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September 21, 2021

Managing Money After You Move Out On Your Own

Moving away from home can be one of the most exciting times of your life, but it can also be a bit nerve-racking. Having a solid plan can help you maintain control of your finances during one of the biggest adjustment periods of your life.


Income and expenses

While it may seem like paying bills and being fiscally conscious is a major leap in life, if you take a few extra steps in balancing your income and expenses, it’s actually more of a small hop! Let’s start with creating a list of our monthly expenses and subtracting it from our income. This is just an example, so feel free to add, remove, and adjust expenses depending on your individual situation:

Income/Expense Amount In Amount Out
Payday $2,000  
Rent (includes water)   -$515
Car Payment & Insurance   -$390
Groceries   -$200
Electric   -$200
Internet   -$50
Gas   -$100
Emergency Savings   -$200
Entertainment
(streaming services, etc.)
  -$40
           TOTAL $2,000 -$1,695
           Difference  $305  

Always overestimate

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all bills are static. For instance, the electric bill can vary depending on the weather and season, ranging from $90 to over $250, so it’s best to plan for the worst case scenario. You can always reallocate leftover funds, and getting used to the fluctuation of the price will allow you to create a more accurate statement of your expenses. 

A visual finance helper

If you are a member of MIDFLORIDA, you already have access to a handy Financial Manager tool in Free Online Banking that provides a visual breakdown of your expenses over the last 30 days.  This can help you estimate your variable monthly expenses for spending categories like groceries and gas. You can even set interactive budgets to help reach your spending and savings goals!

 

 

Reallocating funds

Many first time movers have difficulties establishing a budget, as there are a lot of expenses involved with the move, including movers fees or moving equipment, security deposits, and even setup fees for cable and Wi-Fi. It’s important to understand that a budget won’t simply take effect as soon as you make it, you need to stick to the budget and give it time, only then will you see a surplus of funds. Once you begin to notice a surplus of funds, rather than spending the difference as “play money”, consider reallocating it into your emergency savings or adding it to your car payment for the month. Smart decisions like this can help you pay off debt faster, build your credit, and save you money!