My first apt alone

[Taera]

There comes a time in every young man's life where he needs to leave the nest and spread his wings. I have reached this particular time in my life and well, I have a few questions to those of you who have already done the same. With all of the livign expenses on my shoulders, I was wondering if people had some money saving tips to cut down the cost of living as much as possible so that I dont remain dirt poor.
I'm moving into a 1 bedroom apt with no roommate or girlfriend to help so it's all on me. I've gotten a few tips from people at work saying things like turn down my water heater from 140 to 130 and that will help quite a bit, dont leave the air on when i'm not there, and to start a ramen noodle diet. Just curious if anyone else had any tips for someone fresh out on thier own.

[Therin]

Cancel your porn subscriptions, stop paying $15/month to play an online game, and get a job.

Spoiler: show

Just kidding, who would want to do any of that?

[Tajin]

dont leave the air on when i'm not there

Thats not uber knowledge thats common-sense, is people that stupid?

And lol at the ramen knoodle diet, if you got a kitchen, learning to cook should be >>>> cheaper than buying food for sure.

Getting a job is common-sense too, HAS THE FUCKING WORLD GONE STUPID ON ME?!

[Day]

Buy the walmart brand of stuffs.

[jmc]

There comes a time in every young man's life where he needs to leave the nest and spread his wings. I have reached this particular time in my life and well, I have a few questions to those of you who have already done the same. With all of the livign expenses on my shoulders, I was wondering if people had some money saving tips to cut down the cost of living as much as possible so that I dont remain dirt poor.
I'm moving into a 1 bedroom apt with no roommate or girlfriend to help so it's all on me. I've gotten a few tips from people at work saying things like turn down my water heater from 140 to 130 and that will help quite a bit, dont leave the air on when i'm not there, and to start a ramen noodle diet. Just curious if anyone else had any tips for someone fresh out on thier own.

Get a apartment you can actually afford, and get one that wont leave you with $100 for the month after you pay rent.

[Therin]

Getting a job is common-sense too, HAS THE FUCKING WORLD GONE STUPID ON ME?!

My post was a joke.

[Tajin]

Evidently I was too pissed to notice, my bad.

[Taera]

Get a apartment you can actually afford, and get one that wont leave you with $100 for the month after you pay rent.

The apt is 370 a month, no utilities paid. Cheapest I could find to live in an area that i wont get shot, mugged, or my car put up on blocks. Considering the average cost of places around where I am too, it's a good deal.

[Cephius]

Get a apartment you can actually afford, and get one that wont leave you with $100 for the month after you pay rent.

Yeah cuz water, electric, internet, tv, phone, food, and leisure cash is only $100 a month amirite?

[Izzy]

Ramen noodle diet will make you lose 30 lbs a year and save you assloads of money!

It's not really healthy though Q_Q

[Taera]

Yeah cuz water, electric, internet, tv, phone, food, and leisure cash is only $100 a month amirite?

From what i've heard from other people living there, if i'm good with my water and electric, they should run me only 50-70 a month, internet is 30, no cable til i'm sure i can swing it, cell phone is 70 cause AT&T are bandits, and no idea on food yet. Lesiure cash? Not familiar with the term.

[Quixon]

370 for a 1 Bedroom isn't to bad at all.


Studios around here go for like $400-500. I was helping my brother out a couple months ago looking for places like 6 months ago. I'm assuming the price is/will come down with the state of the economy.

[Tyche]

Thats not uber knowledge thats common-sense, is people that stupid?

That is uber incorrect...

Why do people suggest to turn the air off when you are gone short periods of time? When you come home, you have to turn the air on, and it will stay on for a very long time trying to recool the house. THe house heats up in the summer much faster than it cools. I'd leave the air on a constant 70-72. If you leave the air on consistantly, the air will kick off when it reaches the desired tempeture and if it goes above, kick back on for a few minutes to drop the temp back down. Then again, it's really humid here and it takes much longer to push the humidity out. I could see where it may be cheaper to turn it off in less humid areas (even then, I'd say its a push), but in really humid places, certainly cheaper to leave it on.

Also, clip coupons for groceries, and buy cheap. Grocery prices are getting outrageous.

[izembo]

you can learn quickly how much you really dont need cable tv once you dont have it anymore

[Taera]

I never watch tv anyway so it's no big deal, but i'd fucking die without internet. There isnt anything on TV that you cant download now anyway. lol

[Day]

That is uber incorrect...

Why do people suggest to turn the air off when you are gone short periods of time? When you come home, you have to turn the air on, and it will stay on for a very long time trying to recool the house. THe house heats up in the summer much faster than it cools. I'd leave the air on a constant 70-72. If you leave the air on consistantly, the air will kick off when it reaches the desired tempeture and if it goes above, kick back on for a few minutes to drop the temp back down. Then again, it's really humid here and it takes much longer to push the humidity out. I could see where it may be cheaper to turn it off in less humid areas (even then, I'd say its a push), but in really humid places, certainly cheaper to leave it on.

Also, clip coupons for groceries, and buy cheap. Grocery prices are getting outrageous.

Omg tyche we are like bros I just said this in spam man.

[Azalee]

In my house we have really cheap windows, so we bought this window sealer stuff for the winter which REALLY helped to keep the cold air out...

There is also stuff that you put in the inside of windows to help block UV Rays and keep the house cooler...

Don't buy name brand. Medicines and such are made with the exact same shit, for a lot less money.

If you have a habit of buying an espresso or something in the morning, stop it. That $5 a day really adds up quick. Same thing if you eat fast food a lot.

[Beckwin]

Tyche is pretty much right about the cooling thing, but in addition I'd suggest dealing with slightly warmer than 70-72 degrees.

try to avoid eating out too much and try to avoid driving as much as you can. turn lights off. try to get as much entertainment value out of the internet connection as you can. I'm not a vegetarian and you probably aren't either, but don't let that stop you from trying tofu- shit is really cheap and not hard to prepare, and gives a lot of good, filling protein. I've gotten it for 1-2 bucks a pound, which is generally much much cheaper than meat. Buy store brand stuff- especially soda, that stuff is like half the price and tastes the same. Powdered drank is a cheap alternative to juice. Sometimes, buying a bunch of pizza to last a few days is actually kinda cheap (a 5-5-5 is lunch + dinner for three days, easy) when you don't feel like cooking/wanna hold off on grocery shopping.

If you like working out and aren't particularly attached to weightlifting, avoid gym memberships- a pullup bar, a decent pair of running shoes, maybe some dumbells, and a place to run can meet the needs of most just fine.

[Norellicus]

It's not the healthiest but soup (including and especially ramen) and mac&cheese (the kind in a box you have to cook, not easymac shit) is some of the cheapest eating around, and it fills you up. If you're in a pinch and can't cut corners much anywhere else, it's definitely doable there. Watch coupons for good deals on stuff, including pizza places because 5-5-5 deals can last a single person all week if you keep it stored properly and that's cheap eating.

Using timed cooling systems won't save you much if you're going from full off to full on every 8 hours or so, but it is advisable to turn it down at the very least if you're going to be gone for the weekend or whatnot. It also helps to leave the temp at 78 when hot and 72 when cold, since it's the happiest medium between comfort and effective temperature control (note: I strike a middle ground and just keep it at 75 so the room feels about the same year-round). If you have ceiling fans, USE THEM. If you're cold with the fan on, turn the AC down, don't mess with the fan. Fans do very little to actually affect the temperature in the room, but the simple act of circulating the air will help you feel more comfortable in the space by keeping it uniformly down to that temp, and they use far less energy than your AC so if you can adjust the temp and not have to mess with the fan then you'll be saving a bit there. (Additional note: Box fans and floor fans aren't nearly as effective for this.) Keep your blinds closed when the sun is out in the summer; less sun means less heat being generated that your AC has to deal with.

Be habitual about turning off lights when you're not in the room. Don't leave them on when you aren't home either, it really doesn't reduce theft chances.

If you have W/D in the house, do the largest loads of laundry you can as infrequently as possible. Same goes for dishwasher; if you can't fill the whole machine, consider handwashing as you use the dishes.

[Norelco]

Best thing to do is write out a budget for yourself and stick to it.