Adulting Help

[Nuluvius]

9 minutes ago, elderago said:

If you really want to live pn your own look into living with roommates. And pick people you get along with.

Living with other people... ew.

[alicskysareblue]

4 minutes ago, Nuluvius said:

Living with other people... ew.

most one bedroom apartmens are over 600 dollers a month in my area and basic efficancies are at least 500 dollers

 

that doesnt include costs such as,internet, electricity water (yep they charge for that in some areas), cost of food etc

 

Unless you want to work two three jobs  this is reality man, 

[cluelessgenius]

well i started training for this when i still lived with my parents.

when i started working and bringing in the cash i also started paying them rent and buying my own food.

that way i got a feeling for what food will cost me a month and since i drove to work with the car i bought off my parents i knew what gas will cost me.

so income minus food minus gas gave me some idea what ill have left for possible rent.

buying a house like you are planning wasnt an option for me though as that is a long time commitment.

so basically get a feeling for what are going to be the highest expenses every month and with whatever is left you go looking for a place.

also i dont know if its like this everywhere but i would imagine it is: dont forget about the retainer money. here its usually 2x-3x the monthly rent

[JefferyD90]

On ‎12‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 1:01 PM, iamdarkyoshi said:

I'm a reno nevada resident. Its nearing time for me to GTFO of my parents' house. I went on Zillow, and found the cheapest house I can find.

 

And its this one:

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Reno-NV/pmf,pf_pt/7274216_zpid/13478_rid/50000-_price/194-_mp/pricea_sort/39.803261,-119.381562,39.274789,-120.31952_rect/9_zm/

 

There is absolutely no way in hell that I'm going to live in an apartment, I need space for all my shit.

 

I know absolutely fuck all about adulting, as you can probably tell, so go easy on me. 

 

I've got a 2013 chevy volt as my car, and I bought it right then and there, no loans or anything. So theres transport sorted.

 

Speaking of which, I've never used a credit card. Everything has been debit for me.

 

 

 

So how would one calculate monthly expenses for someone like me? I don't even know where to start.

So, you can go at this from one of two ways...

 

1. )  How much money do you make?  Then budget around that to determine the lifestyle that you can live.

2. )  How much does the lifestyle you want to live cost?  Then find a source of income to support that.

 

Tell me which one you want to do, and we can go from there.

[cluelessgenius]

1 minute ago, JefferyD90 said:

...

2. )  How much does the lifestyle you want to live cost?  Then find a source of income to support that.

...

according to that ideology i should start selling drugs andhave girls running

[H0R53]

Get prepaid. it's cheap. Also do things that don't require tax deductions like painting only one side of a fence. mow lawns, shovel driveways, do any oddjob you can. I'm an adult and I haven't paid taxes in 9 years. Why? Because taxes suck. I still have things like health insurance, a cozy place to live and all the other comforts of a healthy life. 

[Nuluvius]

4 hours ago, elderago said:

most one bedroom apartmens are over 600 dollers a month in my area and basic efficancies are at least 500 dollers

 

that doesnt include costs such as,internet, electricity water (yep they charge for that in some areas), cost of food etc

 

Unless you want to work two three jobs  this is reality man, 

Is that all? Honestly that's quite cheap even considering a single earnings. Rental prices in my area sit around £1300 minimum.

[AshleyAshes]

It's cool guys, the OP has anadonded the thread and any ideas of this grand 'adulting' experiment.  He'll be living with his parents forever now.  \o/

[Nuluvius]

2 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

He'll be living with his parents forever now.  \o/

Down in the basement right?

Wise move.

[straight_stewie]

On 12/18/2016 at 0:01 PM, iamdarkyoshi said:

I've got a 2013 chevy volt as my car, and I bought it right then and there, no loans or anything. So theres transport sorted.

 

Speaking of which, I've never used a credit card. Everything has been debit for me.

 

 

 

So how would one calculate monthly expenses for someone like me? I don't even know where to start.

Well, to be honest, monthly expenses are a tough one, and these percentages are very general, but probably not realistic. It all depends on how much money you have now, as well as how much income you have.

[dalekphalm]

On 2016-12-19 at 10:23 AM, Nuluvius said:

I'll reiterate this once more: Specifically borrowing from a credit card is a terrible option - not only is the APR dire but in most cases doing so will actually negatively impact your credit rating. There's a worse way still of using one beyond that which is to actually draw cash out against it.

 

Using one for very short term micro payments is negligible at best. Moreover there is a large margin of subjectivity between companies on this. Hence why I said avoid doing so if it's not necessary...

 

Borrowing in the form of a loan on the other hand is fine and even helpful under specific circumstances i.e. that it's not going to push you beyond your means.

 

You may choose to ignore what I have said and to go ahead using your credit cards in that fashion, that's your choice, I would say that you are playing with fire. What do I know though? I've only been self sufficient now for a few decades and thanks to credit have only lived through one bankruptcy so far  I suppose kids really can't be told and must learn the hard way after all 

I think you're massively misunderstanding @Mug's comment.

 

If you never borrow money, you don't have a credit rating (This is based on US/Canada/North American systems, so I honestly have no idea how it works in the UK).

 

If you always buy things in cash, even big things like cars, that will not help build a good credit rating.

 

A Credit Card is the perfect way to start building your credit without a lot of risk. You can get a credit card with a very low credit limit (Say $200), and put recurring monthly expenses on it (Internet, Mobile Phone, Netflix, etc). Then you can simply store the credit card in a drawer and never actually use it to buy things. This will help build your credit a lot over a few years, as long as you pay the Credit Card bill in full when it is issued. Credit Card companies have a "grace" period (usually 21 days after the date on the bill) in which no interest will be charged.

 

Mug is NOT saying make huge purchases using a credit card. I have no idea how you could infer or interpret that from his comment.

 

Saving up cash to buy things like computers, or even a car is perfectly doable. But saving up cash to buy a house? Maybe 10% of the population can afford to do that. It also depends on where you live, and average house prices.  Buying that (seemingly) piece of crap "mobile" house the OP linked to in cash? Possible after some years (saving $50K is doable but will take most people a long time). But a "decent" house in the city I live in will cost you six times that amount, and even that would be a smaller starter house.

 

Therefore, getting a mortgage to buy a real house is certainly how most people should do it. The interest you pay will be directly based on your credit rating. Hell, you might not even get approved if you have zero credit rating.

 

On 2016-12-19 at 9:55 AM, Mug said:

It's not just to re-build a credit rating, but to build a decent one out of nothing, if you've never borrowed anything you'll find it very difficult to get a decent mortgage, better rates are available for those that borrow heavily but never miss a payment. It's a good idea to put something like your phone contract or food bill on your credit card, then get it to pay off before your grace period ends.

 

[Niemand]

On 12/20/2016 at 7:11 AM, Nuluvius said:

Living with other people... ew.

Other people are people too!

[Nuluvius]

10 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

A Credit Card is the perfect way to start building your credit without a lot of risk.

I completely disagree based on real world experience. However based on the rest of your post then I am prepared to accept that it may be a cultural or infrastructural difference; perhaps over there credit is so ingrained into the culture that running into debt is seen as normal. Or perhaps credit cards are your only mechanism for automating payments... I don't propose to be the expert on that nor do I have sufficient time currently to research the issue to make an objective comment.

10 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

If you never borrow money, you don't have a credit rating (This is based on US/Canada/North American systems, so I honestly have no idea how it works in the UK).

If you always buy things in cash, even big things like cars, that will not help build a good credit rating.

We have the direct debit for automated payments and generally we use debit based transactions for everything else. Our credit systems seem to prefer to see those type of transactions moving around combined with our bank and utility balances along with the occasional loan that is responsibly managed. Cash is seldom involved and personally I wouldn't walk around with more than £100 at the most (pocket change) on my person.

10 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Saving up cash to buy things like computers, or even a car is perfectly doable. But saving up cash to buy a house? Maybe 10% of the population can afford to do that. It also depends on where you live, and average house prices.  Buying that (seemingly) piece of crap "mobile" house the OP linked to in cash? Possible after some years (saving $50K is doable but will take most people a long time). But a "decent" house in the city I live in will cost you six times that amount, and even that would be a smaller starter house.

 

Therefore, getting a mortgage to buy a real house is certainly how most people should do it. The interest you pay will be directly based on your credit rating. Hell, you might not even get approved if you have zero credit rating.

10 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I have no idea how you could infer or interpret that from his comment.

I have no idea how you could infer or interpret that from my comment:

On 19/12/2016 at 3:23 PM, Nuluvius said:

Borrowing in the form of a loan on the other hand is fine and even helpful under specific circumstances i.e. that it's not going to push you beyond your means.

 

[dalekphalm]

4 hours ago, Nuluvius said:

I completely disagree based on real world experience. However based on the rest of your post then I am prepared to accept that it may be a cultural or infrastructural difference; perhaps over there credit is so ingrained into the culture that running into debt is seen as normal. Or perhaps credit cards are your only mechanism for automating payments... I don't propose to be the expert on that nor do I have sufficient time currently to research the issue to make an objective comment.

We have the direct debit for automated payments and generally we use debit based transactions for everything else. Our credit systems seem to prefer to see those type of transactions moving around combined with our bank and utility balances along with the occasional loan that is responsibly managed. Cash is seldom involved and personally I wouldn't walk around with more than £100 at the most (pocket change) on my person.

I have no idea how you could infer or interpret that from my comment:

 

Interesting - thank you for taking the time to clarify your post. It seems that this is mostly a institutional difference.

You CAN automate payments via your bank account ("Direct Withdrawal" or "Direct Payments"), although not every bill/utility supports this. However, an automated recurring payment that direct debits from your bank account does not show up in your credit history in North America. Those kinds of recurring payments won't affect your credit either way, negatively or positively. But that also means it won't help you build credit either.

 

No worries - you're certainly more of an expert on the UK system then I am. Credit in North America is ingrained into our financial system - sure, you can get by without credit. But it limits some of the things you can do. Credit Cards are very common - and yes, they are a huge risk and are very easy to use to overspend or live beyond your means. But they are also very useful tools to easily build credit without having to take out small loans at huge interest rates.

 

If you are smart with a credit card, you'll never pay a single cent in interest. But of course, not everyone is.

 

I actually never carry cash with me at any times, unless I specifically need it for something. Debit is so ubiquitous here in Canada, that it's odd when a place doesn't accept debit. 99% of my cash usage is just to use the damn vending machine at work (and the last 1% is to use at the Bingo hall every month or two - goddamn that's a fun game!)

[iamdarkyoshi]

On 12/20/2016 at 6:19 AM, AshleyAshes said:

It's cool guys, the OP has anadonded the thread and any ideas of this grand 'adulting' experiment.  He'll be living with his parents forever now.  \o/

Not quite.