Let me start off by saying this is by no means a guide to success at living alone. However, I have definitely learned a few things and would like to share the love 🙂
Living alone in your twenty’s is a daunting task. I first started living alone last summer after my ex and I broke up and it was a massive adjustment for me both emotionally and financially. In this economy surviving is pretty much based solely on dual income households. I however, had to make it work with just me. I can mostly credit this to a few things when I look back at the past couple of months.
First, when looking at a place to live it is extremely important to find something that is no more than 40% of your income. If this means that you need to rent a dingy room with no windows from the 50 year old chain smoking women down the street, do it. A mistake I think a lot of people make is underestimating just how much they spend on other things besides rent. This puts you in a trap from the start because paying rent is physically impossible for your income and other expenses. If you can’t find a place in this range, consider moving to somewhere with cheaper housing. Yes, it’s a big ask but if your goal is to live alone sometimes you just have to go with it and take the risk. I know that where I live rent can be almost double the price if I drive only thirty minutes north so consider widening your horizon a try!
Food! Food is so darn expensive, oh my gosh! I am not going to tell you to limit going out to eat with friends or not get your weekly Starbucks. I am a firm believer that spending money on experiences and socializing is very important and meaningful especially to us young adults. Where I cut costs on food is by shopping at a discount grocery outlet instead of a regular grocery store. When you shop at these food outlets things are easily half the price as the typical grocery store saving you hundreds of dollars a month. I then take it a step further if I can on everything but meat. Because these are discount stores they will sell food that is either one day expired or will expire in the next day or two at 70-80% off. I will buy it and cook it that day or freeze it! Think cheese, milk, already cooked meats, juices, anything like that. I have been about to buy things for less than a dollar that would typically be $7-$8 at a “normal” grocery store. This by far has saved me hundreds of dollars a month, allowing myself to fill my fridge at about a $150 budget maximum a month. That is without denying myself snacks and meals I want to try too!
Cut utility costs. The two biggest utility costs that we have control over are cable and Wifi. I have never paid for cable in my life but I made the move to switch to a no wifi household last summer. Instantly, I saved $100 a month and became more inclined to leave my house or be productive with my downtime. How the heck do you live without wifi you ask?? Well, most phone plans offer hotspots now and they are much cheaper than expected, drastically cheaper than an internet bill. When I need to be productive and know I will be on my computer for extended periods of time I usually go to a coffee shop or a library. This has majorly cut down on the amount of TV I watch (hello low electric bill) and saved me TONS!
Stop getting monthly payments for things you do not need. I have said this since the beginning of time and monthly payment options are becoming more and more popular as companies like affirm partner with shopping sites. The biggest trap people get into is having lots of things to pay on monthly. I have had the opportunity to do this and every time I run like hell away from it. Your phone, car, vacation, big shopping trip you took, car insurance, all of these things are monthly payments that QUICKLY add up. I have always purchased my phones straight out with no monthly payment. This just about always means not getting the “newest” and “greatest” phone but it is so worth the sacrifice. I also drive a car that is fifteen years old with lots of miles. It gets me from point a to point b, I have cheap car insurance and don’t have to worry about a payment. I graduated eight months ago and having been working my “big girl job” with my “big girl salary” however, I haven’t fallen into the monthly car payment trap just yet. I’m aware that some people have no choice but to have a monthly car payment but, the biggest thing about having one is working to pay it off quickly, or getting a car payment that is realistic to your cost of living.
Put your money into perspective. When making purchases look at how many hours of work it will take you to “pay” for that item. For example if I want to buy a new purse I look at it and calculate, will take me a whole day of working to pay for that purse? The follow up question becomes, is it worth it? I’m pretty horrible at denying myself anything but this usually helps puts purchases in perspective for me. It helps me be more intentional about where my money is going and what I am funding in my life.
Lastly, credit will get you so darn far in this world it is insane. Work on cleaning up your credit and you will be set! Opportunities for low interest rates, decreased security deposits, credit cards with beneficial perks and more open up when you have credit that doesn’t suck. Lots of my travel is covered by credit card perks because I have worked very hard on having good credit. You do not need to be rich to have good credit! You just have to be smart!
I hope some of this helped and offered some information that not everyone has already heard. If you did already hear it I hope that you were able to digest something and put it into action. Remember we are all on our own paths and milestones like living alone will be reached at different times for everyone. What is important is that you are striving towards your goal, not that you make it when everyone else does.
Now What? 
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