Matt Arden

I've been thinking about moving into a place of my own. An apartment or a duplex. I'm trying to think of all the regular bills I might have to pay, plus anything extra expenses that might surprise me.

Here's what I have so far:

Rent
Phone
Car Insurance
Gasoline
Groceries
Water
Heat
Garbage
Cable TV
Internet
Electric


Are there any bills I'm missing? I don't plan on buying anything except the essentials, so internet and cable are out, but I decided to list them anyway.

Also how much do you guys spend on groceries in one month. How many people is it for?

shakran

vehicle registration.

Renter's insurance.

car repair

parking, depending where you live/work

Matt Arden

Yeah, I'll need extra money for the car for registration or if something breaks down.

I doubt I would have to pay for parking.

How much is renters insurance? I'm not entirely sure I'll need it. If the stars are perfectly aligned maybe I could get a place that's already furnashed.

*crosses fingers*

yellowchef

good luck with furnished places, they're very expensive depending on where you live. They're also considerably more expensive than unfurnished if you live in a cheaper market. Thankfully I dont pay for heat but I do(did) pay my own electric bill which was high in the summer thanks to the insane rates of FPL.

Renters insurance can usually be obtained through your car insurance(mine was with allstate) and my Dad said it was an extra $10/mo added on to my car insurance. Renters insurance is a GOOD idea. I NEVER had to use it but for $10/mo I didnt mind. I don't live in a bad area but things can happen. I'd hate to hear that your apartment got broken into, flooded, water damaged things of yours.... because while the landlord is responsible for the structure they are not liable for your personal property. If a horrible storm comes through and the roof springs a leak the landlord will be responsible for fixing it and cleaning the carpet or damage to the floor but they aint gonna repair your couch or tv that was destroyed.

Groceries for me....well I couldnt tell you since I literally get by on $20 a week. I work in a restaurant and eat there 5 days a week and usually steal food to munch on while Im off mmmm cereal!

when you say phone do you mean landline or cell phone?

Youll need to remeber 1st, last, and deposit for your place.. so if you move into a place thats $400 a month you'll need at least $1200 if not more to just move in. Then you'll need deposits for your phone and cable.

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AngelicVampire

Keep £/$500 somewhere stashed away (a bank works) as an emergency slush fund, things happen and having some money aside so you can pay plumbers etc quickly normally goes over well, also lets you handle occasional problems like cars breaking down or leaks...

Matt Arden

Landline. Cell phones are too expensive. Not to mention I really just hate talking on the phone. I like to look people in the eye.

And, yeah, I really haven't given much thought to the deposit. Not to mention the cash to buy a couch or a new bed. $500 if I'm lucky. And It's a good idea to have at least $500 in the bank for emergencies.

Kadath

Well, you can go to a place like the salvation army or another thrift store to get a used but serviceable couch, end table, etc (perfectly acceptable for your first place). A regular (fill, probably) mattress can be pretty inexpensive (150 bucks), and you just buy a hollywood frame for like $25.

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Psycho Dad

Keep in mind that the phone, water, heat (gas), and electric bills can change from month to month. Don't be taken off guard when a cold snap hits or you use the long distance a bit more than planned.

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maleficent

Checkk out www.freecycle.org when you are getting closer to moving out.. depending on your area.... they will probably have listings of stuff that you could use that people are giving away for free.. the catch is you have to go pick it up... but it's usually somewhat decent stuff - for no cost (at least thestuff I gave away was)

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martinguerre

w/o car payments, i hit around 1k per month living in the twin cities...a fairly cheap town as they go.

where is this first place going to be? 50$ week in groceries in minnesota would be pretty decent, ramen in other towns.

entertainment expenses are real. if you can afford a place, and never have beer money...or enough cash to order pizza...it's the suck.

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Rodney

If your metro area has an active instance of craigslist (craigslist.org), I'd go there to check used prices and save a few buck. Although I'd always recommend getting a _new_ mattress, for the future health of your back.

Sgoilear

About that renter's insurance...get it. It's very inexpensive usually around 12 to 14 dollars a month and it can save you a ton of pain. Most policies tend to have a seperate area for expensive electronics and jewelry. Make sure you get covered for the computer if you have one. You never know when something like the upstairs neighbor having their toilet overflow and the water comes through the ceiling onto your computer, book collection and TV. That happened to me once and I was extremely glad I had my policy.

For groceries I'm a single male living alone and I usually drop between 50 and 75 bucks a month for food. Avoid eating fast food whenever you can as that'll suck money away from you wicked fast.

I'll also second what the other folks have said about needing to have a healthy amount of money saved just in case. Enough to cover a month's worth of expenses and the deductible on my car insurance is what I always have minimum. I try and keep more when I can but stuff happens. Let me know if you have more questions that I can help with.

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Willravel

Don't you have medical insurance? I pay mor for my medical insurance than I pay for groceries.

Cimarron29414

....Renter's insurance, Savings (you must pay yourself every month), health insurance,.....

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Astrocloud

Dude, you said it yourself -you are immature.... Immature dudes like to party... Don't forget to include Partying in the budget. That's at least $10 a week for a whole lot of cheap beer on sale.

Lucifer

I don't know where you live, but in Ontario, the Gas company (for heating) needs a $600 deposit if you've never had an account with them before. And other companies will need some kind of a security deposit as well.

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Sultana

$50-$75 A MONTH!
omg, I'm so sending you a care package...

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