How much should you make an hour/month to live on your own?
 

I'm curious. How much should you be making an hour/month to live on your own possibly comfortably with money still in the bank? I know some friends who live paycheck to paycheck and I don't want to be like that.

Region of country? Hours worked in a week? Average rent? Pre-existing assets, eg: a car? I know people who've done it at 10$ an hour, and i've seen people flop at near 20$ an hour.

East coast philly area, 40 hour week, $400-800 rent, car... damn I don't see myself making $105-205!

Well, first take a look at your bills, or what they would be on your own. Stuff like rent, electricity (some apt.'s include it in the rent), phone, ISP, TV, and so on and so on. Add maybe 30-50$/week for food, depending on how you eat. Whatever's left goes into the bank or entertainment.

If you can find someone you get along well with and is trustworthy, rent a 2 bedroom with them, you'll save quite a bit of money, but if you don't get along well with them, it'll be hell.

Quick rule of thumb : Don't spend any more than 1/2 of what you earn in a month on rent.

10.25 was the living wage. Now it's up to 10.75

Where I live, it's around triple that. We've got about two more months before we can't afford mortgages and utilities anymore.

good rule of thumb from Bruce Williams (radio money guy):

your monthly rent/mortgage payment shouldn't be more money than you make in a week. they probably live paycheck to paycheck because they bought too much shit.

I work 40+ hours a week on a night shift, so after differentials and all it's about the equivalent of almost $12/hr. Not quite 12. Utilities and rent = $450-475 (higher in the winter), and I live pretty tight otherwise, shitty old cars, liability only, cell phone those are about my only monthly bills, then there's school, that's making me POOR as hell right now, before I started school I was putting a little bit of money in the bank, but not as much as I'd like. To live like I'd want to (have money in the bank, be able to repair my cars as soon as they break, not have to save for months to do anything to them, and have $300-400 spending cash, after groceries a month) I'd have to make $15/hr.

I was going to say something cogent, but these guys have it nailed.

it doesn't matter how much you make... it's about how much you save not how much you spend. I know people who make six figure salaries but still live paycheck to paycheck. Each time they got a raise the upgraded their lifestyle accordingly, stating that they earned it and deserve to spend a little on themselves.

Wife and I make a good combined income. It's enough to pay all the bills, live modestly, have some entertainment, and still save some duckets.

I'm in the midwest - As a rough estimate my SO and I make around $70 grand a year. We pay our bills and we're never behind on anything, but some months it's tight. Recently, having to cough up about $600 in co-pays on medical bills nearly crippled us. Yes - we should be saving for such things, but right now there just isn't *any* money to save - well at least on her end. What extra i have goes to pay off the now dwindling amount of credit card debt I had from my younger (18-20) years.

My dollar signs are out of place...i was saying 10-20 an hour is the range that i usually see people at before they move out.

One week=rent is a good rule...but it often comes down to other fixed costs. Car insurance, medical, etc...these all chip away from disposible income.

Also make sure you have some money saved up in case of emergency. For instance, if you unexpectedly loose your job, you should have enough saved to make 2-3 months worth of rent payments.

The rule of thumb I was always taught was that you should never spend more than a week's salary on rent. Not sure if it still applies.

I always heard around 1/3 pretax income which is probably close to one week post tax for rent.

spend smart and appreciate what you have.

I'm trying to settle down now and I make $30 an hourr. It's not really what you make, but how you spend it. I was stupid when I was younger and made some purchases I shouldn't off. I'm paying it all of right now, while setting aside a good bit for my roth and stocks.

I would suggest $15 an hour to live on your own. Also it's good to have a girlfriend to live with who is also wanting to live on her own. You save a of "Social" money because you guys are spending time with each other. Most importantly it's the right attitude and willingness.

I can't wait to drop this financial anchor off of me, I predict 6 months and I will be back in the positives. I just dislike how the gman takes away $900 biweekly from me. That just irks my willy.

Well, after now having been on my own for 7 months, in order to just *survive* basically paying rent, utils, food, (dont even have a working car anymore) and school I figured it out to be at least 1200 per month. That leaves me with around $40 a month to spend, which goes so quickly it's not even funny.
If you can save up some cash, buy what you need, then moving out making lesser would be allright. I'd have to agree, making around $10 an hour would be minimum, and if you want to live a decent life, more like 13-15.