Here's the story. I've been living with my parents for the last couple years in hopes of saving some cash while I went to school and tried to save up some money at work. Well, one thing came to another, and I'm not in school anymore and my job has been having its hours cut like crazy.

And now I'm in between a bit of a rock and a hard place.

The house had a bit of a meltdown today. I don't get along great with my stepdad sometimes, and today he flipped the hell out. My mom, me, and him all got in a huge screaming match all because I got pissed over what I wanted for lunch (yeah, seriously). It somehow turned into him demanding I take my Xbox downstairs. I refused because the big screen down there isn't HD and I can't get a good Live signal. For Christmas, I got an HDMI cable and a MS Network Adapter. So this demand canceled out everything I received for Christmas. Basically, my mom took my side and now there's talk of me having to get an apartment. I guess this was my last straw, of all things to fight over.

So my question is:

For those who live on their own, how do you save a lot of money? I'm having some serious financial doubts here and I don't know how I'm going to survive paying rent, cable, possibly water, utilities, etc. My mom may be supplying me with some of the rent money each month.

What do you look for when searching for an apartment aside from a good price?

How do you afford it all if you only work a part-time job such as myself? I don't know if my work will allow me to take another job because of the differentiating hours I work.

P.S. I cannot survive without Internet and TV.

Well, SoldierHawk, I'm 21, so it's definitely not out of the question. I've put my parents through a lot of shit in my life, and my step dad is one of those people who just holds grudges his whole life, and doesn't say what he means ever, until it all comes out in a fight. He's an ignorant douchebag honestly.

I don't know if they'd force me to move out, but I feel the need to. It's mainly for my mom, I don't want to put her through any more stress and sadness than I already have. And fuck my step dad, I just don't want to see him often. heh

Yeah, I'm definitely going to be asking around to friends and stuff to see if any one wants a roommate because that truly is my only option. Housing around here, in the city I live in, is very affordable however. The neighbor girl lives down the road a bit and rents out above a bar with everything included, spacious 2 bedroom apartment, 3 rooms, etc. for only 400/mo. She splits it with one person.

Cattivo wrote:

Ice's lunch comment is great too, I try to bring my lunch to work as often as possible, especially ever since Cook County upped the sales tax to 10.25% - the highest in the country. Frickin' Chicago.

Holy COW! That's weak!

Anyways, I appreciate all the tips so far guys (oh, and girls ).

I'm a healthy eater so the fast food and buying lunch at work issues are already resolved. I pack my own lunch every time. I will definitely have my own room. That is a must obviously.

The biggest issue is my income. Between paying for insurance, rent, my drug testing, probation stuff, etc etc. I just simply won't have enough, especially to create any sort of safety net. I've always relied on my parents to pay my way through my problems, and they always have. Plus, I've never really liked cell phones, so I'll need one of those again too. That's another hefty bill.

I just don't see how this is going to work without my mom seriously hooking me up.

Syd Lexia wrote:

If your state has the Mega Millions, play it. Eventually, you'll probably win. I've been playing the Mega Millions for about 8 years... I can still remember when it was called The Big Game. So far I haven't won so much as a dollar, but I'm pretty sure I'm due to hit the jackpot pretty soon. I know everybody says that, but I've been extra good the last 12 months and I pray to Jesus every night to let me hit the jackpot so I can do His work. And also, that's all I asked Santa Claus for last year, to hit the Mega Millions jackpot, so I have a good feeling that Syd is about to become a big money player. When that happens, I'll hook you up with an apartment.

I'm holding you to this. I swear.

GP, I work at Meijer, part time. I also applied at the bowling alley I mentioned in the bowling thread, but so far that's a no-go. I would love to move up to full-time at Meijer, but I fear doing that because I do plan on getting back in school and eventually transferring. This is another issue. I don't want to make any huge commitments until I'm POSITIVE on what I'm doing with my life. It's just really messy right now. I appreciate all of your input, and have already learned a lot more about my situation. Thanks!

username wrote:

another thing, quit drinking and smoking. and dont have a transference of addiction and start eating sweets. if you are gonna drink, drink at home and do it cheaply. in other words, 30-pack of milwaukee's best and/or 40's. what exactly is meijer? if its like most companies, they can usually work with your schedule, unless you decide to go to school full time. what that means, is that you can go full time for this semester since it might be too late for you to register and come the fall semester, you can reassess your position and then decide whether to go to school, or just wait it out some more.

First off, I will never stop smoking. And I drink only maybe once or twice a month, and I really enjoy good ol' union-made Pabst Blue Ribbon, which is highly affordable. So that's good.

Meijer is exactly like Walmart. It was actually around first. Lately, my hours have been cut to almost nothing. But when spring/summer comes I work around 38 hours a week. They will work around my school schedule, but that also means I won't be making very much, and thus could afford even less. If I work all the time (if they let me), then I won't wrap up my goddamn Associate's and be able to transfer out to Central Michigan. That is my ultimate goal.

I think it's honestly too early to think about all this. At least until I get back in school, I don't think I'll be getting my own place. It's then that I'll figure out how I'm going to pull it all off financially.

I just wanted some tips on how to save when I move out.