to NC and transfer stores while making the same thing? Allowing me to hopefully save up some money to go back to school?


Expenses
$130-150 month on groceries/eating out. Lots of sandwiches and soups, waters, juice, salads, etc.
$400 Car with insurance and gas
$25 Personal care items
$30-60 average month on clothing,school supplies + pet cat
$60 phone


I will be looking for a room mate to share a one bedroom. Still what I'm seeing is $1200-1500 for a studio to 1 bedroom. Plus utilities. Or move and get my own one bedroom for $800-850 month while making the same thing. I'm visiting right now and we are going to look at places.

Did i forget anything to add to my expense sheet. My sister plans on giving me a sofa, tv, bed,dressers, desk, lamps and small kitchen stuff that she wants to upgrade. Every time we run the numbers it seems very very do-able if I move.

Make sure to not waste any money on women.

You're 20, stop thinking about the nickels and dimes. Right now your most important asset is your youth. Invest in your future self. Being a retail manager isn't going to cut it. Go and join a startup and develop some real skills you won't learn in school. That type of investment will pay off handsomely.

At $25K per year, that gives you just under $2100 per month. So say $2050/month take home.

Let's discuss what you've already detailed:
First, you really don't want to spend more than half of that on lodging, so you definitely cannot afford to live alone. As others have suggested, I would look to rent a room in a house. There are many homeowners who are trying to make ends meet by renting out a room in their house. You should be able to find a room in a house for under $800.

Second $130-150/day is very tight. That's $4.50-5.00 per day for 3 meals. Yes, it is doable if you make all of your meals at home on the cheap, but it is very tight. I would play to spend about $180-200 per month on food which gives you a lot more leeway to adjust.

If you aren't tied into your phone plan, you might want to look for one of the discount phone services. If you bring your own phone, you can find plans for closer to $30/month (see Republic Wireless, Virgin Mobile, Cricket and other low cost providers).

Now, a couple of things that you didn't budget for:
Utilities - unless you are renting a place with utilities built in, you will need to pay at least your part of electricity, gas (if your unit has gas), water/sewage. What are you planning on doing for Internet service from home? Will you forgo Internet at home? If not, you will either need to increase data on your cell or get some Internet service at home. Going without is an option, but you have to plan around that.

Emergency fund - you should plan to set aside some money to build up an emergency fund. This is a little money set aside for any unplanned emergency. This ranges from service on your car to emergency medical needs for you or your cat to parking tickets to replacing your cell phone if you drop it in water. I would try to set aside at least $25/month if you can to an emergency fund. It doesn't sound like much, but it will be $300 for the first year and will build from there.

I would rent a room in a group house if you stay in DC. It will be less expensive.

Go back to school? for what?

It's hard to say, if you say, to get a major in Art... no. If you say to major in Computer Science/Engineering... yes.

What do you want to be when you grown up? (I am 50 and I don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet... so it is okay to say, i don't know )

I'd rent a room in someone's house to save on rent.

Break it down even further. Have you ever done a 7- or 14- or 30- day track every penny you spend exercise? It can be enlightening. Is that budget you listed for when you're living with your sister? What about internet costs, or other utilities? What about any clothing or other requirements for your job or just because. What about an emergency fund (even $20/paycheck) since at some point you'll need car repair or your phone will break$20/paycheck, get in the habit of contributing to an IRA or other type of retirement account.

Yes, it's a hard place to be. I made less than that, net, when I first graduated. You find a group house with half a dozen people, and if need be you put your head down and work two jobs. Good luck. Welcome to adulthood - it can be great, but it also sucks.