Submitted by qwe12a12 t3_yt4lhg in personalfinance
I'm 25 and last month I got a job where I make about $4,300 a month after taxes. I just settled about 15k of collections debt and only have 10k in student loans which I'm hoping will be settled by the Biden-Harris act. I love my parents but they have been a very serious strain on my financial situation over the years and I have worked hard to find an opportunity to move out without tanking my financials further. Currently I have $2000 in my bank account and do not own any assets outside of my computer. I intend to move from Texas to North Dakota on the first of the new year and want to make sure I'm doing it in the most economical way I reasonably can and not overlooking any major expenses in my budget.
I intend to move into a Two bedroom Two bath apartment that costs $880 a month and has a $650 deposit with appliances. I work remotely and will be living within a 3 minute walk of a mall and grocery store but intend to buy a car within 6 months of moving. My monthly expenses budget looks like this right now.
Income: 4,300
Expenses:
Rent: 880
Food: 400
Power: 200?
Water: 50?
Internet: 90
Phone: 91
Health expenses: 125
Various subscriptions: 40
Renters insurance: ???
projected monthly savings: 2,424
When I move I intend to have my mom drive me up with all my stuff in the trunk and intend to pay for a hotel for her on the way back home. With my current budget I anticipate that ill have about $6,000 to complete the entire move out process and I'm projecting these one time expenses.
Starting balance: 6,000
First month rent: 880
Deposit: 650
First month Internet: 95
Cost to drive up to North Dakota and assist with driving back back to Texas: 500
Bed: 250
Chair: 250
Toiletries: 150
Remaining balance: 3,225
I'm bringing my desk, computer setup, a couple 1u servers, general IT paraphernalia, a OSHA certified health care kit and accompanying bag of drugs, my clothes and linens, and a toolbox full of "around the house" tools. I intend to pack everything into trash bags so I don't have to buy boxes.
I have a roommate lined up for May who will pay half of the rent, power, water, and internet but ill be taking care of the full amount until he is able to move in. I intend to save up $5,000 then look into buying a car and various household items. I would like to continue investing in my career and would like to budget about $1,000 for that over the next two months if I can afford it. I spoke with my boss yesterday and verified that he was very happy with my current performance.
Is there anything major that I'm forgetting? Are there going to be high maintenance costs on a car in a cold weather environment or is insurance going to kill me? How much do I even pay for a car in the current economy? Should I buy anything before I move? Is there a good way to find the cheapest electricity and water costs (so far the only recourse I have found is the reported residential public utility cost per KWh per vendor graph in the city I'm moving to.) Is $5,000 enough of an emergency fund before I buy something like a car or some non essential furniture?
I apologize for the wall of text and any advice you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated.