Sometime in the next month, I will be moving for the second time in four months to try to find gainful employment. The first time around was a bust but this time, I already have a job lined up, all I need to do is get there.
The job in question is in Oregon, the Salem area specifically, and will be paying me $1,500 ($10.25 and hour) a month. I’ll be living with a Doper (who will also be my employer) for the first month since I will be coming there with nothing more than two suitcases of clothes and a duffel bag of mementos and obviously cannot afford a place of my own just yet.
After that first month, I should have an apartment and my friend has already told me that her mother pays $500 for a roomy two bedroom apartment in the same city she lives in so I am expecting to pay about that much for my place in a worse case scenario because from what I understand, she has no really great deal, the housing there is just cheap.
After that, I will have a $1,000 a month to pay for my other expenses. My only real neccesities would be cable television and an internet connection (aside from obvious things like food, etc) and I am currently about $2,000 in debt (only $800 of which is really pressing… the others I can pay off at my leisure). I will not need a car immediately because the town is small enough that I can get around by walking.
Will this be enough for me to have a decent lifestyle? Will I have enough money to be able to start saving some money after each check? Will I be able to buy some toys?
This is my first job while living on my own. I really have no idea what the real world is like. I’d appreciate any input.
Shit, yo. I was adding up my rent and stuff within the $1000 and still coming out pretty well. If I had $1000 extra a month, I’d be living the life of Reilly.
Obviously this depends on what things cost where you are. The only advice I could give you would be to avoid getting a car for as long as possible; it eats an astonishing amount of money.
First of all, you’re going to need a deposit to rent an apartment. This is usually the first and last month’s rent. Some landlords do offer an all- or some-utilities-paid deal, but in exchange for not having bills to pay, the rent is higher.
Speaking of bills, pay all of them on time, every month. Late fees and re-connect charges are expensive, and if it happens enough, utility companies can require a deposit.
Open a bank account as soon as you get your first check. This will help you establish a financial relationship that can be beneficial. Ask around for the best service and fees. If possible, join a credit union; some cities have credit unions with fairly broad membership criteria (for example, residents of a particular city/county).
You can find furniture and housewares at thrift stores that are fairly inexpensive. Some apartments also come furnished.
If you decide to get a roommate, get a post-office box for your mail.
First of all, are you going to be bringing home $1,500 a month, or is this amount before taxes and withholding? I haven’t bothered to do the math as I don’t know how many actual hours you’ll be working, but if your total pay is $1,500 a month, you’ll probably only actually bring home about $1,000 to $1,200 after state and federal taxes, medicare withholding, etc. If so, you’ll need to plan accordingly.
Let me try some rough calculations and see if this seems reasonable.
Let’s see, $10.25 an hour, 40 hours a week, 4.3 weeks (or so) per month gives you $1763.00 per month. Slice 15% off the top for taxes (random figure based on some of my experiences, may be totally off), so about $1500. Say you have benefits at work, so let’s take off another $100.00 per month (if there are no benefits, leave this off). Now you’re down to $1400.
Housing prices look relatively inexpensive in Salem. Let’s say that you get a small apartment for $400 per month. You’re down to $1000 per month. To be on the safe side, let’s budget $100 a month for utilities (sometimes more, sometimes less). $900 a month is left.
It certainly seems like a feasible budget, just make sure to be careful and live within your means.
If you save only $15 a week, and do it consistently and never change that rate of investment, a mutual fund (Roth IRA) returning the average rate of return of the market in general will give you close to $160,000 after 30 years. If you’re 25, and you need it at 65, you’ll have close to half a million.
Imagine if you up those investment $ as you earn more in the future. Time is more important than level of investment at your age. Just save something, every week.
The only thing I would add to Lamar’s advice is to pay off your debt before worrying about saving anything, if the debt accrues interest. It’s very unlikely that your return on an investment is going to be greater than the interest you’re accruing on the debt; if that’s the case you’re losing money every time you put it into an investment account instead of paying down your debt. With the debt load you describe and the dollar figures you’ll be pulling in, it shouldn’t take that long to pay it off and then you can start your savings plan.
But to answer the OP, yes, $1000 a month is certainly enough to live on if you’re careful.
I’m living on a little less than that currently, but I also live in small-ish college town, so things are pretty cheap. I live frugally, have been able to save up some money for an emergency, and can still buy a new toy every now and then.
If you’re concerned about overspending, draw up a budget, stick to it. Don’t forget to budget in some money for those necessary “little” items - bathroom stuff, paper towels, things like that. It doesn’t even have to be an accurate number; even a low figure is better than nothing.
If you don’t need a car, don’t get one right away. Insurance and gas (especially with prices now) can really add up. Use that money to pay off your debt instead, or start setting it aside (investment, rainy day, new toy, whatever).
Should be, should be, as long as your rent isn’t too high and you’re careful. I cannot tell you enough the importance of having a budget. We have a 605 square foot one bedroom and budget $50 for power, $40 for water, and $40 for gas (for the apartment) on a monthly basis. Keep in mind that’s an average. Our power swings from $60-70 in summer to $25-30 in winter (but the gas goes up accordingly in winter). I dub them Essentials. They are the first thing we pay for and, when we move to a new place, we stick to them until the budget shakes out.
You may want to consider trying to find a roommate for a few months after you move out of the Doper’s. It’ll let you explore the city some and save up some cash. I don’t know if you have a rental history, but you’ll probably have to pay a deposit to move into an apartment and that’ll vary based on your rental history and credit background. You may have to pay first month’s and last month’s rent, some places make you do that. Also, if you don’t have good credit, you may have to pay a deposit to have some utilities turned on. We had to pay $200 to Georgia Power when we moved into this apartment, which they applied to our bill after a few months. There may be an application fee and/or a reservation fee when you apply to get an apartment.
Basically, moving into a new place is/can be a LOT of money. We spent upwards (deposits, rent, furniture we needed. We only had one chair when we moved in!) of $1000 moving into this one, which was our first apartment on our own. We’re spending less to get into the one we’re moving to in NC, cause we have furniture and a solid rental history and stuff.
And pay your rent on time. Our complex bends over backwards for us cause we’re one of 5 apartments (out of 200 odd) that always pays their rent on time.
Yes, on approx $1500 a month in Salem one can live quite comfortably as long as only moderate pleasure spending is done after paying bills and necessities.
My S.O. was raised in Oregon. He tells me that there is no sales tax there, so that oughta help a bit.
Don’t know if I would say you can live “comfortably” on $1,500 a month, but in my experience people most always find a way to do the things they really want to do.
I’m sure if we took a poll to see how many of us had lived on Ramen noodles, had cardboard and/or cinderblock furniture, and were experts at raiding the couch cushions for loose change, the response would be quite brisk
I wish you the best of luck…enjoy the new adventure!
Let’s see. I make around $800 a month take home. I support me, my boyfriend (food and bills until the bankruptcy is final), my two cats and my dog. Rent is a bit expensive, but Ardred helps with the bills and rent when he can.
We live pretty well. I live in a college town, so rent is much higher here than in less apartment-life demanding places (everyone needs a two bedroom apartment, so the rents can be astronomical… $1200 and no pets? Screw that.)
Together we bring home around $1400 a month, but his car and lawyer payments take up a lot of his available cash. We’ve managed to make our new couch payments (totally paid off now!) and we have about a third of our new computer to pay off.
We eat out on average once every two weeks and try to have a nice date (dinner AND a movie…whoo) once a month. Coupons for food and movie rentals really make our lives easier.
I commute 40 miles one way to work (two jobs), so gas is quite an expense, but my car is really low maintenance, so it evens out, usually.
I’m lucky that I still have some of my college fund left so I have a cushion if things get really tight… but I try not to use it because it’s making me interest in my mutual fund.
It can be done, but you might be better off with a local roommate… he or she will help you acclimate to a new state and new town, as well as taking some of the burden of bills and rent off your back.
I’m so jealous. I can’t wait to get my life together and get moving up to Oregon too.
