financial spectrum after graduation?
 

i was just curious about tips on what to expect my money will be spent on after college... i just graduated and am currently looking for a job.

during college i lived off about $1200 a month, or $14,400 a year. this does not include car insurance or health plans, but it does cover rent, food, gas, entertainment, and all bills (college tuition not included).

when i graduate i will be taking over my own insurances obviously, and i am lucky enough to be able to leave school debt free (much thanks to my parents and grandparents) what other new expenses should i anticipate? i will definately want a slightly nicer place to live, but really i'm a 24 year old single guy and i don't need much.

anyway, i always hear "it costs more than you think it does" but i'm looking for a little more description, thanks!

Don't downplay insurance; if your new job doesn't offer health insurance, you could end up paying several hundred a month for even a high-deductible plan, which comes to several K a year. Car insurance will go up, too, if you were on your parents' plan but are no longer, and aren't getting a good student discount, either. You don't get a break on car insurance until you're 30. And if you move to a cool urban neighborhood -- well, your insurance could be even more expensive, because insurance companies figure charges by age, record, _and_ place of residence.

If you're in a regular corporate-type job, you'll probably spend more money on clothes, haircare, and such. If you want a gym membership, you'll pay for that, too. Entertainment gets more expensive, too, when you don't have the student card.

One thing I've always found: people either have too much time but no money, or too much money but no time. As your life gets busier, you'll find yourself paying people to do things you used to do for yourself -- because you have the money, but no longer the time. That's one of the main ways that expenses can creep up on you.

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
--------------------------------------------
Total Expenses I have to pay
$22,249.06
--------------------------------------------

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

----------------------------------------------
Expenses I decided to make
$6,119.07
----------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous Expenses
$1,198.04

---------------------------------------------
For a grand total of:
$29,766.17
---------------------------------------------

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.

I think the biggest expense is what you see taken out of each paycheck. As a fulltime student you probably got back pretty much everthing you paid in. As a single person you won't see much of what they withhold from each check again.
If you can start out with modest housing and vehicle expense you will be way ahead of the game. Housing should be your largest expense with auto costs a distant second. Getting these two reversed usually gets you in trouble. When you buy your first house you have an appreciating asset. A vehicle is almost always a depreciating asset. If you can avoid car notes completely you will be off to a great start. Actually a house may be your only appreciating asset.

I finally had time to audit my finances this for this past year. I knew I had spent a little more this past year, but I didn't quite know where it went. I did make a little more than last year, and bought some stuff that I won't need to buy next year. I'm expecting next year to spend about $10k less, although I have spent more than $400 on gifts in the first 2 weeks of this 3rd year. For the most part, I just have run out of stuff to buy. I doubt the electronics column will get over $300 in the next few years.

*I did spend 3 months away from my apartment last year, so that is partially why fast food is higher. And I did use $30 of natural gas to heat my apartment a little.

Taxes Total
$12,748.28
-Federal $6538.85
-State $1669.77
-City $746.49
-Medicaid $703.83
-Social Security $3,009.45
-School $222.28
-Sales 7%
-Gas $57.61 (est. 20 cents a gallon on 288.0 gallons)

Rent
$7,260.00

Insurance
$1,711.92
-Car $693.00
-Health $855.92
-Renters $163.00

Utilities
$623.46
-Cell $300.00
-Electric $210.41
-Nat Gas $113.05

Food
$2,283.49
-Groceries $1063.75
-Fast Food $1219.74
---------------------------------------------
Total Expenses I Have To Pay
$24,627.15
---------------------------------------------

Gifts
$444.61

Electronics
$3,224.61

Gasoline
$627.96

Auto Maintenance
$802.68

Personal Care
$120.82

Household Supplies
$320.61

Leisure
$300.52

Sporting Goods
$687.92

Books
$55.15

Clothing
$1,152.06

Vacation
$332.23

Medical
$4,309.53

Charity (I volunteer my time mainly)
$160.00

---------------------------------------------
Expenses I Decided To Make
$12,538.70
---------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous Expenses
$120.44

---------------------------------------------
For A Grand Total Of:
$37,286.29
---------------------------------------------

I highly recommend some personal budgeting software. I've been using Quicken for five years and upgraded to Quicken Premier once I started investing. Great for its goal-setting features, too.

<a href="http://quicken.intuit.com/commerce/catalog/product.jhtml?prodId=prod0000000000007992903">Quicken</a>