Managing Money

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

I have been considering off and on for a few months the possibility of moving out of my parents’ home and into an apartment (or even rent a home if I can find an outstanding deal….which I doubt will happen). Because of this, I’ve been digging around and looking into local apartment complexes and seeing their costs.

Now, I don’t know about utilities and such, but the lowest rent I’ve found has been around 460. However, even with a full time job working 160 hours/month at minimum wage (7.25/hr; 5.80/hr post-taxes estimate), just paying the rent will leave me with around 400 remaining in the best case scenario.

This isn’t even factoring in food to purchase, cell phone bill to pay (Pay-as-you-go), car insurance/maintenance/gas. Just based off what’s above, I cannot see how it could be do-able (though I know it is in some cases). On top of this, I’ll be finishing off my last year at Gainesville State and transferring to Georgia State in the fall of 2012. Scholarships, HOPE (for those who are familiar with it), and federal aid should cover for it, but I can’t assume there will be any left over to manage expenses.

So in lies my question. Some of you are obviously not doing great in today’s economy (we’re all getting hurt in some way). How do you successfully manage your money and make everything stretch out?

 

[Andres]

It all boils down to one equation - you need to have more income than expenses, or to simplify, you need to bring in more money than you spend. You then have to decide based upon your needs/wants whether you are going to figure out a way to earn more money or to spend less. Earning more may mean finding a better paying job or taking on a second job. It might also mean selling off some stuff (although this is a more temporary plan in order to pay down debts). If you seek to lower your expenses, then begin by seeing what you can cut off to live on only the bare minimum. Can you drive a less expensive car? Can you live without a cell phone? It sounds like you are already planning for a pretty low expense lifestyle, so I would imagine you need to find a way to bring in more income.

 

[Michael]

Time for a roommate brother! Maybe 2 or 3...

 

[Edward]

A few random thoughts:

Doesn't Ga State have dorms now?
Can you get by without a car in Atlanta? MARTA should be significantly cheaper than insurance/gas/etc. If you keep the car, go ahead and pull off the hubcaps.
Roommates may be unavoidable for the apartment budget. You are going to have to live fairly far out to be safe.

 

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

GSU has had dorms for several decades Edward, problem is that it will cost more to live on campus than it will cost to take courses there. I'd even wager living off-campus with all of the utility and car expenses would be cheaper going about it alone. ($7,684 vs $11,397.00, total of over $19,000 per year).

I don't object to borrowing to pay for school, but 15k+ is completely ridiculous.

 

[Guido's Brother]

Get to know Dave Ramsey.

 

[Scottish Lass]

Commuting is cheaper, MARTA gets more expensive by the year, etc. I suggest a couple roommates you know and (reasonably) trust.