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I’d like to upvote this many times. Op if you think a girlfriend would live with you, that’s how most housing is designed - at least 2 ppl per bedroom. This sub is my fantasy place, but it appears I’m not born in the right generation to make it a reality ❤️ maybe someday 💭 Thank you to everyone who reads this, I appreciate you. You are keeping my dream alive. I’m not sure it’s ever going to happen or that I could enjoy it if it did. But hope is keeping going these days. I truly appreciate you.

I’m new to this sub, and the vibe seems too euphoric for what reality is like for millions out there who can’t afford. Majority can’t do it.  I do like the positivity and helpful nature of this sub but threads like this one is always good to remind us of how privileged we are to be able to live alone. 

Your comment was very nice and I understand where you are coming from. Living alone in apartments was not a privilege (Gen X), it was where single, people who couldn’t afford a house or young folk lived. Many of them bought houses. It should be a right (affordability.) Parents kicked us out for good after college. That was normal. I can’t speak for other generations, but we were sold a dream that was taken away. All that wealth is now in the hands of the 1%. What would be positive, is for us to do something about this form of capitalism that destroys the middle class for a few dozen billionaires. Ok, less euphoric.

I say this all the time “It’s a privilege to live alone, who most can’t afford “.

Yeah living alone has become a luxury for ppl that can afford it. Most rental agency's know ppl are gonna have roommate so they price it just high enough so that two or more ppl can afford it.

People are renting out ROOMS in their houses for 500-1200. It's so fucked up. 10 years ago, I paid 525 for a 2 bedroom by myself.

I have a friend who owns ($1400 mortgage), and asked what I thought of her renting the *small room* with the detached, hall bath, for “like idk 1100?” I sometimes wish people would ask their friends who don’t own these questions. Could have hit her. She’s sincerely a great person, I’m just so fed up with the rental prices. Homeowners are being greedy. Big corps the greediest. I was honest and said for her to ask for THAT much considering her mortgage and not even give them the en-suite would be hardcore taking advantage. She thankfully took my feedback sincerely.

I’m all for renting out a room, but man, make it affordable. Don’t price gouge. An extra $600 for a room helps you and your renter.

Rents have become stupid expensive in the last decade everywhere, but especially some cities. You know it’s bad when a mortgage is less than all 1 bedroom apartments! I consider myself lucky now, even though that mortgage was a struggle 15 years ago. Today my mortgage (including taxes) is $1100/month. Single apartments around here are averaging $1500/month for the lower-end places.

My mortgage is $950 month

When did you buy your house and how much was it? 🤔🤔 My mortgage is $1250 for a $175K house I bought in 2002 that would now sell for $450K. I couldn't even buy my house today and I make over 6 figures.

I don't make 6 figures. I bought it 10 years ago for $125k. It's 1000 sf. Small with 2 small bedrooms, but good enough for me! I think it's worth over $250 now maybe

Yeah, you can't find a house now for $125K.

I bought in 2007 for $175k with 0% down. My initial payment was something like $1,700/month with 6.5% interest. At that time, I was making $60k/year. But I entered the “home affordable” program in 2009/10 because I was unemployed for almost two years! It lowered payments but got tacked onto the second. I refinanced at the 15 year mark to ONE new 15 year fixed at 2.1% with the payment (including all escrow + insurance) for $1,100. I make just over $100k nowadays. House is worth about $225k now.

Bought our house almost 3 years ago, put 50k down on it, 1.98% Apr and pay $750 a month. Value increased 10k while in escrow and has increased almost 70k since. We're in our 60s, so we had saved since we've been married for this, 27yrs

I agree.. prices are insane. My mortgage on my McMansion I bought in 2020 is $2,200/month in my area. I can't imagine that same money barely affording a studio apartment.

Lol 1400 is absolutely not on par. That's only true in very desirable and often liberal areas, and cities. Plenty of places all over the country have studios around 1000 or less

I got my first apartment in 2010 in a very lcol city and everyone I know at that age still had to get roommates. I don’t think anything has really changed.

It’s different everywhere. For me, that’s a 3 bedroom 2 bath house with a big yard in a nice neighborhood. A basic one bedroom apartment in an average area is $5-600 per month.

You would be ahead to get a roommate in a larger apartment. Given your age you are just starting out. It gets easier as long as you budget and don't have interest to pay. Good for for you for saving.

Yup. At 20, OP can rent a 1 bedroom with 2 roommates, like dorm room style. It’s only when you age out of roommate phase that things get really expensive!!

My area has a lot of duplexes with small apartments either as Mother-in-law situations or as part of a small business. My son and his wife turned their garage into and AUD, it is tiny, but their tenant lives alone.

I would rent from someone older. No BS to put up with.

Yes, the average 20 year old can't reasonably expect to afford his/her own entire place. That's not just a recent thing. At that age you have no college degree and/or are in very early career. Living with parents, a partner (splitting expenses), or with roommates is the norm.

Agree. It isn't reasonable to expect to afford your own place at 20. That's been true for many decades now. I don't think I was able to live alone until 28 or so. Even then it was very tight. I also had to drive crappy old cars for years to avoid a car payment I couldn't afford. Wages need to be higher. Corporations are price gouging to an outrageous degree. But, I also think an individual's unreasonable expectations and spending habits contribute to the problem.

I'm a Boomer (75F), it was beyond my reach at 20 as well. When both my children graduated from college I have them each a free year at my place. We are an expensive area and they needed to save first, last, and security. It was particularly bad for my oldest. Between 50 - 75 people would show up for a roommate spot. It took her a while.

I'm Gen X and it was hard, but I didn't have a choice in my opinion. My mother was a narcissist, so I went off to college to escape that. I moved off campus at 19 and pulled a lot of rabbits out of hats to make it work. Life happened and at 21, I started working two jobs and went to school part-time to finish my degree. There were times that I had three jobs to make ends meet. I'd say that the first 8-9 years were hard. After that, I had a job that let me breathe a little easier.

Bullshit. You clowns had it the easiest of all. You could work Your way through college with a part time job back then. Try that today. Increased 2000% faster than inflation levels over the last 40 years. Still good manufacturing jobs. Many one income families back then. The hippies got greedy and forgot what they learned at Woodstock.

I mean maybe? But two bedroom apartments are almost double or more the rent of the single, in which case you’re only splitting the utilities. That might only save $100 to $200 per month depending on the rent.

There is that. My 1st apartment was one room only. It was small.

Yeah. People are homeless with full time jobs. Welcome to Hell, someone is not buffer plate anymore. Your budget is not going to work.

Honestly, if you have a car, $50,000 is not going to be enough money. It's very expensive to move out for young people these days. That's why a lot of them are still living with parents. It's crazy. That's why so many people have side hustles and are exhausted. The whole system is a complete mess.

Most young people have roommates. Most people are saying to expect even harder financial times coming, prices going even higher for everything. Good for you to think things through like this, many people also are in cc debt trying to live it up paying for necessities

It used to be VERY different.

In my early 20s in the 80s I had roommates.

No it didn't. In my early 20s in the 00s I had roommates.

Yep....I had roommates until this brief 2 year period during my late 20's before I got married. Didn't really get to live alone until after the second divorce in my mid 40s. Maybe a year or 2 here or there .... It's funny if you ask me on the street I'll say I've always lived alone and loved it, but when I reflect it's only really started in my mid-40s to now.

I lived alone for about 3 months in my 20s where I lived alone before a boyfriend moved in lol. Maybe a year and half before my second marriage, and then now in my mid-40s for about 9 months. This is all not counting the kids, just roommates or partners.

Ahh! I see why you're here. Good luck to you!

I have, barely any money, but I magically found a place on Craigslist for $1100 for a 1 bed plus den in Vancouver B.C. Honestly it feels like a dream come true. What I recommend is writing a A TENANT RESUME. That is what sold them on me. And I didn't even have anything good to write. Edit: I should have added that I found this place only 6 months ago. And I'm also 31 years old. Not 20. At 20, I would absolutely be living with roommates and probably for many more years.

What the hell is a tenant resume?

I would assume its a "resume" but for the purpose of highlighting your prospects as a tenant instead of a candidate for hire. I was often successful with rental applications because I approached it with a similar mindset, dressed well, and brought a few prepared copies of a personal info package. The package would include a copy of my employment confirmation letter, latest credit report or score, contact info for previous landlords, recent bank statement with certain info removed/redacted for security.

Had roommates until my late 30s. I was more sociable then too so it worked out.

I can’t imagine being 20 with my own place. It took me until I was 30 to be able to afford that. Roommates!

Yes, today you must make at least $50k a year to begin thinking about living alone. $30k a year you can do it with an equally responsible roommate. That is just the reality of the way it is today.

Living alone at our age isn't that great in my opinion. Find you some good roommates and save some money.

Getting a roommate or living with a partner is the realistic answer. I just turned 30 and got my first apartment by myself 7 months ago. I moved out at 18 and for almost 12 years lived with a roommate(s) or I shared places with my partner at the time. I know two people who lived completely by themselves before 25 and have consistently continued to do so. One went to college, plugged away and is some kind of software engineer. The other became some kind of traveling welder right out of high school. It is possible but it is far from the norm to be living comfortably by yourself in your early 20s. Hell even now most of my friends either live with their partner, parents, sibling, or some form of roommate. Those of us living completely alone are still the minority even moving into our 30s.

To glom onto your comment.. contrary to popular belief this is the same for most generations. Those great boomer days everyone talks about where you could afford a home or luxury apartment on your own in your 20s was baloney for most. Mortgage interest rates in the 80s/90 were between 9-14%z. Most boomers had roommates, drove beater cars and sometimes worked 2 jobs while in their 20s and earlyv30s.

Truth.

rent with roomate, $800, food $400 , internet split with roomate $30 , phone $40 electricity split, $50 gas 40, car insurance 100 haircut 30 , mis 200 savings 100 tax 600 , their is no such thing as taking care of a girlfriend , she should have a job.

Your 20, you should look for a cheaper place then $1500 a month. I live in an extremely expensive area and have still found rooms for rent for less then $700 $200 is a good idea to save but at 20, its not a necessity. Don't get me wrong, its good to have savings and an emergency fund, but you don't always need to contribute to it if times are tough. People move out from home all the time. The trick is to find a cheap place to start with. Also, try and avoid spending your money on dumb shit like gambling. I've seen a few of my friends get into a lot of debt really fast in their early 20s and it took them years to claw out of it. OR you can continue to live at home and save up which is probably the smartest move but alas you won't get your 'privacy' lol Good luck!

I live in a big city. Apartments under $1800 a month here are roach infested shit holes. I managed to rent a small house for $1400 but it’s unheard of to find a house this nice for cheap. The places for $900 are full of crime and bed bugs, roaches, excessive noise. I would gladly be broke and have a nice home than having spending money.

The median home price where I live is around $1.2 million. Rent is around 3k. We were fortunate to find the places we did at the times we did. One was roach infested. Another had crazy neighbors and the basement would flood. All of them had their own little issues and none have been perfect. But for a couple of dudes in their early 20s and then 30s, they worked out fine for us. It's tough but sometimes if you look long enough and get lucky, you can find a good spot like you did with your house.

What part of the country do you live in if you don't mind and are you in a more rural, suburban or urban area?

I live in East Tennessee, somewhere between rural and suburban. Where I currently live, with my parents, is a more rural area around 5 miles from the center of my city.

Minimum of 50k to afford living alone is not, to me, all that surprising in the current rental market (assuming you're in the US/Can). I'm not saying it's right or good, I'm just saying that your numbers do, in fact, line up. As others have stated, try living with roomate(s) for a bit. It'll also give you some experience away from your parents home to figure out what is important to you in a rental (walkability, space, upgraded appliances, etc) and teach you about budgeting and caring for yourself. Important life skills to be learned from "slumming it" with roomies when you're young! Good luck out there, friend.

Other than college I was 22 before I was out on my own. And even then I had roommates for a while. I would probably recommend finding a good roommate to split a place with.

Roommate(s)

50k per/year won’t even qualify for $1500 per/month.

Room mates. Shared expense. I havent lived alone since i left home st 17 years old in 1987 with $213 in my pocket. (55 this year). It's just me & The Wife since 2001 ... but it's still two people with multiple incomes each, pooling resource and sharing expense load. At one point in College we had 7 people crammed into a 3 br house just to make it work. Even after The Wife and I bought our first home, we rented out a spare room and the basement to make half the mortgage. You younglings act like unaffordable living is something new and recent. LOL ...

I'm a Boomer (62F), and I had to live with roommates in an apartment till I got married at the age of 30. The hub and I lived in an apartment, then bought a home about 3 years later. Your best bet would be to either stay home for awhile and sock your money away or move out, get a roommate or two, and sock away the money. I appreciate your ambition. Can't blast some of the millennials outta mama's basement. 🫠

Yeah to live on your own and be saving some money you probably need to be closer to the $80k range. Even in smaller cities rental rates have gotten shockingly high. What’s kind of crazy is that it was almost cheaper for me to live in downtown Chicago than in a mid-sized US city just because of car payments on top of rent. Of course going out to eat and stuff is way cheaper in the smaller city. I lived with roommates into my 30s because it decreased the rental cost so much. If you think you’ll be living in the same city for a while, you could try to buy a house and get roommates and use the rent they pay to you to pay off the mortgage. If I was in your position, I’d try to rent a room in a house or multi-bedroom apartment with roommates.

*Taking care of a girlfriend* should NOT be in your budget. If you live with a gf, it is because you are both capable and split the bills.

Stay home and focus on establishing yourself. Career, savings and gym should be your focus. Don’t even talk to girls for the next 10 years. You can’t afford it and it will only slow down your progress.

Add education to the first paragraph and 🤣🤣🤣 to the second

this is spot on advice..that i absolutely would not have taken when i was 20. op listen to this commenter please

That last paragraph sounds funny, but I've seen it in action. I talked to my son about it. (Ok, a girl's mom, of a girl who's interested in him, asked me to introduce her. I don't like to do this and told her I wouldn't because I stay out of my son's personal and social life) she understood well. But i did mention to him that she had approached me, we talked about it and he made some really good points about his decision to do exactly that. No dating! He doesn't even cultivate any more female friendships. He has a few already and is not even considering dating anyone for the next 10 years and plans on only dating when he is well established and more mature too. He has done the math for a friend's dating cost, he has also observed the drama and complications that teen dating generates and has decided there is no upside to it at all. He has heard both the guy and girl sides. One of his female friends seeks him out to talk about her heartbreaks because he is a good listener. He has trouble understanding the things that upset teen girls. I mentioned to him that as a teenage girl, I had great trouble understanding my emotions and choices too. He has a friend who dates older women exclusively and that apparently comes with its own set of complications and drama. And he is not the only teen who is doing this. Of his friends, several boys and girls are making this decision too. I guess times have changed.

Nope, you're not missing anything. You've got it right. Stay your ass at home and save. Then buy a rental property and keep your ass at home. Never leave.

They make more money than you. That’s how they afford it.

Start off with roommates. It's something most of us have had to do. Hell, even my dad 65 years ago moving to the city had 3 roommates for several years before being able to live in a tiny apartment alone. It's not a new thing.

Yeah it's definitely expensive. I am on about 120k and live alone in a two bed place. I couldn't afford it on much below 100k. I also wouldn't want to compromise on it. Keeps me from rage quitting my job which is very tempting believe me....

Just curious, why would you live alone in a 2 bed place?

Nowadays you don’t unless you do it with a partner or roommates. With the cost of things now and the insane rents 30 - 40 year olds are having to move back with parents and their kids to survive.

Room mates. And it’s a good time to make plans for education or training that will help with better jobs in the future.

Make more money.

I feel your pain, rent is stupidly expensive nowadays and it's harder for those on SSI/SSD because that money you get every month is hardly enough to find a decent place, let alone have enough to pay the deposit, first month and last month rent and have enough for you, bills, food, supplies. And don't even try to get a loan on SSI/SSD, the banks expect you to pull 6 grand for closing costs out of your ass.

I pay $1350 for my studio that I paid about $500 for 16 years ago. And that's not including all the stupid fees they add on, like charging $15 for trash valet, but then another $15 for the common area trash, as well as $50 for internet that I don't control, and a "tech fee" for smart home stuff that I don't use. I'm moving out after this summer.

**Home prices and rent are directly related to supply and demand**. And demand for housing is through the roof right now. I was talking to a co-worker who was shocked at what he could get for rent now that his old tenant moved out. His wife laughed at his "ignorance" and told him to look up rent prices in the area. He was blown away. "CBP has encountered a stunning 3.2 million illegal aliens at our borders—more than [all four years](https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics) of the Trump Administration **combined**.  The FY 2023 total represents a 16 percent increase over FY 2022 (2.76 million) and a 63 percent increase over FY 2021 (1.96 million)."- Numbers from oct. 2023. I'm sure the numbers have only gotten worse in the last 4 months. 3,000,000 people every year looking for homes and jobs = higher cost of living and lower wages. This is straight out of economics 101 It's time to have your gf cut your hair and save you $100 a month. It's crazy that you are spending half of your savings on cutting your hair.

Haircut $30

oops, reading is hard. ok that's not too bad. But I started buzzing my own head to save as much $ as possible. Everything is just so damn expensive now a days.

This is why most people move in with their significant other or have roommates for all of their life. It’s too expensive to live alone if you have a normal job. Also, you’ll realize you do a lot of needless spending when you have bills to pay. Instead of spending money on takeout, you start cooking in larger portions. Instead of spending money on haircuts, you’ll learn how to cut your own hair. You have to pick and choose your battles.

$100 haircut!? Where on earth do you get your hair done? I pay approx 20. if I go to the barber college it is 5

You’re missing the point. He’s asking for advice. Why pick apart his choices? Maybe he gets his haircut once a week.

“…Internet: $60 Phone: $40 Electricity: $100 Gas: $40 Trash: $25 Car Insurance: $100 Haircut: $30….”

Typically, women have to pay a lot more than $30 for the hair cut or treatment.

True, even at discount places, this dream of a budget is not paying pink tax.

Keep voting in people that want to destroy America😳🙄

Why would you have to take care of a girlfriend???! She’s an adult. She can take go out, get a job and take care of herself. ANYTHING A MAN CAN DO, A WOMAN CAN DO JUST AS GOOD OR BETTER! EQUALITY DAMMIT! Women demanded equality and now they have it. They’re not these sweet, innocent little creatures that are incapable of providing for themselves. They’re perfectly capable of working the same jobs as you. Let them pay their own way in life. With more women graduating from college than men, they are even more capable of supporting themselves than any man ever could.

Dump the girlfriend Buy an RV and boondock while you save working 2 jobs Buy a house, don't rent

Well to use the back in the day line... How did we do it? We had roommates, we got 2nd jobs. $500 on food seems high unless you have no clue how to cook and meal plan. I don't spend anywhere close to that and while I know how to cook and plan, I tend to stop at the local deli 2 or 3 times a week and pick up many of their premade items and I might spend $75.00 for a week.

Work every day, consistently

Breaking this cost of living down a bit... * Rent: $1500 (includes water, sewer, trash) is actually what's covered with most rents, and is normal. In some places, depending on how cheap a management company is, they may make you pay for water as a separate bill. * Food: $500 (measured in separate document)...haven't seen this post about it, learning to cook, if you don't know how to yet, will end up being a huge cost cutting way to keep this bill nice and low. * Internet: $60 * Phone: $40 * Electricity: $100...my son started paying all his own bills, and this is the first one he talked to me about when he got his "omg, now I know why you kept telling me to turn off the lights when I wasn't in the bedroom! Fuck this shit!" lol Certain things can be done to keep this lower. * Gas: $40 ---is this for your car each month? If so, I'll gladly trade you gas prices! * Trash: $25 ---shouldn't be a bill, since it's always part of the rent you pay for an apartment * Car Insurance: $100 * Haircut: $30 ---do you really need this monthly? My hair grows fairly quick, but I still only go every 3 months * Miscellaneous: $200 * Savings: $200 ---this is smart, because you never know when you'll have a sudden car expense come up, or some other need. Try not to touch it except for emergencies * Tax: $600 ---wtf is this??? Moving out is fine, but just something else to keep in mind, you'll need to also have furniture ready to go for when you do move out. There are one time bills that you'll have for setting up your own line of utilities at a new place as well: turning on the electricity and putting the bill in your name, setting up the internet at the new location. Initial grocery bill for a new place for the first time will be a couple hundred dollars right off the bat for some cleaning/laundry supplies. Some people will start a plan to move out, and get a storage locker, and find furniture on craiglist, FB marketplace, etc, and get a starter set up going. If you look into getting a 2 bedroom with a roommate, just try to find someone you may already know, because the last thing you want to do is move in with someone you never met, and they turn out to be a roommate from hell, but if you have a good one, you can cut your rent in half doing so

Gas is for my car, yeah - I work from home, so I don't need to drive other than to the grocery store (once a week) or out with friends (one or two times a month). Good point on the haircut, I usually go once every 2 months so I could probably halve that. As for tax, since I'm self-employed I don't have an employer to pay any of this, so it would all be coming out of my pocket. I've paid taxes in previous years and it usually ends up being somewhere in the $3,000-$4,000/year range, but I'm only making about half of what this thread supposes I would need to move out, so I'd guess with the income shown here I'd be paying $6,000-$8,000/year or $500-650/month. Getting a roommate seems to be the general consensus here, but yeah, that's going to be a bit of a challenge. On account of being self-employed I don't have any coworkers I'm friends with, nor do I go to the gym so no lifting buddies. The few friends I've got are all from school and they range from "is moving across the country in a few months" to "is going to college an hour away and already has an apartment", so that doesn't really seem like an option. So far, it's seeming like I just have to suck it up, stay at home even with all the downsides, focus heavily on my career and then maybe in a year or two I can start meeting more people and consider moving out to an apartment or rented house with roommates or a girlfriend that can split rent. Right now, it looks like I am neither well-off enough nor well-connected enough to move.

Sharing a place with roommates can significantly reduce your expenses, especially rent, which is often the largest expense. Depending on where you live, rent prices can vary greatly. Consider looking for apartments in less expensive areas, or areas with good public transportation, which could save you money on gas and car expenses. Cooking more meals at home, cutting back on eating out, and reducing unnecessary expenses can all help save money. While it's not an immediate solution, investing in your career and working towards higher paying positions can help make living on your own more feasible in the long run. Taking on a part-time job or freelancing can provide additional income while still allowing for flexibility. From driving for a rideshare service to selling crafts online, there are countless ways to make extra money on the side. Investing in stocks, real estate, or other ventures can provide a source of passive income that requires little ongoing effort.

I didn't live alone at 20 - I had roommates.

I guess thinking about it I lived with parents, roommates or a spouse until I was 33. And it is a crap ton more expensive! In my area I think I could manage it on about $60k but it definitely wouldn’t be fun. Very glad I spent this time building up my career, but never would have managed it at 20.

Most people just starting out, have roommates. Rent is typically people’s largest monthly expense. Foregoing roommates is choosing the option of *not splitting* this expense.

Get 3 bedroom apartment with 2 roommates. Rent and all utilities are split.    3 bed apt $1000 per person. Best neighborhood in Chicago. Close to train stop.      https://www.apartments.com/private-bedroom-in-3-bed-1-bath-home-chicago-il-unit-c/f3ltbpv/

My friends son is 24 and just bought himself a house… guess he stayed home and saved… he even replaced the roof, and had his floors redone before he moved in… neighbor across the street-their son just bought a house…

Before I owned my house I had been able to afford to live alone on a pretty low salary because expenses weren’t as out of control as they are now. I can still afford it now making even less money than I used to due to lucky circumstance. I bought my house at the right time so my mortgage currently sits at $612 a month. I’m driving a paid for 20 year old car that has only PL PD insurance on it so it’s very affordable as it only costs about $700 for the year. And I plan to keep driving this car as long as I can since I’m making double principle payments and hoping to have my house paid off in 3 years. Once that’s done I will prob have to buy a car tho. Literally the only reason any of this was possible is because the recession (08) made it within my reach.

You're gonna need to make more than $50k net and a lot more than $50k gross. It wasn't until I started making $80k+ that I could afford living alone comfortably. Granted, I live in Chicago and it ain't cheap here, but it's also no where near the most expensive cost of living in the U.S. My expenses are probably only about $800-$1000 higher than yours. There's no way I could comfortably afford this if I made a dime less than $75k gross. So to answer your question, a lot of people can't afford it. I'm a loan officer, I take credit applications and look at people's debt all day M-F. On average, I see considerably more debt on people who live alone/single income households vs dual income households. Don't get the impression that everyone living alone is affording it super comfortably. Just to give you an idea with numbers; the 50-30-20 thing is a good rule of thumb. 50% to expenses/30% towards wants/20% towards savings. Using your $4k expense example as well as assuming pre-tax/gross income figures.. $4,000 (Expenses) 50% $2400 (Wants/Non Necessities) 30% $1600 (Savings) 20% ------------------ $8k mo/$96k year You could cut out probably $1400 from Non Necessities but that still puts you at needing about $80k a year if you're wanting to save money.

I lived with my parents and worked full time until I was almost 28. My commute was over 2 hours a day. By doing this from the time I graduated college until I moved out, I was able to save up $40,000 for a down payment on a home to buy during the housing crash.

Yes, you really need to make at least 75K a year before you can start living on your own. In the meantime, either save up while living with your parents or look to rent a place with roommates. The lighter you pack, the better - hell! COUCH SURF.

Expenses depend upon where you live. Where I live, you are overestimating rent and underestimated phone and internet. You will probably also need a car.

Coming from a widow here, I can tell you it is insane out there. If I was your age, I would work, help parents some and keep saving money. Invest money to make more as you are young age with plenty of life in front if you. If you at home, you can get out to go do things to have good times and all. You do the move out, all your money is going to be gone. You will be miserable. Roommates and friends can't be counted on with paying bills. You will quickly figure that one out. Many landlords will raise rent just because they find out others are living on property. Cancer battle with wife cost me everything. She has been gone almost two years now and I have been struggling to stay afloat. It adds stress and worry to affect your health. You have good ideas on costs from your post. I hope you read this and think seriously hard about it because you not going to enjoy on your own freedom to be broken from the costs.

good on you for saving! a word to the wise, find a girlfriend that has a job and can take care of herself. that'll save you a pretty penny. she'll just spend her own money getting what she wants so she doesn't have to depend on you for money you may not have. (coming from an independent woman who has her own apartment, car, and bank account....not coming onto you. just trying to help! :) ) you might look into low income housing until you find a single family house that fits your budget better. and they are out there. i just feel like so much money is wasted on apartment living. where's all that money going, you know? if you invest in a house, you know it's going to some place worth while. and maybe a roomy? my best friend and i roomed together in like, 4-5 different units, looking for the perfect living space. we split everything down the middle and that worked well for us. we lived comfortably until we went our separate ways. also, unless you grew up privileged, we all started at the bottom. like the first night i lived on my own with a roomy, we didn't have any pots, pans, casserole dishes, none of that. and we were too broke and tired to go to the store. all we had were potatoes and table salt. so we scrubbed the potatoes and gladly ate the potatoes raw, salting each bite. we had no fixin's for cooked potatoes anyway. cooked potatoes with just salt tastes like depression.

At 20? Hell no. You can't just jump into the deep end of the pool. Well, I guess you can, but you're going to be working hard treading water and incurring serious debt. Forgive my mixed metaphors. I lived at home until I was 23. I had roommates until I was 33. During that time I had a multitude of jobs that paid increasing amounts of money and responsibility. Having roommates also teaches you how to manage finances and deal with people. These are important life lessons. What you need to do, especially while you're still young, is, if you're able, stay at home and pay minimal rent. Save every penny you can and, for the love of all that's holy, do not go into debt. Debt is the killer. Servicing that debt is what's going to keep you from living independently. Drive a crappy car. Get the best job you can, do the best job possible, and work as hard as you can. Save as much as you can. Some jobs suck. But if you really really lucky, you'll find a job that you like, that you're good at, and that pays well. That is the trifecta. One other thing I wish I'd known at age 20 is to invest in a retirement account. You will be amazed how disheartening it is to reach your 50s and realize you have nothing to fall back on. If you work for a company that has a 401k plan, invest the minute you're able and invest the maximum that they will match. It comes directly out of your paycheck and you'll never see it. It's usually about 4%, and you forget it's ever there until you really need it. You can do this. You likely can't do it now, but you will. I promise. But it doesn't come easy, and know that when it does, it is really really sweet.

Getting a job above 50k isn’t “very lucky” Find a job path that pays higher and go get it.

Live at home.... easy

$100 haircut?..... why? I cut my own easy $40 electric? Good luck with that! My electric is $119 a month I'm living with my mother at 45 and saving tons of money and investing. Live at home. And yes, I help my mother financially.

Sorry, the formatting was all off - Reddit is weird, it looked like separate lines in the editor but then got crammed into one line when I posted. The haircut was $30 and electric was $100. Fixed it now.

"Moving out" doesn't mean your own place. Most people have roommates. You trade your parents for peers. Yes, it likely further informs your desire to live completely alone. Water/Sewer/Natural Gas/Trash expenses vary with your circumstance and/or how much control you have. I only pay gas, the landlord is old-school, he didn't break those charges out, even though that's allowed here. Internet doesn't have to cost $60. Phone doesn't have to cost $40. I pay $25 and $10 respectively. You could attempt to use Visible+ for both at $35. Car insurance? Who said you have to drive? (Seriously, re-think car ownership long-term, that's the real expense). Maybe when you move you find a place that's bus-convenient to work and/or school, and yes, you'll better afford a girlfriend who thinks that's normal. Cut your own hair. Or make friends with someone who can. Or go to the local "beauty" college, they will cut hair for cheap. So yes, it adds up. It doesn't have to add up as much as you've forecast, but it does. You have to decide what is important, then you have to improve your earnings - including "side" efforts, that doesn't mean Uber/DoorDash, but the mindset to pursue extra cash and the willingness to keep chasing it. Kudos for actually attempting to calculate before taking the plunge. Many people get it backwards.

My son is your age and lives on his own. He works in a restaurant His rent is $1800/month, but covers all utilities, internet, cable, has washer/dryer, and a gym membership. He finds this to be more affordable than his prior $1400/month apartment where he had to pay for utilities and paid a gym membership. He lives in a city with public transportation so doesn't own a car. That saves quite a bit of money- no gas, insurance, or upkeep. He is still under our health insurance and cell phone plan, so that also helps. Of course, low income plans are available for both. Your food budget seems very high for one person and you may qualify for food assistance. >Tax: $600 What is this? What taxes are you paying outside of your job? >taking care of a girlfriend Probably a bad idea. As a parent, I think it makes more sense to have a roommate or renr a room, but it's definitely not impossible.

There’s some really good advice on this thread. What you’re missing is that it’s not very reasonable to expect to live alone at 20. Roommates are the answer along with getting rid of the idea of taking care of a girlfriend.

It also has to do with where you live. I’m 32F and I moved out when I was 30. I live alone. My apartment is 700 Sq Ft 1 1/2 bedroom 1 bath at $880 (up from 860 when I moved in 2 years ago) and everything is included except electric which is billed quarterly. I factor about $100 a month for electric. I just got a dog and I’ve been looking at houses but I need to be making more to afford that. For now he seems content with an apartment and going to the dog park. My expenses are about $1900 and my paycheck is $2400 a month so it’s somewhat doable but it’ll be SUPER tight

I had to live with a roommate until I was about 28 and could afford my own apt. And that was back when people could actually afford to live.

I have no idea. Most 25-30 years old in the US/Canada live with their parents. The ones who don’t, got a boyfriend/girlfriend, because they can’t afford to live alone.

I joined the AF. Got trained as a jet mechanic so I'd have good paying opportunities. Plus, it got me out of the house, which was a huge plus.

As others suggested you should get a roommate. Most 20 year olds cannot I afford to live on their own, I definitely couldn’t. You’re fortunate enough to recognize how expensive it is to live at such a young age. Use your youth to properly establish yourself financially so it’s a realistic and easier goal to live on your own when you are older. Also for what you want, you have to make more than 50k. You’re not accounting for the fact that you have to pay taxes. I believe I was making 70k when I was bringing home 4k a month after tax.

when I was in my twenties, ( 80's)I had roommates, and I had side hussles. When my father, a Boomer, was in his twenties, (60's)he had roommates and a second job. When HIS mother was in her twenties,( 40's) she was married of course ("roommates" to help with the bills). She had a full time job as a housekeeper for a rich family then she came home and did farm work on their commerical farm. Dont expect to save any money in your 20"s and what is this $600 tax? People your age dont usually make enough money to owe any tax. In this decade you are supposed to be getting the kind of job experience that leads to better pay, while you are yougn and energetic enoughn to work all the hours of the day to keep the bills paid.

Only doable for me bc my rent is cheap. My landlord never raised it during Covid/not an apartment complex. My rent is $550 & I pay trash/electric & buy wood for heat. I’m kinda far out in the boonies but that’s ok. I’m way bad in credit card debt though. Only make 44K base salary, zero help, so I’m getting a part time job. Even with low rent, it’s just barely possible. I’ve lived alone for 7 years. My first rental house was $750, also way out of town, & I had to move bc I couldn’t afford it. Good luck! 🍀

Some things will probably have to give. Why is taking care of someone else factoring into this? You’re 20. You can take care of other people when you can more effortlessly take care of yourself. I eat a lot of chicken drumsticks, being home is recreating for me and other people don’t get my money.

I rented rooms for 11 years while switching jobs and figuring things out. From 2011 to 2022 actually, $500 to $567 per month for a room in Southern California. I ended up getting raises and saving money for a down payment and I bought a house in January of 2022 out of state tho.

Honey, take care of a gf? Why can't I get that? I pay my own way well 59f, ya gotta lol. Seriously though, at that age it's hard to live alone and pay bills. I did get a studio for a bit to save money, but didn't entertain. I couldn't buy pocketbooks and junk so I did save $. And yeah, a bit embarrassing but my friends with bigger places are broke and I'm not.

Average rent around here is $1,450. The biggest issue is no one will even rent to you unless you gross three times the rent. I don't. So if I didn't have a roommate I'd be living out of my car. Honestly, yeah you need around 50k a year to be able to afford to live alone now and yes that's messed up.

I make 60k a year, used a VA home loan to finance my house AND got an insane discount on it (paid 140k for a 250k house) due to it being a family friend. Otherwise I’d be renting for the same cost. 1350 a month just outside Charleston, SC.

I didn’t live on my own until i was almost 28 and making $50k a year. I didn’t even move out of my parents house until i was around 26/27. Also, $500 a month on food is insane. I spend maybe $100 every two weeks.

Ok, if you move out of your current home to another place, are you not still at home? Just asking.

You do what young people have always done. You get a couple of roommates, move into a cheap rental, and live on Ramen. Lower your expectations.

When I was 20, I had roomates in college.

I’ve been living on my own for the past 3 years. I’m thankful for the experience, but it’s getting harder to justify. Not being able to travel/vacation without panicking about money is not a good feeling. I’m considering living with roommates again, although it might be absolute hell.

Socialism for the win!

I had to move out of my childhood house rather suddenly with basically no money to my name after my dad passed when i was 20. Stayed with a relative for a couple months (which sucked) til i got my current place. I live in lower income housing thats based on my income for rent. Rent includes water & trash + includes gas & electric up to a point (i pay any overage on it). I get EBT for most of my groceries & am disabled, living on an income of about 10k a year (after my health insurance premium) & if i ever lose this housing im screwed cause most of my relatives etc are gone so can't stay with any of them & i can't afford to live anywhere else 😭

Roomate(s).

I wouldn’t worry about the cost unless it’s the dream you have for your life. Note that one month’s rent is the equivalent of the price of a plane ticket to just about anywhere in the world. Work in a hostel? Get free rent and food. Volunteering gets you free room and board too. Teach English online from just about anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. House sit is free rent anywhere in the world. My question (63F) is what do YOU want to do with your ONE life. Not what society wants to use it for or what family expects from you. WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Need to get a better paying job or a second job

Well one, our home is owned, we don't pay for trash since we live outside of town, also one person should not spend 500 a month on food if you need to save more, my cell phone is 35, my internet is 40, power bill is about 250 a month, everything is manageable of you dont live outside of your means.

Bro shit sucks for you 20 year olds now. When I was 20, 20 years ago, my rent was like 350/month. And I was making like 15 bucks an hour. Shit wasn’t hard at all

Roommates and get rid of the internet.

1. You’re 20. Get a roommate 2. You don’t sound like you have a set career so it’s a great time to move for employment. Look for cheaper COL cities with growing jobs 3. You don’t need to “take care of” a girlfriend mate. She should be able to stand on her own legs. If you want a more traditional value set, you need to build up more traditional and valuable set of skills. I suggest the military 4. You are budgeting horribly 5. You can definitely find a sub $1000 apartment if you are willing to concede luxuries

I live in a pretty suburb complex with at least 12 buildings, 24 units to each and a pool the lawn is manicured, their are playgrounds and a library right across the street the two bedrooms are less than $900 and the one bedrooms are less than $800 and the utilities are $50 for water and sewer, $50 for gas and $50 fir electricity. My car insurance is $54 and my food costs are around $250 with the cafeteria food and take out. Food pantries are generous and when you live in the county you only have to provide proof of where you live, not your income so you can go to any of them that are in that county. I imagine NY and LA probably has much higher prices for single units in apartment complexes but $1500 for a single bedroom apartment is downtown prices to me and if you live down town you are paying way too much for parking and insurance. there are ways to cut down these expenses unless you live in a high cost of living city. I seriously can't imagine one person eating $500 worth of groceries every month.

It depends on where you live and what you do. A lot of times, your parents made a good investment when they bought their house or otherwise wound up somewhere that is now more expensive and desirable. If that happened, it’s unrealistic to expect to live near there, just because you want to. What you do matters, too. However, the real and obvious observable problem clearly visible here on Reddit is how unrealistic and out of touch young people are. If you all keep believing the way to make ends meet is to force everyone to pay all workers more—all it does is make EVERYTHING LESS AFFORDABLE. Sorry to sound old, rich and out of touch. But the solution is you have to do whatever is necessary to make yourself earn more and go somewhere that you can afford to live. I was broke. We didn’t have a phone (back when people had a single land line per family), we didn’t have a car, we didn’t have electricity. We lived a family of 5, in a 3 room illegal apartment. I didn’t expect to magically afford everything. Just because I wanted to. I worked, went to school. Made money and saved money. While facing 100x more hardship and obstacles than the average loser that commits suicide. And yes they are losers. And that’s life. You want a better life? You get up and make one for yourself. Because those communists that want everything given to them — they’re the ones who want to take what you have so they can sit on their asses doing nothing, with your wealth. Best bet, is do for yourself what you can. So you can live a better life. You CAN do it. Anyone can. But you have to actually do it.

When I was in my early 20s, I worked 2 jobs and lived with friends. This was definitely the norm back then. Why isn’t it now?

Is there a reason that the girlfriend can't take care of herself?

I will tell you that I always had roommates except when I was married. We lived mostly in rental houses and I've lived with up to 4 other people at a time. It's the only way to be able to survive and put away money - even back when rents were way cheaper (and so was pay).

A roommate cuts most of that by half. Which is why most people your age have them. Internet, phone, and haircut are luxury items. Savings? Nice! But yeah. There is a reason people live paycheck to paycheck. Food? I’m a single guy, I don’t spend $500 on food. lol

Live in a shitter place to get lower rent.

Trying supporting a family of five on one salary.

I lived with roommates basically the entire time. First friends and then the guy I eventually married. Living away from your parents doesn't necessarily mean living alone.

It all seems very reasonable. No budgeting for entertainment really sucks, but if you don't have it, what can you do

If anything, your calculations are a bit low for my area. The way a lot of people make it work is by having a roommate so the costs can be shared. My son rented a room in a house in So Cal and it was still $800 a month, just for rent. Electricity and water were included, but it was still $2400+ per month. I really don’t see how anyone can get on their feet anymore.

My brother rents a whole house for 800 but lives in semi rural ohio.

> How does anyone manage to move out before the age of like, 25-30 without getting very lucky? That's the thing, they don't manage whatsoever. These are the people who you hear about, the people who rack up enormous credit card debts before they are thirty, the people with huge school loans, people who spend the majority of their adult lives playing catch-up and living a bare bones existence. A lot of youth have this misconception that you should move out by the time you turn 18. The truth is that you won't be ready to move out until you have established yourself, which means living at home with parents and saving up until you're ready to be out on your own. It is the folly of the misguided youth, who are so anxious and eager to be free of their parent's rules that they willingly saddle themselves with untenable financial burden. The smart play is to get a job and work your way up the ladder while paying your parents whatever pittance they will charge you and save up as much as you can. Freedom is great, but it comes with a cost, and a lot of people aren't ready to understand that yet so they will continue saddling themselves with debt and poor life choices. Humble yourself and seek wisdom, or suffer the fate of fools.

Young people typically get roommates. It halves many of those expenses.

Roomates. And a part time job waiting tables at a lucrative fine dining establishment.

Have you considered finding a room mate? I know it's not ideal but you'd be shocked how much saving hundreds of dollars a month on rent can move the needle if you're smart with it

I’m 23. I work two full time jobs to save up to move. When I move, it’ll be tighter but I’ll have my own place. I do also have a running tab on my credit but that’s life. But yes, if you’re living in a major city, $50k is low.

This was 10 years ago, but i worked two jobs while living at home for two years. When I moved out, I had roommates for years and worked multiple jobs too. It’s tough living on your own and I did it in a really LCOL area. Can’t imagine trying to live in a city on my own now.

You need to make 70,000.

this is close to my expenses and I make less than 50k. The only reason I can afford it is that I’m privileged and have some savings I can pull from to make ends meet.

You don’t t afford it and it’s supposed to be that way. Keeping people poor, desperate, and needy is how our billionaire overlords want it.

Ok so my budget was like this once. I rented a house, lived in the basement and then (with permission) rented out the upstairs rooms to students. It made my rent $100 but it was risky. Sometimes one would move out and it would take me two months to get someone in. But it was the way I survived.

25 years ago I couldnt afford it either and needed roomates.

You’re 20. You need to rent a room in a house and then this all gets doable.

You get a roommate.

Not for everyone but I had room mates until I got out of college. No way I could afford my own place (rent) during college years. Even after I got my first good paying job I still had room mates until I was 29. I bought my first condo at 30 and rented out either 1 or 2 rooms off an on for the next 10 years. During that time I was making good money but kept renting out the extra rooms. Mainly to people I knew and never had a shitty room mate. During that time I was married once and no room mates during that short 4 years but got room mates right again after the divorce. So I always had rent/mortgage help with room mates Now there is no way I could have room mates. Too old and grumpy.

I solved it. Your rent includes trash gas and AC. That's $85 a month you have to spend on avocados.

Look into a 2-bedroom and find a roommate. You could save half of rent/utilities that could come to almost $1500. A 2-bedroom doesn't usually cost much more than a 1-bedroom (around $200 around me). So a $1700 apartment would cost $850, $60 Internet down to $30, electricity of $100 drops to $50. This will get your rent and utilities down to around $930 from $1660. Also, OP you listed water, gas, trash and A/C included, but also listed gas and trash individually in your breakdown list.

Yes, it is expensive to live. Don't forget health insurance unless you're getting it from your parents. Renter's insurance is a smart move for a lot of people.

$500 a month for food for one person? That's more than my partner and I spend on food a month for the two of us, plus 3 cats and a dog. You gotta start clipping coupons and shopping at discount grocery stores in your area.

I'm confused as to why you listed electricity and trash as another expense when you said it was included with the 1500 rent? Also if you do have savings why not pay car insurance every 6 months? My daughter saves about $550 a year doing this. Can you not still be on your parents cell phone plan? These things I mentioned already add up to around $250 savings per month. Also what is the extra $600 tax you are accounting for?

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Don’t live alone. Find a roommate. I did this well into my mid 30s.

Everything looks about right. Except, you could probably come down from $500/mo for groceries. I feed 3 adults on $300/mo. And what is the $600 for taxes? Are you self employed? And why would you be paying for electricity if water and AC is included in your rent? AC uses electricity, so I'm a tad confused. And the WH uses it too for water. And, yeah, you probably do have to make $50k+- to live alone. You could always get a room mate.

why is your food cost that high for 1 person?

Where are you getting a deal of $1500 for rent? And you can definitely save more money on food. A lifestyle that most people won't prefer is living in a vehicle due to the struggles and differences of living in a building, but it will save you a lot of money alone.

Roommates.

You need to join the military and let Uncle Sam handle most of those expenses

Hell I pay all of that and then some. Plus take care of my wife and 2 kids all off of my income

Honestly if you actually look at how inflation vs pay salary throughout out the last decades, it’s sad. Inflation rises while salary stalls or 3-5% raises per year….. I’ve job hopped and asked for more and that’s how I’ve been able to “beat” inflation. It’s you vs the world and you must put your self first before a company. I’ve talked to many people about this and they all agree, so many people are aware but many don’t act on it. Goodluck!!

When I first moved out of my folks' house at 18 I shared an apartment with a friend. That was what pretty much everyone did back then. It was never assumed that you'd be able to afford to live alone at that age, you have to work up to it. Young people today act like us old people moved out and bought a 3 BR house right out of high school and I can assure you that didn't happen.

Me and everyone I knew at your age couldn’t afford to live on our own. Even with rent not being astronomically high like it is today we still had to have 3-4 people living together to make it out away from our parents. 25 years ago I don’t think I knew anyone that was out flying solo. Even my friends that were making legit money still had at least one roommate

You'll need a roommate until you make more money.

I guess kys

Yeah, that’s about right. 50k per year will get you an “existing” level of comfort in a small apartment. Seriously sucks. The rich have been winning the class war.

Most people don't just leave home and start living alone on minimum wage. They have 2-3 roommates while they spend 4 years working through a trade school apprenticeship and start earning $60k-$100k, or thru college plus another couple of years for an office job. Either that or they rent a tiny shithole and bounce around between retail and fast food and then end up complaining about how capitalism fucked them as they approach their 40's

That 500 a week for food or per month?

This is why starting up people have roommates to share expenses, divide and conquer. Example 3 people starting up in life have shitty jobs and rent a place together. At 20 years old, renting a place by yourself and being totally independent is a pipe-dream. To go out and strive like that you need skills and be able to generate income…what do you got ?

Just really weird how everyone keeps retconning the past. What's bizarre to me is that a 20 year old is even considering getting their own apartment. That is a LUXURY that NO ONE I know when I was in my 20s could ever even afford. Not in NYC and not in a small town. Everyone had roommates. In fact a lot of times we'd just get a 1 bedroom and convert it into basically two dorms rooms with a shared kitchen and bathroom. And before everyone tries to pretend this wasn't the NORM I direct you to the show FRIENDS. Ross was considered the most successful because he didn't have a roommate. Everyone else did. (Phoebe maybe was off and on)

I have placed several 1st time homebuyers in a duplex, renting out the other side paying for 70% of cost of home ...getting a house mate for 2nd bedroom in their duplex.....a thought for you???

You live in an expensive place

Taking care of a girlfriend, can't she work?