Here is my total from May 1, 2004-May 1, 2005. I made $46,000 living in Ohio. I posted this on another site back then, and I'm almost ready to put out the May 1, 2005-May 1, 2006 numbers. I'll post them in the next few days to see the differences. The gas one is up $155 from this post. The average price for gas in this post was $1.83. This past year it was $2.30 for reference. A lot of factors come into play. I payed ~$4000 in medical costs this past year for instance. How far I drive to work changed a little. And note that I don't have any credit card debt or student loans (Thanks Dad for paying the 13k in loans). I did pay ~$130 for renter's insurance after 22 months without it in past March, and I'm estimating I spent $37k this last year. This next year, I'm estimating I will spent around $27k. I've run out of stuff to buy except for a house and a BMW.
Hope this is descriptive enough.
*Have to credit Microsoft Money for the help in organizing my finances.
*It is 25 when your car insurance rates go down. Mine dropped from $980/year to $700.
*I am in the not enough time camp, but I want months off at a time, not a few days here and there. Paying people isn't my thing.
*Yes, I don't use air conditioning or heat. Unless I REALLY need to. I haven't been sick since I started working in May 2004.
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For the past year that I have been making money, I have kept track how much it costs me to live by myself and pay my own way. I also have kept track of where my money goes. Every one's numbers will vary, and I have saved some money in some creative ways. However, I didn't expect it to be quite as expensive as it turned out.
And this is for a 24 year old single guy living in Ohio in a 1 bedroom apartment, where the Cost of Living Index isn't very high.
Taxes Total
$10,754.93
-Federal $5,405.05
-State $1,419.00
-City $457.62
-Medicaid $611.35
-Social Security $2,614.06
-School $193.86
-Sales* 7% of purchases(not included here, it is reflected in the prices in the next section)
-Gas $53.99 (est. 20 cents a gallon on 269.9 gallons)
Rent
$7,265.00
Insurance
$1,668.85
-Car $906.00
-Health $762.85
Utilities
$530.97
-Cell $266.00
-Electric $193.45
-Gas $71.52
Food
$2,029.31
-Groceries $1,219.85
-Fast Food $809.46
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Total Expenses I have to pay
$22,249.06
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Gifts
$428.79
Electronics
$3,258.27
Gasoline
$369.63
Auto Maintenance
$893.10
Personal Care
$66.90
Household Supplies
$701.85
Leisure/Books
$160.53
Clothing
$596.74
Vacation
$240.00
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Expenses I decided to make
$6,119.07
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Miscellaneous Expenses
$1,198.04
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For a grand total of:
$29,766.17
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A lot of these numbers will be different next year, but I wish they had shown me something like his in school. I would have studied more. I didn't think it was this expensive to live on you own.