Context: 34F. I’ve had roommates for the past 10 years. I’ve been living in my current 2B2B apartment for 6 years with a total 4 roommates over the years; 2 great and 2 nightmares. My current roommate will be moving in with her boyfriend and I don’t think I have any more roommating left in me. I’m an introvert. I don’t like having people over. Home is my solace. I’m almost 35 and I feel the need to have my own space.
HCOL area. Cheapest studio or 1 Bed is between $1995-$2100. My net pay is $5600-$6300 a month. 27k in HYSA, $5500 in Roth. No debt, no car note, no student loans, no pets. I just have core bills like gas and electric(varies/m-approx $250), car insurance ($153), phone bill($90), WiFi ($50), Netflix, spotify and Amazon prime ($38 for all 3). Will I be ok?
Going from $1300 to $2100 rent
byu/Elegant-Snow-9724 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Elegant-Snow-9724
8 Comments
If you are spending less than half on total monthly expenses then you should be okay. Try and save 10-15% a month for a rainy day fund.
Your savings is extremely low for your age. And, despite your list of regular bills appearing modest for your income, the fact that you only have ~$30K in savings indicates that all that ~$6K/mo of income is going SOMEWHERE.
Currently you pay $1,300/mo with another ~$700 in other bills. That’s only $2K/mo in expenses. Yet you make $6K/mo in take-home. On the surface, that would indicate that you have plenty of buffer to absord another $800/mo in rent.
But where the heck is the other $4K/mo going?
It’s not going into your savings, that’s for sure.
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Go for the $2100 Studio.
Keep contributing to ROTH IRA, HSA, & 401K, they are super important. But cut corners in other categories & be careful & frugal.
I lived with room mates from 21 to 29. During the last 2 years of it, I felt like I was staying wayyyy late at the party. But that was a different time. Life is more expensive now.
Your savings/retirement are not on track to retire
Having the place to your self is worth it for me
Congrats on nursing school. Will your income go up again?
And interest in doing a locum/being a traveling nurse to experience different areas? Heard it can pay well. Some are not so short term, and also some have colleagues glad for the extra hands.
At 35, I’d move to a studio and consider a commute for the quiet.
I’m 31 and just upped my rent from $600/month to $1,300/month to be solo after 10 years of roommates and personally it’s been *heavenly*. Sure, I have to make some different lifestyle choices and tighten the belt a bit, but I’m also an introvert/homebody and finally having my own space and not having to deal with other people’s gross messes is absolutely worth it to me.