Getting Into Your First Apartment, means knowing that you have the resources to live on your own.
So, you want to move into your very first apartment. Can you afford it?
Let's suppose you land a new job and it pays $10 per hour. That's $400 per week or $20,800 a year before deductions and taxes. State income taxes and payroll deductions will take close to 15% or $3,120 a year. That leaves you with $17,680.
It's important for you to know this number. This is the net spendable income available to you.
The average person spends just over 1/3 of their salary on housing, so 35% of $17,680 is $6,188. That works out to $515 per month available for housing. Deduct the cost of utilities, furniture, cleaning supplies and renter's insurance. Typically, rent is only about 60% of the total money spent on housing. So you’ll need to find a rental in the $300 a month range.
Then, you must decide how to get housing, food and transportation in at 65% of your spendable income to have a reasonable chance of success. If prices in our area or past decisions prevent you from reducing expenses to this level, you’ll probably have a real struggle if you get your own place.
| Suggestions to first time renters: |
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Avoid paying interest on your bills by paying your bills on time with c-Pay our free online bill payment service. |
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| 2.) |
Be sure to save two or three months worth of expenses in a high yielding savings account at Coastal to cover emergencies. You never know when you'll get sick or face a corporate 'downsizing'. |
Coastal is pleased to offer free financial counseling from Accel and free budgeting software from BudgetSmart,
(A new and exciting software program exclusive to Coastal Federal Credit Union and Accel Members Financial Management). This easy-to-use software tool uses simple graphics, “pop-up” boxes and bar charts to help you manage money more effectively.
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