So within 2 months I will be leaving my parents house to live on my own for the first time. I have a small amount of money saved up ($400), which I am looking to buy furniture and appliances with. I am mainly counting on getting a full time job by September, which I will be making fairly decent money. I have gone over my budget countless times already and it seems to work out just to perfectly, with a lot to spare too. My expenses that I can think of: Rent (includes heat, water), Food, Hydro, Internet, Phone, Weed/Booze, Fun. This will leave me with about $600 to spare each month, which is going towards school. Is there anything that I am missing? Thanks in advance GC! Sorry about the wall of text, for some reason I cannot space them apart :s
honestly pay attention to your eating habits, that's the biggest killer for money people don't realize. remember to actually shop sales and with coupons, it saves me about 50 a month
I spend $350-$400/month on gas alone in my truck. and being 20 insurance is very expensive in my truck $300/month for liability and the only thing on my record is a speeding ticket when i was 16 which shouldn't show up...
Don't bother with a car unless you have absolutely no choice... since you didn't bring it up I am assuming that you weren't planning to use one anyway. It is incredibly convenient but it is an enormous drain on funds. If the town you are living in has a decent public transport system, invest in a bus pass or something if you think you are going to use it frequently. If the bus system sucks, a bike is almost as good, and as a bonus if you have to bike everywhere you will not get fat and lazy. The only problem I can think of is carrying groceries home. I usually just go to the store a couple times a week to avoid having to carry a hundred dollars' worth of shit home at once. Vector (the cereal) is awesome. It costs a lot but it is probably the only reason I didn't die of some sort of vitamin deficiency at university.
Yea I plan on driving my bike around for 8 months of the year, so a bus pass will be needed for 4 of the months. Other then that what should I buy as far as food goes? What kind of food can I buy a lot of that is healthy and cheap? I have learned to stop impulse buying, so spending money on extras isnt an issue. Thanks for the quick replies everyone!