What expenses should I prepare to pay for when I graduate college and begin to live on my own without parents?

Question

I will be graduating in May and will be moving out on my own. I'm wondering what types of things I will need to be paying for now that I am not a full time student or living with my parents. For example insurance, rent, bills, etc. Thanks.

Answer 1

If you rent, that will be your primary bill. You'll also want to get renter's insurance, which is pretty cheap (usually 100-200 a year).

If you buy a house you'll have a mortgage, PMI (if you don't have 20% down), Home Owner's Insurance, and taxes.

You also have to have car insurance, which depending on what type of car you have, how old you are, and what your driving record is like, can either be cheap or ridiculously expensive. If you don't own your car yet then you'll either have to lease or have a car payment.

Also count on utilities being expensive these days (depending on your location of course). These include electric, water, sewer, heat, cable, phone/cell phones, and internet.

Food budgets can vary depending where and how much you eat. Try to make your own instead of eating out all the time, it's a lot cheaper.

Finally, you'll want some sort of health insurance. You can either get this through your employer or independently. Either way, it's usually expensive.

My advice: find a roommate and rent. Live modestly and save your money until you can afford a house.

Answer 2

Ha! Rent or mortgage payments, if you buy a house, you'll need a down payment (usually in the 10% range), fire insurance, trash , water & sewer payments, property taxes, plus if you own, you'll have to pay to fix everything that breaks. If you want a car, you'll have that monthly payment, plus insurance and registration and plenty of cash for fuel. If you decide to rent in the city, be prepared to pay for a parking space. Then there's electricity, phone, heat, food, clothing, cable / internet and laundry to wash. That's why so many kids decide that living at home isn't all that bad after all. I almost forgot - health insurance. You'd better get a job with an employer who has a low cost health plan or you're doomed.

Answer 3

I just graduated last may. The only expense that I was not expecting was the closing costs on buying a house. I had 25k and wanted to buy a house. I decided to put down 20k on the house and live on the other 5k in case it took me a while to get a job. Well, I did pay only 20k down on the house, but all the FEES associated with it - inspection, warranty, closing costs - I ended up spending about 24k on everything.

Another thing - if you're moving out of state, you will need to pay money for transferring your title, getting vehicle registration, plates, and new drivers license. For me and my wife, the total was about $400 in Texas. Each state has its own charges. We even had to pay a new resident tax of like, 90 bucks each.

Answer 4

Ugh... Being a grown up sucks! haha.. but I graduated last year and the things I have to pay for are rent, bills (gas, electric, water, sewer, cable, Internet, phone, trash, and credit card) car payment & insurance, & groceries. You'll also want to set aside money for clothes, & having fun!! I think that's about it!

Congrats on graduating! && best of luck to you!

Answer 5

Expenses of what? I am a 29 year old that went to college full time and had a full time job and lived at home until i was stable enough to move out. sure it was hard but my parents didnt owe me anything. I sometimes think kids think that they cant do anything for themselves and that parents must provide them with a college education. there are plenty of student loans out there if you look for them. With my parents not paying for our college expenses, it taught both me and my brother the meaning of what hard work really is and everything is not always gonna get handed to you because life if rough.

Answer 6

Holy crap.....good luck. What you need to be asking is how can you get help!!!

Seriously....here you go-
DO NOT SKIP ON THE BIRTH CONTROL

rent
car
insurance
health ins (most plans will not cover you after you move out)
food
clothing/toiletries - this adds up
entertainment - adds up and don't think you'll be so happy in your own place that you'll stay home b/c you won't and for goodness sake - NO CREDIT CARDS
gas for car
gas bill
electric
water
maitenence (on anything) This can screw you.
prescriptions you may need
cable
phone
cell phone

Answer 7

Rent, you also need a deposit.
Utilities...unless they are included with the rent. Gas, Lights, cable, phone.
Food
Insurance......get Renters Insurance!
Do you have furniture, dishes, towels, all of the little creature comforts? Small appliances?
When I was getting ready to move out, my mom and dad started getting me stuff like that for my birthday and Christmas. It really saved a lot of money and stress, and it helped me out a bunch.

Answer 8

car payments, electric, gas, water, health insurance, incidenttals that you will never think of---car breaking down, flat tire, tooth ache, cable tv, cellphone, down payments on all th utilities, student loans, hair cuts, furniture, dish towls, bath towels, stuff to cook with, cleaning suppies, if a house you will need a lawn mower, edger, weed eater, TP, BEER, Soft drinks, renters or homeowners insurance, oil changes, wiper blades, clothes, and on and on. Basically, there are no pat answers as life is changing every 7-11 seconds.

Good luck in graduating and beginning your life

Answer 9

Good luck in the real world:

Rent/Mortgage payment
Electric Bill
Phone Bill (regular land line)
Mobile phone Bill
Internet Bill
Water Bill
Renters Insurance/ Home insurance
Car payment (?)
Car insurance
FOOD
Gas money/other transportation money
Cable/Satelitte Bill

....

and any 'EXTRAS' you may want ....clothes, movies, underwear...

Answer 10

Car payment
Car insurance
House payment or rent
House insurance
Have some extra money for little things that go wrong in the house or apartment that are not covered
Water
Electric
Garbage service
Groceries
TV or satellite unless you opt for the three channel system
Any loans that you may have taken out while in school
Clothing
That pretty much leaves nothing for dating. Good luck though! :D