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What are your living expenses?

Hatious said:
I live in Edina, Minnesota. A southwest suburb of Minneapolis.

  • Rent- $885 / month for 1000 sq. ft
  • Electric - $30 - $100 / month depending on how much I use my television and desktop computer. Together they eat about 1,600 watts / hour.
  • Gas - Included in rent, unlimited usage. (Great for Minnesota winters!)
  • Celluar Phone - $130 / month, voice and data.
  • Cable Television and Internet - $115, premium channels, on-demand, and 8mbps downstream.
  • Food - $200 - $300 / month. I like to eat! :)
I am about $3,000 in debt from minor purchases and from college loans.
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Is Minneapolis proper really more expensive for rent than that or is it a really nice place you got---I'm thinking about moving there but that's more than LA prices in the suburbs...
 
I'm still a dependent -- student at an urban school in Chicago. I get an $800 check each month and this is how it works out:

  • Rent: $600 (each, 2 bedroom split with roommate)
  • Cable: $45
  • Electric: $35 - summer, $20 - winter
  • Food: $100
  • Transportation: I only do public and it's free with tuition
  • Phone (not included in the $800): something like $40 (I never see the bill)

Everything else is on me. I only get this deal for 1.5 more years and I'm going to live it up.
 
hashish2020 said:
Is Minneapolis proper really more expensive for rent than that or is it a really nice place you got---I'm thinking about moving there but that's more than LA prices in the suburbs...
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$885 is not more expensive than LA prices in the suburbs. You will not find a 1 bedroom apartment in a decent part of Los Angeles for less than $1000.

I have a huge dilemma at the moment. The price of a 1 bedroom is insane but a 2 bedroom will cost about half the price. The problem? I dooooooooon't want a roommate.

We'll see how it goes. Some friends and I are discussing getting a house this Spring. Four of my friends got a nice deal for $550 a month including utilities, but it also taught me the wrath of having four male roommates.

I refuse to have more than 2 roommates if any at all.
 
NSW, Australia. Worked out for the month

Rent: $1520 (3 bedroom/2bathroom townhouse in city)
Cable: $80
Electric: $120 (Split Cycle Aircon)
Food: $400 on Shopping, $1000 eating out most nights
Transportation: $25 on public transport, $250 on fuel for the car
Phone: Home: $140, Mobile:$200
Party Supplies: Approx. $1000
 
Damn whirly...an apt for $495 you cant even SHARE a bedroom with someone for that price here lol.
 
I live in Seattle.

Rent: $200 a month in taxes/condo association fees, I own. (600 sq ft. studio)
Car: I own. ~$80 a month on gas (Prius).
Internet: $120 a month. (Fiber at home)
Electricity: ~$100 every 2 months.
Water: ~$20 a month.
Phone: I use Skype which is free until the end of the year. Also, using a wireless phone which uses Skype.
Food: ~$1000 a month, go out to nice places a lot.
Weed: ~$600 a month.
Pets: ~$300 a month.

I don't have any kind of insurance and my credit cards are covered in dust.
 
Shared with live-in partner. I am not in school but plan to finish what little is left of my bachelor's in San Francisco or elsewhere in the Bay Area within the next year.

Rent: $1250 (includes electricity, water, trash) - 1 bedroom, centrally located apartment on top floor of an older, slightly run-down building but the neighborhood is excellent (and yes, this is a steal by SF prices -- I was expecting to pay $1400-1500 but I got a great deal)

Natural gas - Haven't seen a bill yet, but it should be around $15/mo.

Cable/internet - ~$60 (I'm upgrading soon, then it will be around $90)

Transit pass - $45 (I also use about $20-30 of transit fees that aren't covered by the pass when I travel outside the city). Includes unlimited bus, subway and light rail access within city limits. I also live 1/2 block from one cable car line and 2 blocks from another that runs past the new office. The cable car is $5 per ride here, no transfers, but with the monthly pass it's included. Thus the pass pays for itself in less than a week. :)

Cell phone - ~$100 (with SMS/internet access)

Groceries - For 2 of us when we don't get takeout/eat on the run, $80-100/week. This includes liquor, wine and beer of average quality. I do occasionally cook elaborate meals which can double the weekly cost of groceries.

Going out/partying - varies, some months it's almost $0, some months it's $500+, especially if I travel (which hasn't been much lately :()

Kul - A $600 WEED HABIT? That is out of control!

I pride myself on being a good budgeter but my partner is not. Additional expenses for me in the next year will be 401K and pension contributions, and whatever I decide to lay out in the market. I just lucked into a new job that pays substantially more than I dreamed of making for years (in guaranteed salary) so I'm going to spend the winter saving money and seeing if I can turn it into more come spring. :)
 
I live in Canberra Australia in a three bedroom sharehouse with three other people.

All amounts are in Australian dollars.

Rent: $165 per fortnight.
Bills: $50 per fortnight.
Basic food for home consumption: $50 per fortnight.

I have an income of about $600 a fortnight.

Take away the above and other incidental essentials that come up all the time and I'm left with about $330 per fortnight in disposable income.

Of that, a bunch of it goes on eating out, alcohol (a big expense) and generally having fun.

If required I can reduce my food expenditure down to $25 a fortnight. I have lived on $300 a fortnight and while it's possible I wouldn't do it by choice.

So basically I have some basic essentials and the rest of it goes on random shit. Booze is a big one, so is whatever interesting drugs roll around. But whatever happens, all the money always manages to get spent, every time.
 
Yay Santa Barbara is extremely expensive!

Rent- $680 (includes internet and a parking space, which is golden here. I have a roommate who pays the other half rent)
Food- ~100-150 (just for me)
Gas- ~20 (don't drive too much)
Other expenses excluding school - ~40-80 depending on the month
 
las cruces, new mexico

rent - 300
internet/tv - 18
water/electricity - 50
insurance - 66
gas - 40 (used mostly for my job)
food - around 100 per week, I tend to eat out and buy expensive groceries
drugs/drinks - a lot

I share a very large house with two other people and we split utilities and internet/tv.

New Mexico is cheep ftw :)
 
Somewhere, China.

USD190/month pays living expenses for my wife and I, probably then USD95 per month is me.
 
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