Moving out?
I am moving out from my parents house to a one bedroom apartment in Southern California. I was trying to make a budget and see what my expenses were going to be. I’m sure that there are little things that I will forget to budget for due to not having experience of paying for these things. My rent, school and fuel expense are not included in this budget because they are already paid for. My current list includes:
1. Utilities ( Electric, gas, water, trash) $100 per month
2. Groceries $400 per month (two adults)
3. Cable ( Internet & TV) $ 60
I’m sure I didn’t account for some expenses or didn’t estimate properly so please feel free to make corrections or suggestions. Also I would like to create an organized way of keeping track of all my expenses i.e spreadsheet. If you have a good system or tool that helps you keep you organized that would be helpful.
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9 Answers
I have an Apple Numbers spreadsheet I could share if anyone is interested. It’s for my freelance work, but it could easily be adapted for home use. http://chachingapp.com is also pretty good.
I would add personal hygiene expenses. Toothpaste; shampoo; deodorant. etc. I don’t lump these expenses in with my food. I also like to budget for a little entertainment like movies (for me its buying books) dinner out or cocktail hour. This is under descretionary spending but it’s nice to allow for it. Also add for telephone. Insurance. Auto repairs & maintenance. Do you need furniture & household items? Dishes towels?? Do you have pets??
Microsoft has free templates on their website with several good sample budgets.
Don’t forget about laundry.. That adds up fast.
And your cable/Internet looks a little low. We pay about 100$ per month for Digital Cable and Internet from Comcast.
I’m not going to have a house telephone since I have a cell phone and it would be pretty pointless to have a LAN line. I have all the furniture I need right now ( Bed, Couch, Coffee table, dinner table and chairs) I also have all the household items like dishes, pots, pans, flatware, glasses ECT. My health and car insurance are under my parents thankfully. I have a dog that I am budgeting $20 per month and $100 every six months for a total of $440 a year. I need to budget for auto repairs though. I think I will budget for a misc expense for $100 per month that will cover auto repairs and things that could come up at a moments notice.
@JP: Ok I will take both your suggestions into account.
I write everything thing down in a moleskin and review it. It is amazing how much I spend on stupid things. I would write down everything for the first few months and look over it. I find that I often find things like, “I spent 6 fucking dollars for an ice cream cone and a cup of tea.”
I use a moleskin since I always have it with me.
Read Your Money or Your Life.
What johnpowell describes is one of the steps in the book. At the time that I was following it to the letter, I was taking home $1,000/month. Within 3 or 4 months, I had $1,000 in the bank. A year later, I had purchased a car and a motorcycle with cash and still had $1,000 in the bank.
=[
That’s all I have to say.
A 1 bedroom w/ 2 people. Hope its ur gf/bf.
Good luck with your moving out. Still think it is too much for two persons but with three it is okay.
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