Need financial plan for living alone now HELP!!!!?

Question

Soon I might be living by myself, my bf or whatever told me two weeks ago that he didn't love me anymore, atleast not for two years out of the five we've been together, and that he was moving to nc. I had two jobs but lost one because the place was going to close, so I now have $900 a month approx. to live on. My apartment is a loft, and it is $585. I want to start going to school again too, so this makes it harder, plus he wants to sell the car before he goes. Telling me to keep the deposit he spent on the apartment when we moved in, and leave the bed and stuff like that he bought so I wouldn't be "out in the dirt". Later saying that he planned to figure out how he felt while he was gone, and was going to send for me because he knows he will miss me, and he might end up realizing he really does love me afterall. He was a little drunk when he told me, but told me again the next day sober. But I don't know.

I need a car, cheap bills, and I don't spend alot on groceries, any ideas?

Answer 1

Girl, that guy would be a goner if I were you. Who the **** does he think he is? He'll send for you if he misses you??? What the...?? Internet GF, I suppose. What an awful person that is.

Anyhow, first things first, don't panic...calm down. You'll get another job and survive for a while (I hate these periods myself, but you've learned something hopefully). Don't let him sell the car, tell him you need it for work. Beg and cry if you have to this time, but not ever again. If that doesn't work, kick him for being scum and tell him he needs to leave now. Call the police if he doesn't. Then, call everyone that you know and ask for 200.00, get yourself a car and start putting your applications/resumes in for new jobs. Hopefully something that pays around 1500.00 per month at least, but 1250.00 ought to work. Shoot for that.

You can save $$ on bills by keeping your electric things in check, bringing your lunch, shopping at "dollar stores" and making notes of what you are spending and what's important to you (you won't have to do this forever, though it may start to seem like it).

Next...now that your life is simplified by having only one job and no man to take care of, you will have more time to do well while you are in school, and get a great guy instead of a creep like that one was. My goodness, Sweetie, you're lucky to have lost that one.

Answer 2

$900 as you know is not a lot to work with, and i hope that is take home pay as opposed to gross salary. The key is reduce expenses as much as possible. If you can find a 1 or 2 reliable roommates to split your rent so your share is $200-300 would be a good start. As an alternative you can move apt of your apt and find a room to rent for the same range. As for utilities, keep it simple and don't abuse them so they will be realtively inexpensive. figure $100/month. If you can cook you can save a lot of money by buying groceries $150-$200 per month otherwise it will likely cost you more. Now for the car there is no easy answer as it costs a lot to own a car, insurance, gas, and repairs. liability Inusrance will probably cost around $60 a month depending on your record and the state where you live. Older cheap cars need much more repairs so figure on average $100 per month for repairs. Gas (everyone favorite topic lately) can be $60-120 a month easily. to summarize so far

$300 Rent
$100 Utilities (including laundry etc.)
$200 Groceries/cosmetics etc.
$ 60 Car Insurance
$100 Gas
$100 Repairs
------
$860 leaving $40 for miscellaneous and entertainment/

This assumes the top of the range for the expenses mentioned hopefull you can cut them down lower. This also doesn't allow for anything else, clothes, gifts etc. A second job will really help out this budget and allow you to save for any emergencies that come up. To start off you might need to put deposits for utilies and to pay the full rent so it wont be easy so just keep your wits about you and work through it.

In general you should follow a budget regardless of what happens with this guy or any other in the future, so you can be self sufficicent incase anything happens.


While these numbers are my estimate i hope it gives you an idea of how to proceed.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

to keep your bills low just try and be aware of what your using, don't leave things pluged in you're not using because ever if they are off they still use some electricity, pick either having a call phone or a landline instead of both, start looking for a second job asap, and check out financial aid for school. As for the car, ask your ex if you could buy it from him, or if not then look for something to get you from A->B as cheap as possible. Hope that was some help, good luck

Answer 4

Not much of a boyfriend. So you have been putting out for 5 years and all you have to show for it is.....an appartment you can't afford, a bed, and a few other things. You would have done better on a street corner. Next time get a small dog, He will be more commited to you.
As far as your boyfriend goes, you already know how he feels. Stop waiting around for your fairy tale to come true. He ain't prince charming.
I know I seem harsh but I have this awful habbit of seeing things in black and white without all the emotion and drama. It makes my life so much more simple. In short he is not an asset to your $ situation. Lets move on.

Tuition. I suggest you start with one class at a time. Your time is going to be spent getting back on your feet again. You won't have time for home work and paycheck work. I"m not sure where you are going to get tuition money from for a full load. So you may have to cut back on classes.
Lets look at the cost of your job. Do you HAVE to have a car? Payments, insurance, maintainence are all bills. Thats cash flowing out. Mass transit may be the way to go. IF your job requires you to have a car consider looking for a new job. The unemployment rate is at about 4% which means work is available. Next is your phone bill. Does your job require it? Can you live without it. I'd cut mine off but my kids need it to stay in touch with thier mom. When they are grown, its gone. Next is your internet service. School may require it, and its handy for homework. The librarey can be a cheap source of access. What are the lines like. IF a lot of people are waiting in line to use a computer, you may have to stick with your own hook up.

Rent. Get a cheaper place. Lofts are not the cheapest places to live. Some ones basement may be better for a starving student.

I live with 5 kids, I have no wife and I live on 1000 a month. You should be able to make it on 900. No I don't collect much in the way of child support. She ain't a great mom. So I know you can do this. I don't pay anywhere near that in rent.

There is a book called "Your Money or Your Life" which I would recomend. I don't recall the authors name but it was spanish sounding. The co author I think was a woman named Robyn or something like that. I think the first name of the male was Joe.

Read the first 3 chapters then do it. I got out of debt with that book. I actually did all the stuff in it. It shocked me to see where all my money went.

Food. If you do your own cooking from scratch, you can live very cheap. There was a time when I bought grain and did my own grinding to make flour and bake my own bread. I know it sounds a bit odd but lets face it, I was about to declare bankrupcy. I was willing to do anything. Even learn to bake my own bread.

Electricity. Look at your electric bill. Does your supplier offer time of day billing. If you sign up for it you have to commit for at least a year. I tried it several years ago. I'll never go back. You get a special meter that counts the Kw you use during peak hours, and off peak hours. You get charged more for the on peak which sucks. However if you limit your electric use till off peak hours, it will cut your bill dramaticly. I run my dryer at night and on the weekends. Just that alone cut my bill 10 bucks a month. The cost of off peak is only one third of on peak hours.

Clothes. As long as your not a clothes horse, you can shop at thrift stores. Keep it simple and you can have clothes that will last well over a year.

Heat, Winter is coming. You will need heat and that is not often offered as part of rent. Keep the thermostate WAY down. Its not like you have little kids who all have runny noses. Just make sure you don't let the pipes freeze. Land lords hate that. If you must have heat, consider your options and try to heat just one room at a time.

Air conditioning. Basement apts don't usually need a lot of that.

If you must move out of your loft, consider moving a long way away. consider a different school. consider a different job. If you can score a job near a school with a cheap apt, and a good bus system, perhaps thats where you need to live, work and study.

First things first though. Get the book I mentioned. Start there. Next time you feel tempted to take in a new stud, remember how it worked out last time. If your going to stoop that low, just get a low blouse and a high skirt and stand on the street corner. You won't be stooping any lower and you will make more money.

Answer 5

Crazy i am in the same shoes you are but i know my ex isnt coming back... ummm try to get another 2nd job... if your apartment is not all utilities paid then look into levalized billing so know how much it will be roughly every month. Try to find a roommate to half everything up with you.

Answer 6

Find a roommate at a place near the school you want to attend. Good luck.

Answer 7

I would first move to a new place. Your rent should never exceed 35% of your income. Here is a good budget website http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/MoneyInYour20s/HowToBuildYourFirstBudget.aspx

Answer 8

Girl....you need to get oouta there....Go West and start a new life.