How do you adults pay bills and what do you pay every month?

Here is a list of items which I pay:

Homeowners Insurance (actual amount paid)

Property Taxes ( pay this once a year, but I put money aside each month to cover the cost)

Home Repairs/Maintenance

Home Improvements

UTILITIES:

Electricity

Water and Sewer

Natural Gas or Oil

Telephone (Land Line, Cell)

FOOD:

Groceries

Eating Out, Lunches, Snacks

FAMILY OBLIGATIONS:

HEALTH AND MEDICAL:

Insurance (medical, dental, vision)

Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses

Fitness (Massage, Gym)

TRANSPORTATION:

Car Payments

Gasoline/Oil

Auto Repairs/Maintenance/Fees

Auto Insurance

Other (tolls, bus, subway, taxi)

DEBT PAYMENTS:

Credit Cards

Student Loans

Other Loans

ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION:

Cable TV/Videos/Movies

Computer Expense

Hobbies

Subscriptions and Dues

Vacations (I put money aside each month)

PETS:

Food

Vet (I put money aside. I never know when my cats will get sick)

CLOTHING:

INVESTMENTS AND SAVINGS:

401(K)or IRA

Stocks/Bonds/Mutual Funds

College Fund

Savings

Emergency Fund

MISCELLANEOUS:

Toiletries, Household Products

Gifts/Donations

Grooming (Hair, Make-up, Other)

Miscellaneous Expense

There are two types of expenses: Fixed expenses and variable expenses. Expenses such as , mortgage, and car payments are fixed expenses. You can't reduce them without refinancing your house or moving to an apartment with lower rent. Other expenses are variable. You have some control over those. Examples are how often you eat out, whether you go to expenses or inexpensive restaurants, whether you have cable TV, and if so whether you have an expensive or inexpensive package. More examples: Do you plan to get a cell phone? If so, will it be one with texting and internet (expensive), or simply one which allows you to make and receive calls without texting and internet. You control variable expenses. These are the ones which you can reduce.

There are some items which are a bit harder to budget. For example, you pay for homeowner's or renter's insurance once a year. Take the bill divide it by 12, and add it to your expenses monthly as an accrued item. Some expenses are unpredictable. For example, you know that your car will eventually need an expensive repair, but you don't know when it will happen. Ask your parents how much they spend on auto repair each year.

I suggest you get a book called Bookkeeping for Dummies by Lita Epstein. Please don't be offended by the name. For Dummies is a publishing company. They contract with top authors who are both experts in their field and have the ability to put concepts in simple English.

No one is expecting you to buy a home at 18.

Get a job first; you may need two part time jobs or a full time and part time job.

Rent an apartment (requires a deposit of usually the first and last month's rent, and then rent every month) and then you usually pay utilities like electric/gas but hardly ever water. If you get paid every two weeks, you could pay rent out of one check and utilities out of the other check.

You'll need a phone, most likely a cell.

Food

Clothing

Gas for the car

Insurance

Entertainment.

Savings

Learn how to make a budget: how much do I bring home after taxes? When do I get paid? When are my bills due? How much is each bill and how much will I have left to put into savings and pay for other things?

It takes practice but you can do it and good for you that you are starting early to save for it.

it's different for everyone. People who make more money will most likely have more expensive bills because chances are their house is bigger, car is nicer etc. If you don't live in a place like NYC or a big city then you will probably be able to survive ok if you work fulltime at 11 bucks an hour. You won't get rich but you will be able to eat and pay rent. Btw, I never started paying bills till i was like 21.-22 so you probably won't be completely on your own righ when your turn 18 no matter what your parents say

im out of work, i get foodstamps and medicaid and im going to school so i get grants. and i have hud housing so that helps a lot