Possibly moving out...Help?

I don't think saving money before moving is the best idea, in my opinion. Well, I mean, it's not just about that. The biggest deal is whether or not you'll make profits every week or not. You don't want to fill you credit card to its limit...

Make a list of every source of money you'll get, and then everything you'll have to pay for (don't forget food, most important thing). Then, if you're making "profits" every week, you can expect to be able to pay for your car insurance and stuff when you'll have to pay for it. which is good . You won't have to use a credit card, for example.

That's what I did before moving : I made a budget. And it helped much . The key is not to spend all of your money every week :icon_wink . Save some of it everyweek. That way, your bank account won't go from $200 to $10 every week lol.

And... tu parles français ? Je viens de m'apercevoir que tu viens de Montréal...!

 

Ah, household budgets... The necessary evil of living on your own.

Here's an idea of what my budget looks like, based in suburban Detroit, Michigan, U.S.. I have a roommate, so I only pay half of some of this stuff. Bear in mind that I'm not a student, so some of this is not necessary to exist...).

Rent-$550/month (before split, water's included)
Electric-$50-$130/month (varies depending upon season. before split)
Cable/Internet-$110/month (before split)

Car payment-$400/month
Car insurance-$160/month
cell phone-$70/month
Health insurance-$55/month (hooray for being able to buy into my mom's contract!)
Student Loans-$100/month (and I'll be paying on these forever and ever and ever and....)

Groceries-$100-200/month (yes, I buy meat, but not like steaks and expensive stuff)
Gas-$50-150/month (depends on gas prices and how much I drive on the weekend)

Like I said, I'm not a student, so this isn't exactly the thinnest, most pared-down budget, but hopefully it'll at least help. Good luck! Living on your own is totally worth it!

 

Party in the Quebecois thread.

Are you going to be living in Montreal? (Sorry, I can't help at all. My parents spent a fortune on new furniture for me.)

EDIT: I'm really from Alberta. I'm such a poser.

 

Moving out is a big step, but it's certainly not impossible. Here's a list of the stuff that I general find necessary in order of importance. Should be a logical progression:

1. Rent (you're going to have to pay first and last month's rent up front in most places when you first start, and you'll need to make sure you can make payments on or before the day your rent is due every month aka. regular paychecks.)

2. Utilities (electric/heating, water, garbage... now in most places water and garbage will be covered by the rental company itself since it's hard to determine who is using what outdoor faucets and who is making the most garbage, lol. Electric/heating is huge, though, and can vary according to season, especially up north. Look at $50ish range in summer and at least $100 in the winter IF you use the heat regularly)

3. Food (You have a place to live and an atmosphere suitable to live in. Food is always the next on the list. Do you currently buy all your own groceries? If so, you'll know exactly how much you tend to spend a month. The best advice is to shop in bulk for cheaper items at first so that you have a large supply in case funds suddenly get tight. Oh, and try to avoid going out to eat OR drink at first. Everyone tends to spend at least double what they would normally spend on a meal or drinks when they're out on the town)

4. Transportation (Whether it be a car payment, tram fare, or what have you, chances are good that you'll be paying for transportation costs of some sort. I'm sure you're probably already dealing with this though. Oil changes. Gas. Tire Rotation. Etc.)

5. Clothing (You're going to need to both replace clothes and find a way to clean the ones you have. Whether that be a laundromat or purchasing a washer/dryer is up to you, but they both cost money. You can usually find cheap washer/dryer sets in the classified of your local paper, though.)

6. House Supplies (Yep, the easily-forgettable expense few people remember to calculate in. What do I mean here? Dishes. Silverware. Blankets. Bedding. Towels. Vacuum. Shower Curtain. Mats. Perhaps extra furniture. It REALLY adds up quick. The good news is that you can get most of this stuff slowly as you go.)

7. Internet/Cable (Yeah, this one would seem to be a higher priority for most of us online junkies, but you really need to focus on the stuff above first. If you can't cover that, then this won't matter anyway. Expect to pay on time or lose your internet/cable pretty much immediately. Some places have free internet or free cable in their rental package, but BE WARY that their rental price isn't sky-high compared to others simply for this reason. If they have a pool on the premises, this is also a semi-red flag. Just make sure you aren't renting simply for the convenience. You may find that paying your own internet bill is much cheaper in the long run.

8. Emergency/Safety Net (This is the other easily-forgotten budgetting issue. What happens if you break your leg one icy night? Will you be able to afford a visit to the doctor? Will you be forced to not pay some bills to cover this? I find it a good rule of thumb to always have about a thousand dollars available at any one time for an emergency. More is better, but that's the best I can do myself.)

9. Other (What do I mean here? Gifts. General shopping. Other bills and loans.)


Financially, you want to be making at least THREE TIMES your rent each month. If you're renting at a place that requires $600/month and you have a roommate, you want to be making AT LEAST $900/month (300 x 3). It's better if you're making enough to cover BOTH parts of the rent in case your roommate realizes they were idiotic and can't afford it after all. It happens. A lot. And then you're stuck with your lease and things start piling up. The important thing is to be able to know that you can cover yourself for about a month IF things go to pot suddenly.

Also, make sure you hammer out beforehand who pays what and come up with an agreement on it. Written would be best. Who is going to pay for food? Both of you? One? And what happens if the other person eats your food? Who is going to clean what? How are bills/rent going to be divided? Do you both agree to the same luxuries (internet, cable, etc), or do you want different things? It's important to make sure you're compatible roommates before just taking the plunge.

Once you've thought it through and done the math, go for it if it seems reasonable. Don't rely on credit cards to get you started. You already said you're saving up, and that's a great start. Regardless of what someone may have said earlier about not saving up (how does that even make sense!?), even if you make enough to cover everything without saving, it's a great habit to get into. Spending every dime of your paycheck every month will leave you no safety net discussed above. Just make sure that in your budget that savings isn't what you plan to rely on for future payments. Keep it as a safety net only.

Good luck!

 

Asaroth hit a couple things I didn't think of earlier.

As far as furniture and appliances, Craigslist FTW. I can't tell you how many free couches one can find on there. And, if worse comes to worse, a couch can double as a bed.

Hit your local Salvation Army/Goodwill/whatever Second-Hand store exists up there for the dishes and some of that kind of stuff. There's no reason to buy new glasses and stuff when you can buy cheap used ones, wash them, and they're just as good.

Laundry... An item I kind of lump in with my groceries and gas in my slush money... Coin-op laundry, which you'll find in almost any apartment building or a laundromat, will run you anywhere from $1.00-$2.00 per cycle per machine. In my case, I do laundry once per week (Tuesday nights, normally), and I normally have two or three loads (1.25 x 4 = $5.00 per week, not counting soap).

And yes, definitely look for a no-frills type of place. You don't need a swimming pool or tennis courts or a gym at your first place, nor do you need perfectly landscaped grounds, your own "private" entry (as opposed to in a hallway), or your own washer/dryer in unit. Also, pay attention to what school district the place will be. In my area, I pay about $150 less per month in rent than do the people on the other side of the street JUST because I'm in Garden City school district and they're in Livonia school district. I don't have kids, so I don't give a damn what school district I'm in, but people with kids DO.

Like I said before, though, I wish you the best of luck!!

 

haha aaww okay ( ! )

And a Québécois party thread sounds fun!