Current Events > $1,800 rent on $48,000 salary

(+) Yeah! (+)

Starting a new job and want to get my own place closer to work, how doable is this? I paid off my car recently so no car bill, but there are obviously a lot more expenses that make me wonder if I will need a roommate to pull this off. Thoughts?
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It's going to be very thin. Wouldn't even think about it unless you have an emergency fund, a secure job and a modest lifestyle.
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If the commute becomes virtually non-existent, its probably worth it. Definitely try getting a roommate
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rent is ~22k per year

pre tax income ~48k
post tax (assuming 20% tax rate) ~38k

rent over half your after tax income

too much
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I think its a waste but Im a cheapskate. Without a roomie you wont have a ton of options in your social life. But if you got a roomie...you lose a lot of the advantages that come from living alone imo.
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The yearly cost of that is $21,600 and is 45% of your income. That'll be rough.

I pay 30% right now and I'm thinking that's on the upper edge. I just need my damn $400 a month car loan to go away and I'll be doing much better. =P
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How about a cheap condo?
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Get a roommate
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People underestimate condos... I was able to get one extremely well priced, in a nice area of town and live extremely comfortably. In my area a nice 100k house just isn't doable. I was looking in the 70-80k range for a house and let me tell you... these are not the houses you want to be living in, nor the neighborhoods. I got a real nice condo for 52k and love it. $447 a month payment is a steal. It helped it was a foreclosure and the bank was ready to get rid of it, but you can find something.
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Get a roommate.
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Yeah you're gonna need a roommate in this scenario. You'd need to live like a poor in every other aspect of your life to pull it off otherwise.
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VanDam posted...

People underestimate condos... I was able to get one extremely well priced, in a nice area of town and live extremely comfortably. In my area a nice 100k house just isn't doable. I was looking in the 70-80k range for a house and let me tell you... these are not the houses you want to be living in, nor the neighborhoods. I got a real nice condo for 52k and love it. $447 a month payment is a steal. It helped it was a foreclosure and the bank was ready to get rid of it, but you can find something.

I don't live in an area where that's possible. Even shitty houses in eastern Mass are 300k+, and rent anywhere outside of a terrible neighborhood is 1700+ for studio or 1 bedroom.

As far as my commute goes, I'd be going from a 1-1.5hr commute to a 30-50min commute depending on traffic and exactly what town I move to.
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MegaTech posted...

Get a roommate

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