I'm curious - early twenty somethings ?

k900

I am 22 and have a full time job. I get paid $9 an hour and i can't afford rent for a one bedroom apartment. Almost every listing for a one bedroom is at least $450. That is 50 dollars off from being my parents house payment and it's a three bedroom. I do have a slightly high car payment but i can't get rid of it right now. I would just end up with a higher payment and i need a reliable car to get to and from work. I live about 25 miles away from where i work.



So early twenty somethings -

What is your living situation (live alone or roommate or ? )

How much do you make ( i get why some people don't want to say so that's fine if you don't ) ?

Do you struggle to pay bills ?

Are you comfortable with your living situation ?

What type of job do you have ( again if you don't want to say that's fine ) ?

Vitamin_K

at the age of 22, I had 2 kids & were raising them on my own, and was buying my own home & making my own car pmt. I did this w/ out any assistance from family or goverment. I worked & still work at a doctor's office in administrative type position. I would say you need to look elswhere for a job or you are going to have to lower your standards of living. Roomates are trouble unless you know you have someone super reliable. Good luck

she_elf

I'm 22, still in school, live with my parents because I couldn't afford to do anything else. Currently I'm unemployed (just got back from studying abroad), so I'm job hunting but not making any money. When I do finally get a job, I'll only be able to work part-time (maybe 12-16 hours a week at most).

I...well...I'm lucky that I don't pay any of my bills. My parents pretty much take care of that for me, but if they didn't I'd probably have to drop out of school to pay them, and my parents wouldn't be happy about that (and neither would I).

Overall, I live a pretty cushy life, but I'm not entirely satisfied. I want to be living on my own, but because of school it's just not an option at the moment.

Most of my friends who are around my age (even up to a couple years older) who have apartments are living with roommates. I have ONE friend who has her own apartment (in NYC no less), but her parents are helping her out with the rent.

Dragonnade

I'm 25 and in the last 5 years I've gone from unemployed student draining inheritance, my parents goodwill, savings, student loan, credit card and I have no idea what else, living with my parents and somehow maintaining a car to go to uni...


To being a self-employed adjudicator, living by myself in a one-bed in London, more than comfortable.

There really is no substitute for hard work, determination and consistency, be it dieting, education or in the work environment.

jillybeanruns

I'm no longer in my early 20s, but I always had roommates in my younger 20s so that I was never spending more than 30% of my income on rent. But even when I was 21 and started my first job out of college, my salary came out to nearly double what you're making now. I also bought my car outright when I was 18 so I didn't have a car payment then.

I always have the "I don't have money" mentality, even though at 27 I make just about double what I made at 21.

Save every penny you can and see if you can carpool to work. Maybe get a second job (or look for another job). Though the cost of living seems to be a lot cheaper there - $9/hour is more livable there than here. A one bedroom at $450 is a steal here in Connecticut. I pay over 2X that and that's "cheap" for this part of the country.

ChrisRS87

I have a full time job as an accountant. I make just over 1k a week, but I still find ways to spend it all, LOL. I live by myself as well.

polehero

girl you need to be working with tips !!!!! try bartending waitressing cocktail waitressing ... maybe even showgirling ??? 9 dollars an hour full time is crazy now days .... i used to bartend and waitress for a while and when i was 19 i showgirled at some nightclubs .. tips and under the table jobs are the way to go, i never had a problem with paying my bills when i had those jobs ( now im full time mommy .. dont waste your life doing something you hate especially if you are only making 9 bucks an hour girl go and do what makes you happy !!

Espressocycle

I'm not in your situation now, but 10 years ago I was. Renting a room is the way to go. Find a stable, older person who owns a house and wants to rent a room for some extra money. It's much better than finding roommates who may or may not pay the bills on time! Living on $9/hr is hard, so you don't want surprises. Amazingly, I actually saved money when I was living on so little, and eventually when I was making a little more money I was able to buy a little house for $80K and my payment was only $600. Of course, it needed work, but I fixed it up little by little and eventually sold it for much more.

Il_DaniD_lI

I'm 25, live with my boyfriend and daughter, we rent a house for $1650.00 a month. I bus to work every morning to save money on parking/gas.

I live pretty comfortably, but we used to struggle to pay bills when my boyfriend was on unemployment and I had a low paying job. Things started looking up for us when I was 22.

Metsfn4life

In my early twenties, things were hard. I lived with roommates up until I was 26! I lived by myself for 1 year, but found that I was stretching myself to thin as I was paying my own college tuition at the time. Roommates weren't bad. I was very lucky to find good people and we really supported each other...when I was broke in between paychecks and needed something, they would step in and buy me food or give me money just to take the train and vice versa. I lived off of Celeste pizzas (99 cents) and ramden noodles. I didn't have a car (from NYC), so the money you are putting towards your car, I put towards my education.

Things will change! It just takes time. You are young, so don't worry too much about living on your own. If your parents are happy to have you, why leave? If you want more freedom, just get a roommate.

I don't mean to preach, but I really you hope you pursued or are pursuing a higher education. That's really the only way to secure a higher pay in the future unless you have connections.

I didn't get my first "real" paying job until I was 22 (making $25K a year), and for living in NYC, believe me, that wasn't much. However, in 4 years, my salary more than doubled after I got my degree.

wee_emski

I'm 26. I moved out when I was 19, my parents helped me a bit with my rent, and I lived with my boyfriend at the time. I was still in university at the time so just had a part time job. I've lived in our current flat for almost 4 years. My fiance and I are waiting for our new house to be built. We have three little boys aged between 5 and 10 months. We both have ok jobs, but when we first got our flat we were living off a salary of £14,500 (which is not much when you have 2 little boys). My partner was an archives assistant then, I was still qualifying as a secondary teacher. I'm an English teacher, my partner has been promoted. We do ok. My first ever job (in retail, when I was at school and at uni), paid just over £5 an hour. I doubt I'd be able to afford to rent or buy (pay mortgage) if I still had that job. If I remember rightly, full time staff who worked around 39 hours a week only made £9000 a year :-(. Have you tried to see if you can get a better paid job.

janawana23

Im 24, I work full time and make less than 50K a year. My question is, where do you live? I would LOVE to pay only $450 a month for rent, but that is literally impossible here unless you live in a basement room with no windows or closet in a group house in a bad neighborhood. I live by myself in a studio in DC and pay $1655 a month. Its considerably more than half of my after-tax salary. I dont have a car and can walk to work, which almost eliminates commuting costs. My only monthly bills are for my phone, internet, and netflix (I cant afford cable). Otherwise, Im pretty good at saving. The only thing I spend a lot of money on consistently is drinks and food, but whats the point of living in the city at my age without some semblance of fun? I guess its all relative. I make more than plenty of people my age that I know around the country, but my disposable income is much less than most of them. Hope this helps.

Des0528

I'm 23, living with my mother at the moment, saving money to pay off credit cards then focusing on saving money to buy a house. I have a full-time job as a bank teller making $11/hour. I have a car payment but luckily it's only $176 a month. I do have numerous credit card bills that are holding me back quite a bit. I don't struggle to pay my bills but I rarely have much left over. Have you tried looking for another job, maybe in customer service or banking? maybe at a doctors office? they always seem to pay pretty well

dunnweb

Don't feel bad rooms in Boston can be upwards of 750-1000 let alone the multiple thousands for your own apartment. That's why I live out of the city .

So early twenty somethings - 22

What is your living situation (live alone or roommate or ? ) Roommate

How much do you make ( i get why some people don't want to say so that's fine if you don't ) ? 55k/yr + ~15k extra for my freelancing web/writing work.

Do you struggle to pay bills ? Not since I left the military

Are you comfortable with your living situation ? Yes

What type of job do you have ( again if you don't want to say that's fine ) ? Computer programmer

thetrishwarp

Very nearly 20...
I work full-time for 4 months of the year (the other 8, I am in school)
In that 4 months I make enough to make my rent & enough to have ~$100/wk for groceries/leisure.
I have 2 roommates, but combined our 3-bedroom townhouse costs over 1k/month in rent.

I'm fortunate my tuition is taken care of. But yeah...that's my current living situation.

dswolverine

When i graduated from college i worked at a job i hated for $13/hour. I lived 10 hours from home so i had to rent an apt but i got a roommate, and i worked at a restaurant on the weekends to supplement my income. I did ok, but to make $9/hour without any kind of other income is damn near impossible to get anywhere. If you wish to stay at your current job, absolutely work somewhere earning tips on the weekends or after work. Waitressing/bartending whatever. Good luck!

ket_the_jet

Where do you live where a one-bedroom apartment is $450? In DC, that sort of thing is $1500+.

So you're working for $9/hour. Are you an intern? Is there hope for professional growth? If you have the job for the sole reason of it is a job then I would suggest looking elsewhere. I understand toughing it out in this economic climate, but that sort of thing would only make sense if you were looking to pursue promotions within that company.

Take the advice above and get into food service. Even two nights of bartending at your local Chili's will net you $200-300...and finding a gig at a swanky bar can net you $1500-2500+ a week full-time. A night or two of that and you'd be able to supplement your 'career.'

Best of luck to you.
-wtk

OfficiallySexyVal

I am 26, recently a single mom of a 1yo little boy! Currently living with my parents to save money in order to buy a home!
I am an administrative assistant making around 36,000 a year. I am able to pay my bills however at the moment I can not afford to rent and pay for daycare!
I pay around 1,000 dollars a month for day care and a 2 bedroom appartment or home in my area runs about 1,400 a month!
So thus why I am saving up to buy! I can definitely get my mortgage cheaper than what I would pay for rent!
Definitely envious of all those that only pay around $450-$550 for rent!

AlbaAngel25

in my early twenties 20-23/24, I worked at a bank full-time making $17 an hr.Wasn't Baller status money lol, but i guess when ur young and single with barely any bills it was good.
I lived on my own and paid $500 for rent each month (a basement suite, was above level tho). I also had a cute little honda civic that i paid for in cash ($5000) a year or two earlier.
I didn't struggle paying my bills. I was always good with my money. I managed to go on a few vacations and what not.

Now I am almost 26, married and a stay at home mom for the time being. I'll be going to work soon i think.... But my husband makes a very good living so we are doing comfortably now. We pay $1500 for rent each month. I drive a mercedes cl500(no payment on it, paid cash) and my husband drives a truck provided by work. So all his car expenses are covered. Aside from that we have the basic bills and food. We manage to put away 1000 a month for savings.

Things all fall into place eventually, as long as you have the will and drive to do better for yourself you'll get to were you want to be.

Honestly speaking, I wish i had stayed at home up until 23yrs old. I would of saved that rent payment every month....lol

good luck, and dont stress it. Everyday is a new day and who knows what opportunities lie ahead for you!!

cardiokitten

I'm 20, almost 21, and I've lived with my boyfriend on our own since we were 18. We both make $11/hour (40 hours per week) but they are both temp jobs, so in November, we both won't have jobs, so, knowing that, we save every penny. Our rent is $600 (we live in a ghetto *kitten* apartment with 3/6 tenants being known druggies/alcoholics) and we have about $500 in bills every month. We limit our trips out, we ask each other before we buy anything, and we continue to live in our ****ty apartment because we save gas money because we walk to work and it's really cheap for the area we live in, we are very very very good at managing our money (well, at least, I think!) and knowing when to say no to stupid expenses and knowing when to splurge. We have over $10,000 in our bank right now and have absolutely no debt. I left my house at 18 with $70 and I'm very proud of where am I now.

Oh, and a tip! One day we just decided, "If we have less than $100 in the bank, we have NO money." Then it started to get a little bit more and more and more. And I think that is a really awesome starting point. Once you start to build a little savings, life will get easier and easier. Take small steps, only buy what you need, carefully think about your fun expenses, limit eating out, and learn ways to have fun without spending money!

jly33403

I'll be 22 in a month, and I'm a recent college graduate. I make $15 an hour and in a month I make about $1900. I still live with my parents and give them about 600 dollars a month which covers groceries, phone bill and my insurance payments. Next month I'll start paying them an additional $400 a month for student loans, making my monthly payments about $1000. I'm also trying to save up for a car, but that will have to go slowly, until then, i'm driving my clunker car with no air conditioning.

roachhaley

I'm 19

live in england with my boyfriend who has a studentship of £16,500
buying a flat now, payments are about £600 a month
we're comfortable, but i had to take out slightly more from my student loans to cover transportation
we have about £350 a month for leisure/outings and about £200 a month for food and £100 for bills

tbh, i'm wondering how you can't afford $450 a month. i've worked full time in the US and could definitely afford it (on near minimum wage). i'm just estimating you work about 40 hours a week, and it seems like you'd have more than enough for rent and transportation etc

jly33403

Where do you live where a one-bedroom apartment is $450? In DC, that sort of thing is $1500+.

Right? I'm in a philly suburb and one of the cheapest around here is $1350

roachhaley

Where do you live where a one-bedroom apartment is $450? In DC, that sort of thing is $1500+.

Right? I'm in a philly suburb and one of the cheapest around here is $1350

Most likely the south or midwest, I lived in Oklahoma and you can find a one bedroom for $400 a month.

jennt_22

Hey! I am 22 as well

Where I go to school there is a really popular 5 year program I am in where you go to school freshman year and get a summer vacation, then for the next three years you are in school for 6 months then co-op full time for 6 months, then senior year you are back in classes all year until the spring. Right now I am in my third and last co-op working full time and I make 16.75/hr. I work for PECO which is Philadelphia's Electric (and gas) Company in their Environmental Department.
I also live in Philadelphia in a big house with 5 other girls + my boyfriend (officially starting this weekend... poor guy or lucky guy? hahaha). With rent + utilities we all pay about $750-800/month (a lot I know but in the area I am in that's actually reasonable). I don't struggle too much right now but when my co-op is over and I will def be struggling A LOT.... not sure what I will do yet but will probably find a part-time job while taking classes. Lastly I ride my bike to work to save on gas money/token money for public transportation, that def helps.

I'd suggest looking for another job that pays a little more or try to find a roommie. I know living with another person can be very hard (seeing as I used to live in a sorority house with wayyy to many girls lol) but it helps SO much with rent and bills. Is there anyone you already know/get along with well that you could possible get a place with? What about renting a room? I also hate to say this but if I can't get a job out of college I will probably have to move home to save up enough until I can be own my own (worst case scenario of course). Maybe you could get another part time job on top of the one you already have? I know that would be a lot though and prob not ideal. Good luck with everything though. This time in our lives is hard... transitioning from school to getting a job and being on your own. Just look at what the other posters have said.... many of them were struggling at this age but a few years later they are just fine. Keep your head up!

MariaChele85

Im 27, but have lived on my own for the past 5 yrs. (I also have a 7yr old son, single mom)I recently moved back home to help pay for tuition ( out of pocket). Really you just need to focus on a budget.I have never really struggled to pay my bills. Everything i have i can say that i obtained it on my own. Never had a bf/ husband/ roommate living with me to help share some bills. My credit score is really good which in turn I get really good rates or 0% on large purchases. I guess i can say I have never been declined when applying for something. Here are a few Random things I did to help me get by and enjoy life.

1. Coupons, coupons, coupons.
2. When gas was at its all time high, I planned one day to run around and do all errands and chores.
3. If it was walking sistance I walked. ( grocery store, park, pick up son from school, etc and you're getting your excercise in)
4. Save Save Save ( for example if my check was $1108.45, i would dep the $1000 into checking acct for bills and the $108.45 into savings, didnt touch it and didnt think about it, before you knew it I had saved enough money for a down payment on my new car or had that emergency fund or when I was short on money for the monthly bills, I knew i had my little stash)
5. Ad comparison. Im that lady that takes all the weekly ads to walmart and the price match everything. ( this ties in with #1)
6. Garage Sales. You'd be surprised on how much junk you have that you can sell and get money for.
7. there are Apps that you can upload onto your phone that the merchants will scan straight from your phone and give you the discount.
8. Have you tried to refinance your car, the lower rate will get you lower payments.
9. Shop around on your insurance, cellphone provider etc you'd be surprised on how much money you can save by just shopping the competition. ( threaten that your going to leave and they WILL offer you something cheaper)
10. I got rid of my cable. With fulltime work, a son and workingout I rarely wathced tv. when i did I was usually watching the same shows. I eventually started to watch them on my laptop online. so i said scew it i dont need to pay $100 on something that i dont use anyways. dont miss it at all!
11. Do not pay your bills late, so much of your money goes on late fees. I work to hard formy money.



I dont want to clog up your page with my cheap idea. I guess I have been doin it a while so I have learned the tricks and trades. This in turn has let me live comfortable.
BTW, I work at a bank making $14.75 an hr. Not alot of money but I learned to budget. When i was living alone My rent was $750, and car payment was $400, insurance was $167 ( for my car and my moms truck, I paid both), student loans from the first time in school $200, cell phone $130 ( again for mine and my moms cell). Those were my biggest bills aside from all the small ones.

Ldavies85

I say live with your parents as long as you can! Save up money to go towards buying your own home and work on paying off all your debt before you leave. It may not sound ideal to stay with your parents, but once you have a mortgage, car payments, credit card debt, and so on, you'll wish you had.

Just my opinion.