How much would it cost monthly to live in a small apartment?
So I’m 18 and I’m saving up to move out sometime in the near future. If I get an apartment thats $800 or $850 a month, what would my total monthly payments look like for everything including rent, cable, internet, air conditioning, water, electricity, utilities, groceries, etc. I’m just looking for an estimate, nothing super specific.
2021-04-08T17:56:56Z
For those of you asking, I live in Texas, so stuff isn’t very expensive here. And when I move out I will most likely be 19 or about to turn 19 and my boyfriend will be co-signer.
Anonymous2021-04-08T17:44:31Z
$800 is a good estimate for rent for a small studio apartment. Add another $200 for utilities and another $100- 200 if you add groceries to it.
That would depend on what such utilities charge in your area. Without knowing where this will be, no one can even guess.
Start calling the suppliers of such services in your area and ask THEM what they charge.
For instance, my cable/internet/home phone package costs me about $160 Canadian each month. My current electric bill is $61 Cdn. But, at this time of year, I have no need for air conditioning. Come summer, that bill will go up, while my heating bill will drop.
Groceries are both a matter of what supermarkets and deals are available where you are, and what you like to eat. So, go to a few and write down what an average buy for you would cost.
It’s hard to get super specific without more information, because there’s a lot of variation in expenses. Air conditioning (electricity) is going to cost a lot more in Texas for a year than it will in Minnesota, for example. Grocery costs can be as cheap as a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter each week to steak and lobster (and a whole lot of space in between).
As others have said, to qualify for an apartment on your own with rent of $800-850/month, you need to be earning at least 3x that gross pay each month. That basically translates to you working full time (40 hours a week every week) at about $15/hr. For the landlord, that requirement means that most people making that amount of money will be able to pay their taxes and their other bills and still have enough to pay rent (which should be the first priority bill you pay).
From a rough estimate standpoint, you could figure $800 for rent and that much again for the other expenses you listed. You didn’t include any costs for things like transportation (car, insurance, gas, or public transportation costs), and those can be a couple hundred to a lot more (especially if you are making car payments and paying for car insurance as a young driver), so don’t forget to budget for that. Also, when you decide to rent your first place, you should get renters insurance. It can feel like a waste of money, but it’s pretty cheap, and if you have an issue, it’s totally worth it. You might not think you have much “stuff” or that it isn’t worth much, but if you had to replace everything you own you’d be shocked at how much it would cost to do so.
Few landlords will rent to 18yr olds, so the issue will be finding a landlord who will, the system landlord use is you have to earn x3 income to the rent you pay which means at $800 rent, you have to be earning $2400 per month and prove that, which enables you to afford to pay the rent, all the bills and can feed yourself as well
Some apartments have certain utilities like water and sewer included. It's a lot easier to afford if you have a roommate. Groceries depends entirely on your diet and how willing you are to cook versus paying for ready to convenient food.