Can I move out on my own with this salary?

Question

I'm turning 17 this month, and my mother is making me break down....she reads all my information on my computer, takes my webcam that I paid for away, 2 times. What a stupid, noisy b*tch....she tells my information to my granny, which I told her not to. Looks up my boyfriends house online to find out how much it's worth and about the taxes. We have a long distance 4 year relationship....she broke up my other boyfriends and I that lived here by being noisy and reading my email. I'm going to work as a nurse's aide this summer full time at a hospital. it makes 11-12 dollars an hour. i want to buy my very own car and be ready to move out in a year. My boyfriend lives in Fl, so we are moving down there. He makes a lot of money in his own business so he said he would pay for everything while I went to college..about 800 a day..could we make it on our own? I mean, could I make it on my own without him?

Answer 1

Legally, at 17 you cannot sign a binding contract without an adult (that would include things like an auto loan). Eleven to twelve dollars per hour is decent money, but after taxes, Medicare, Social Security, and insurance are taken out, you may find you only "take home" $7-8 per hour. In a 40 hour week, that will only be about $300 per week, or $1200 per month. Assuming you pay $500 for rent, that only leaves you about $700 for utilities (gas, electric, water, garbage), food, transportation (IF you have a car - loan payment, gas, insurance, repairs; if not, public transportation), clothing, fun, music, books, etc.

I would recommend you check out rental rates wherever you plan to live, then find out what the utilities cost (on average). Make sure (if you don't have a car) that the rental unit is on the public transportation line and won't take you two or three hours to commute to work every day. Make a "pretend" grocery list, based on a week's worth of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks) then go to the grocery store and add up the cost. Multiply by 4 to get an approximate monthly amount. Write down how much you spend on entertainment (movies, CDs, going out with friends, etc.) over the next month. Find out how much internet access is going to cost you (assuming mom lets you take the computer).

It's always tight when you first move out, since there are LOTS of unexpected little expenses. It's also very easy to get into credit card debt at this point, because you have no history. Stay away from credit cards of ANY kind - debt is easy to get into, but SO tough to get out of (just read through some of the questions here on Y!A).

The best thing you can do is make an informed decision and I can't tell you what that is, since I don't know your spending habits. Remember, if you leave mom on bad terms, you can't expect her to bail you out if you find out you can't make it on your own, especially if you move to another state.

Answer 2

First of all, yest you could make it on 11 or 12 dollars an hour. Plenty of people survive on minimum wage, but you'll find it's hard to rent a combfortable place and pay for the car that you want. But there's a lot more going on here than just that question and you know it or else you wouldn't have written so much.
What's the story with your boyfriend. He must be at least couple of years older than you if he's got his own successfull business. What was he doing when he started a long distance relationship with a 13 year old girl 4 years ago? That sounds suspicious. I can understand why your Mom whants to know what's going on.
I think you need to learn to live with your mother. She'll always be there in your life as your mother. A boyfriend is temporary.

Answer 3

First, be very careful following a boyfriend anywhere at any age, let alone 17. Besides the fact that he may be playing up how good things are there you want to always make sure you have enough money to get home on first, put enough at least for a bus ticket in a bank account he doesn't know about. You don't want to get there expecting a cute little apartment and end up in some dumpy crack house because it was WAY more expensive than you expected it to be. Also, be aware that 11 dph is not much in a place like Tampa or Miami so if you are planning to make it on your own without him down there you'd be better off checking online newspapers and look for a room-mate situation. Check those online papers for what jobs pay in the area too.
Best of luck either way.

Answer 4

Sort of, but there are limitations. If a player is eligible for arbitration and his team offers it, the team's new offer (which will be for a one-year contract) cannot be more than 20% reduced from his last annual salary. The major league minimum is $400k (perhaps a bit higher by now; there's a COLA built in to the CBA). No player can be paid less than that. But the real interest is in the big deals, the multi-year free agent contracts that go to eight or nine figures. As a practical matter, even the guiltiest-feeling washout player isn't going to voluntarily give up guaranteed money -- fact of the matter, the union won't allow it (the MLBPA has approval over contracts, including renegotiations, and can veto such, as happened when Alex Rodriguez was trying to get dealt to Boston). However, players can agree to defer money at some low interest rate -- they end up with a bit more money (at least equal in present value), over a longer period of time, and the team gets to reduce its immediate payroll commitments. This isn't all that common, but does occur from time to time. One player who did this, about ten years ago, and which was almost totally ignored by the baseball media because it didn't square with the "complete selfish jerk, no team spirit" image they had been painting upon him for years, was Barry Bonds. Bonds made the offer to the Giants -- he wanted to give the team more payroll flexibility in the present term in order to help build a winning team. They worked it out. He's probably still collecting the deferred payments.

Answer 5

Before you even think of moving out, I suggest you have a serious sit down talk with your Mom to find out what are the underlying issues of her not being able to trust you along with her invasion of your privacy is. Once you are able to determine the cause then work with her toward a solution and if she is reasonable then you may be pleasantly surprised that there may not be a need to move out at this time.

17 years is very young to move out as surviving is tough when you are on your own. Have you considered what would happen if you did move out and go live with your boyfriend and months down the road you break up ... would you be able to survive on your own with just income coming from a summer full time job? I believe the answer would be no.

Answer 6

17 is too young...you're mom is trying to keep tabs on you..she should be commended - not many parents these days care at all what they're kids are doing, especially on the computer. You should be thankful..you sound like a spoiled little brat thats just trying to get back at mommy. Grow up. You're 17 and you had a 4 year relationship with someone who has their own business - no wonder your mother is tripping on you. I would call the cops on your boyfriend if i was her.

Answer 7

Can you do it, Yes. Should you do it, NO!!. Your mom is trying to protect you. She may be over bearing, but she loves you and only wants what is best for you. Until you are 18 you cannot legally have a job. What kind of security money will you have in the bank? What happenes if you loose your job? Think hard before you jump.

Answer 8

The first thing you need to do, to see if you can make it on your own, is get a notebook, check out rental properties, try to get an idea of what the utilities cost, i.e., electric, water, garbage, phone, internet, taxes, food, insurance, and then of course, since you want a car, you would need to see how much per month that is going to cost, along with how much money it's going to cost you for gas to drive it, and again.....insurance......but try to make sure that you could make it on your own, without your boyfriend......because what if you broke up, and couldn't "make it" on your own?

Answer 9

I am in a similar situation and moving out is tough. I do not think that at 17 you are ready to be one your own, I would suggest a roommate to help with the costs.

Answer 10

down here in FL, the pay sucks. i made $12/hr in a retail job in NJ, and i make about $9.78 in this job here in FL. everything but rent is the same price as i was used to paying up north. i don'tknow where you are now, but be prepared. what is $800 a day? his salary (not here in FL, hony), or your living expenses? re-think things before you suddenly move. moving is expensive, and who knows if your relationship will work out?