3 Year Budget

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sakiale
  • 20 comments
  • 934 views
Sakiale

Sakiale

(Banned)
Messages
2,274
Well, I'm having a little trouble with my Boy Scouts homework, so I figured I could ask for a little help.

The assignment is this:

You are ready to go out into the world. Your options as place to stay are your parents' house, 40 miles/70 minutes away from work with no public transportation available, at $500/month including room and board.

An apartment 40 miles/60 minutes away with no public transportation, at $600/month, unfurnished.

An apartment across the street from your job, at $1100/month unfurnished, and $1300 month furnished.

An apartment 5 min. away from the train, then 30 minutes to your job, at $900/month unfurnished, or $1100/month furnished.

A metro pass for the month is $40.

My car is a Honda Del Sol Si, which I now sorely regret choosing. At least it gets better mileage than the Grand National, and probably less maintenance than an '80s sports car...

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to budget this? I was thinking maybe to get furniture from other people (trash picking..) for free, but I don't have many other ideas.. I must account for everything within the first 2 months, including gas, major purchases, etc.

I get $5000 if I leave home immediately.

I must pay
Rent
Utilities ($125/month)
Phone ($30/month cell, and $15/month home)
Transportation
Major purchases
Medical
Entertainment.

I must move at least once by the end of the 1st or 2nd year.

The 2nd month's budget will be the base for the next 11 months.

Any help? Suggestions? Tips? Stories of your own experiences?

Please help me, I really need it

(rep points for good ideas... not that my rep is worth much...)

EDIT I make $2000/month after graduating High School, with $600 in taxes,
OR $3200/month after College with $960 in taxes. I get a 15% increase in pay each year for college ed.

EDIT 2: Observed mpg ratings for the Del Sol are 25/city and 30/hwy.
 
Get a better paying job! Or live a a buddies house fo rfree OR split the cost of a house/room/apartment/dorm/ect.
 
:lol: Already taken care of man.

Blitz, according to the assignment I cant do that. Anyway, how long would a friend let you stay in his house? A month tops?

I AM assuming I've finished college though (yeah right. Ill need luck to do that).
 
Go to college, take the Apartment 5 mins from the train.... You'll use less gas. Make it furnished. The 200 dollars more is worth a bed, fridge, and other things. Use the Del Sol only when necesary. Walk when you can to the train station. For a major purchase, buy a small-ish TV and Cable. Buy a CD or two for entertainment. Hope that helps. :)

EDIT: Get a friend to move in with you, or get a new roomie to split the rent.
 
1.finish college definitely cause things will be easier in the long run. cause thats what i'm gonna do before i move out of my parents house. cause when i get done i'm gonna be working in a pretty good paying field ($12.00/hr-who knows where the limit ends) im doing that so i me and my girl wont have to worry about the ends meeting

2.dont use premium fuel

hope that helps
 
Finish College.
Then choose the apartment 5 mins from station unfurnished.
I don't know what furniture costs over there but but you should be able to either pick up cheap second hand furniture or budget new furniture. You don't have to have the best yet, you save for that later. All you need to start is a bed, lounge, fridge, TV, linen and cooking utensils, plates, cutlery etc. I assume that an oven/cooker comes with the apartment cos they do over here.
You should easily be able to do that with money to spare as well as save a couple of hundred each month.
Use Excel or something similar to set your budget out then play around with the numbers.
 
Sakiale
Well, I'm having a little trouble with my Boy Scouts homework, so I figured I could ask for a little help.

get $5000 if I leave home immediately.
Click to expand...

Become a thief.

Your 'goods' pay the bills (apartment, utilities etc).

If you get caught you get free accommodation, food, utilities, everything.
 
VIPERGTSR01
If you get caught you get free accommodation, food, utilities, everything.
Click to expand...
Sometimes, they actually make you pay for food, if you're not staying for too long. It prevents bums from committing petty crimes, and getting institutionalized for free.
 
Matthew Keller
Go to college, take the Apartment 5 mins from the train.... You'll use less gas. Make it furnished. The 200 dollars more is worth a bed, fridge, and other things. Use the Del Sol only when necesary. Walk when you can to the train station. For a major purchase, buy a small-ish TV and Cable. Buy a CD or two for entertainment. Hope that helps. :)

EDIT: Get a friend to move in with you, or get a new roomie to split the rent.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Well I never really considered moving there first... I was thinking more about the $600 one, but yours actually makes more sense--especially after realizing that I've already spent over $1000 on furniture etc, and I'm buying as cheap as I can. And I can't split the cost. I'm assuming I've already finished college though. Thanks for the advice though, it helps.
Wenders
Finish College.
Then choose the apartment 5 mins from station unfurnished.
I don't know what furniture costs over there but but you should be able to either pick up cheap second hand furniture or budget new furniture. You don't have to have the best yet, you save for that later. All you need to start is a bed, lounge, fridge, TV, linen and cooking utensils, plates, cutlery etc. I assume that an oven/cooker comes with the apartment cos they do over here.
You should easily be able to do that with money to spare as well as save a couple of hundred each month.
Use Excel or something similar to set your budget out then play around with the numbers.
Click to expand...
Well.. I think Matt's right with getting the furnished one.
VIPERGTSR01
Become a thief.

Your 'goods' pay the bills (apartment, utilities etc).

If you get caught you get free accommodation, food, utilities, everything.
Click to expand...
:lol: You're not serious, are you?
 
Tell the Boy Scouts that moving out of your parents' house is always the best option, regardless of cost; no math is needed to justify this. If they find that unsatisfactory, ask your Scoutmaster what his bedtime is, and if his mommy lets him stay up an extra half-hour on weekends.
 
Kylehnat
Tell the Boy Scouts that moving out of your parents' house is always the best option, regardless of cost; no math is needed to justify this. If they find that unsatisfactory, ask your Scoutmaster what his bedtime is, and if his mommy lets him stay up an extra half-hour on weekends.
Click to expand...
... And how was that helping. Or funny?

They give you the option. They don't say you must stay at home for the first year.
 
Sakiale
Well, I'm having a little trouble with my Boy Scouts homework, so I figured I could ask for a little help.

[snip]

Any help? Suggestions? Tips? Stories of your own experiences?
Click to expand...

Grab a spreadsheet. Work out your expenses in two forms: one-off (aka "Purchases" or "Capital Costs") and ongoing (aka "Subscriptions", or "Operating Costs").

Across the top, put in Months. Then down the left, put a list of your incomings, and their timings. So, you get a $5k lump sum when you leave house, and $2k per month.

Under the incomings, put your outgoings. List the ongoing costs first as they're relatively static. Don't forget to include as many things as you can, including food, fuel, insurance, rent, transportation passes. Once you're done with that, put in your Capital Costs, including paying a deposit on a rented flat (typically a month's rent in advance), and include as many things as you can think of.

Now, here's the trick. You're going to have, at the top, your total monthly income. And underneath your total monthly expenditure. If income is greater than expenditure, all is well. If not, try to move things around, particularly your non-committed capital costs - such as furniture purchasing - which you wouldn't have to do all in one go.

Also, buy a local paper, or - better still - get one of the local free advertising papers. And get an Ikea catalogue. Do one budget using Ikea furniture, then another using stuff you find advertised in the paper.

I don't know how much detail you need, but I'm guessing that what the Scouts are looking for is prudence,a nd a willingness to compromise on luxury to make the books balance.
 
GilesGuthrie
Grab a spreadsheet. Work out your expenses in two forms: one-off (aka "Purchases" or "Capital Costs") and ongoing (aka "Subscriptions", or "Operating Costs").

Across the top, put in Months. Then down the left, put a list of your incomings, and their timings. So, you get a $5k lump sum when you leave house, and $2k per month.

Under the incomings, put your outgoings. List the ongoing costs first as they're relatively static. Don't forget to include as many things as you can, including food, fuel, insurance, rent, transportation passes. Once you're done with that, put in your Capital Costs, including paying a deposit on a rented flat (typically a month's rent in advance), and include as many things as you can think of.

Now, here's the trick. You're going to have, at the top, your total monthly income. And underneath your total monthly expenditure. If income is greater than expenditure, all is well. If not, try to move things around, particularly your non-committed capital costs - such as furniture purchasing - which you wouldn't have to do all in one go.

Also, buy a local paper, or - better still - get one of the local free advertising papers. And get an Ikea catalogue. Do one budget using Ikea furniture, then another using stuff you find advertised in the paper.

I don't know how much detail you need, but I'm guessing that what the Scouts are looking for is prudence,a nd a willingness to compromise on luxury to make the books balance.
Click to expand...
That's the best idea yet!

Great ideas there. Although I just shop online so I don't think I'll get any catalogs or ads.
Danoff
Working on Life rank?
Click to expand...

No... Second class.
 

Latest Posts

Back