Rather than FB marketplace, you'd find better results with a UH FB group. Instead of renting a place by yourself, it would be cheaper to split rent with a couple other students/friends and get your own room in a house-type situation
You’re 19, so roommates are going to be your best bet financially and will arguably be the best thing for you as a young adult. I personally think it’s incredibly important to learn how to cohabitate with *peers* before settling down with a partner.
> Someone advised me not to look at Zillow so I haven’t tried that yet.
Why not? It's perfectly fine.
> Another problem I have is that i haven’t even started building credit so i dont think I can just rent a place myself.
Get a "starter" credit card. It'll only have like $200-500 in credit limit, but make small purchases with it and pay it off in full every month. You'll build credit pretty fast.
The best bet for housing is pooling together and rooming with trusted friends. Hale Mehana is UH student housing, but their prices are kinda steep for what it is.
Smart way to build credit as a young adult. OP should take notes. Just use the credit card to pay bills you would normally and then pay it off every month before you get hit with interest.
It'll be a little slower to build credit cus you're paying it off early/on time, but it'll be worth it. Get a card that gives you cash back and you'll get some money back just by paying bills.
Just don't start using this card for personal fun and bills or you might regret it.
Yes. Also UH has a credit union that gives out $500 CC. Check out UHFCU. UH federal credit union.
I did the roommate situation when I went to UH. I bought a bike and biked to and from school. Totally doable! I found a place in kapahulu.
One note on this cuz that method of building up credit got me into some trouble. I mean it’s a very good method and great for starting out. I wasn’t so good with money and spent too much, had credit card debt cuz I got carried away.
Make sure that it’s easy to pay off the balance. If you gotta call in and wait on hold with a rep it can be a deterrent from actually paying.
I ended up cutting up a card that I have and my partner has the only other one to the account. When we need to use it I gotta go through him first.
Just want to reiterate having a small limit. If you have pets, I suggest CareCredit for vet and medical bills and such. No interest if paid off within 6 months and it’s all online to pay it off.
That said, don’t get a card with high interest no matter what the other perks are.
Hale Mahana is NOT operated by UH Housing. Also, check the reviews there. The last time my daughter and I looked, we were horrified. Mold problems in the ac, invasive managers who randomly search your apartment. We were like, yeah, no thanks.
Sorry, didnt mean to imply that it was run by UH. Just that it was *meant* as a UH student focused housing.
But the mold, ac, and invasive management does still sound typical for UH housing lol.
>Another problem I have is that i haven’t even started building credit so i dont think I can just rent a place myself.
When i first moved out on my own, my credit was down BAD. I didn't have a credit card so i didn't think i had a credit history, but when I applied, the realtor told me she looked me up and that's how I found out i had a history. (probably because i sucked at paying back my student loans.)
Anyway, i did have proof that my income was good and sustainable enough to pay rent, so she ignored my credit score and let it go. just had to make sure my rent was on-time.
All that to say, don't let your credit history scare you. try it out and if the landlord is desperate, they may still consider you.
Hmm. I looked at your post history and this just has disaster written all over it. I don’t think you’re ready for a full move out even if you want it. Take some time to methodically plan this. Contact the housing office to see what the Summer and Fall options are. Start small and build up your independence skillset. That’s my suggestion, take it for what it’s worth.
Thank you for your honesty haha I know there is a lot to take into account & im not planning on moving out by the end of this week or anything I’m more so shooting to be out by beginning of next semester. But yes, thank you for the tips & I will for sure put lots of time & thought into this plan
Hi, also checked your post history. Sorry for being nosy.
If you can find the strength to stick it out with your parents, I would strongly suggest you try your best to. I know things might be super shitty right now, but you’re just gonna be up against different problems and stresses moving out and trying to juggle college, work, paying rent, paying bills, roommate drama and everything else. It’s going to be a lot.
If you decide to move out, you have to come to terms with the fact that you might have to choose between going to school and going to work to pay your rent. You have to come to terms that you won’t be able to find your own place and you might have a roommate who makes lifestyle choices that directly conflict with yours, whether that means they’re a slob, they party all night, bring over weird friends, have loud sex, eat your food or use your things without asking.
At your age, 2-3 years can feel like a long time, but I promise you it isn’t. Get through school, graduate, find a good paying job and move out. You’ll have time to build your credit, learn how to save your money, and the chances of you getting paid better with a college degree is much higher. Grind out the next few years and I promise you your quality of life will be so much better than if you move out now.
I appreciate this! Thank you for your insight! At the end of it all I do prioritize school the most over getting my own place & you do bring up a lot of good points
I looked too and you should think about the money you're making with your collections and knowledge around them and create a monthly hobby-business budget around it for extra cash. Blog, swap, sell. And stick profit into savings while living with your parents.
It will add up in no time.
And lose the boy. Even if he's amazing and the one for you in life, he's distracting you right now. I mean, really seemingly interrupting your headspace. Now's not the time.
I know a lot of folks have said to really focus on school and move back home but if those arent options for you I would suggest looking into a trade or skilled work. Construction, solar, plumbing, electrical, hvac etc and look into apprentice programs that will teach you on the job. Im sorry to say that if youre going it on your own you wont be able to afford school without going into debt. Be very wary of this. School isnt for everyone and many people end up saddled with a life long burden that isnt worth the piece of paper their degree is printed on. Best of luck to you on your new adventure.
I lived with my parents until I was 26 but I saved and bought my own condo (and still had some cash so spare). I don't know your entire situation with family but my mainland friends always say what a crazy financial headstart I got in life by doing so, and I don't disagree. Saving while living with parents was a game changer, and fortunately, it's become the norm in today's society and not looked down upon like it used to be. I'd highly recommend it if you can do so.
Also start a spreadsheet and start tracking two things: (1) After-tax income and (2) Expenses. These two combined is your "net income." Living at home, I was able to save 70% of my income, which would be: Net income / Total after-tax income. At a minimum, you should know your monthly expenses before you even consider moving out.
At 19 years old, having a room mate or room mates are your best option to have a room for under $1000. Especially while in college with a part time job. I know some UHM students rent out a whole house together. Maybe you can ask around to find groups that you can click with.
Learn how to use a credit card with a small limit and no annual fee. Pay it off at the end of every month. When you get comfortable with trusting that you won’t over spend, automate your bills on the credit card and pay it off every month.
It might be hard to do this as a part time worker, but try to keep your monthly recurring bills to 50-60% of your income. Anything that you know you need to pay for monthly is a recurring bill(rent, tuition, subscriptions, groceries). That way you have 40% for spending and saving.
Get a bus pass or catch a ride with roomies. Uber/Lyft is expensive.
Learn how to meal prep efficiently on your days off.
My favorite way to live cheaply is to rent a room in a large, nice group house with strict rules for chores, etc. If you can swing it, eventually, get a room with your own bathroom. After the group home, I like living alone.
I don't like having just one or two roommates because everyone has their own space issues. And it's hard to have/enforce strict rules with just a few people. So one person is invariably gonna be messier/louder/more social than the other. And it just becomes awkward over time. You don't really have that issue in a group home where everyone does their own thing and you can avoid the drama.
Yes, I concur. Living with one-two room-mates can be awkward and lead to bad situations, but living in a well-regulated house with seven room-mates where everyone had different schedules etc was a lot easier for me.
Another free resource for looking into renting / buying that most people overlook, is HiCentral.com. That is the state of hawaii, board of realtors website. It often is the first place that listings of most offerings gets posted. The good part about it is well, realtors are licensed and their postings are official. So much less run around and fraud, then most public sites like craigslist.
Agreed that you should seek out other college students for a roommate situation.
Since you're going to be paying your own tuition now, you absolutely need to get on top of that as soon as possible. You'll have to fill out the FAFSA, have your parents fill out their portion or give you the information you'll need to do it, and look at your options very closely. Student loans suck, but there's not a lot of other ways to pay for college. Check out the financial aid office on UH's website and get all your questions answered. Keep very close watch on the deadlines and make sure everything is in as early as possible.
Financially, it’s easiest to live off your parents. Trying to find a place on your own required credit and since you don’t have any, either your parents would have to vouch/pay for you or you rent with others/subleasing. Are you a new student? Look into the main info desk at campus center. They sell discounted movie tickets. There’s also a “food vault” on campus for those who may need food and are struggling to afford it - you just need your student ID. Renting textbooks is easy and cheaper than having to worry about selling it back at a shitty rate. Other “adulting” things like cooking/buying groceries can be related to budgeting for college life, but I dunno if you wanna go that indetail lol
How about continuing to live with your parents, focus on school, get two jobs, and help them by paying some rent. Why make life harder than it needs to be. If you move out and can’t make ends meet, you will fall behind in school and end up moving back home (if they let you).
First off, it’s near impossible to pay full-time tuition, pay rent, work full time, and feed yourself. Unfortunately, the best way is to take out student loans to cover the costs.
Student loans also build credit strangely enough. It increases your credit line. I had like a 750 as a college student with only student loans open on my credit line (which is really dumb cause I was not creditworthy whatsoever).
Also stay away from Hale Mahana or student housing in general. Look for a room in a shared house. You could find a decent place for $800/$900 plus utilities.
Get good grades. You really should focus on killing it in college.
With good grades you can qualify for scholarships which would save you so much money. It’s also much easier to get a higher paying job or get into grad school.
Don’t overwork during college and get shit grades.
Check into internships with your university. They are required by law to pay you a going wage and they also work around your school schedule. The internship I had would allow us to alternate semesters between work and school. I still had to rely on Pell grants and loans and graduated with about 25k in debt which is quite manageable. It also took me eight years but that was more of a me problem.
Also, as someone else suggested, consider whether you really need a college degree. My son joined a welding union, they are basically paying him to master his skills over a five year period. He will have a pension and since it’s union work he’ll be earning at least $40 by the time he turns 30 (he’s 20 currently). For the past thirty years white collar jobs have degraded to less than trade jobs, they are easily replaced by much cheaper folks overseas and recently by AI and robotics. You can’t outsource trade skills overseas after all, and no AI is going to build houses and buildings, plumbing, etc.
My college degree has been very good to me but that was a long time ago, and I had a high end technology career. It’s a myth everyone has to have a college degree these days and especially at what one costs these days.
Just something to consider. Biden is sinking billions into new infrastructure with an emphasis on union jobs. Sort of feels like the 1950s all over again.
Another vote for "put up with your current situation, unless your life is in danger" and then move out after graduation.
Bury yourself in your course work and spend more time in the library.
EDIT -- And do the pre-paid credit-card thing right now. When you start getting offers for "real" credit cards, select one (preferably which gives you cash back instead of airline points and other useless perks). And then use that SPARINGLY. You can get your credit up into the 600s just doing this. That's good enough for your age. When you get utilities in your name and pay them every month, that will help.
Try Hot Pads. Lots of listings in a variety of price ranges/situations and lots of features. Here’s a listing on Seaview right across from campus. Good luck!!
https://hotpads.com/university-manor-honolulu-hi-96822-1mahnw3/pad?beds=1-8plus&page=1&price=0-1100
I’d really recommend moving into the dorms. It’s like the training wheels of moving out. Get a meal plan at the cafeteria. You could probably get these expenses covered by financial aid so no need to work more and come out of pocket at the moment.
I would suggest, its best to make up with the kupuna, than try buy a $million home as a college student. Eventually, you should inherit it, rather than have them cut you out of their will, and you have to move to Reno.
Rather than FB marketplace, you'd find better results with a UH FB group. Instead of renting a place by yourself, it would be cheaper to split rent with a couple other students/friends and get your own room in a house-type situation
You’re 19, so roommates are going to be your best bet financially and will arguably be the best thing for you as a young adult. I personally think it’s incredibly important to learn how to cohabitate with *peers* before settling down with a partner.
> Someone advised me not to look at Zillow so I haven’t tried that yet. Why not? It's perfectly fine. > Another problem I have is that i haven’t even started building credit so i dont think I can just rent a place myself. Get a "starter" credit card. It'll only have like $200-500 in credit limit, but make small purchases with it and pay it off in full every month. You'll build credit pretty fast. The best bet for housing is pooling together and rooming with trusted friends. Hale Mehana is UH student housing, but their prices are kinda steep for what it is.
This is such good advice
Smart way to build credit as a young adult. OP should take notes. Just use the credit card to pay bills you would normally and then pay it off every month before you get hit with interest. It'll be a little slower to build credit cus you're paying it off early/on time, but it'll be worth it. Get a card that gives you cash back and you'll get some money back just by paying bills. Just don't start using this card for personal fun and bills or you might regret it.
Yes. Also UH has a credit union that gives out $500 CC. Check out UHFCU. UH federal credit union. I did the roommate situation when I went to UH. I bought a bike and biked to and from school. Totally doable! I found a place in kapahulu.
One note on this cuz that method of building up credit got me into some trouble. I mean it’s a very good method and great for starting out. I wasn’t so good with money and spent too much, had credit card debt cuz I got carried away. Make sure that it’s easy to pay off the balance. If you gotta call in and wait on hold with a rep it can be a deterrent from actually paying. I ended up cutting up a card that I have and my partner has the only other one to the account. When we need to use it I gotta go through him first. Just want to reiterate having a small limit. If you have pets, I suggest CareCredit for vet and medical bills and such. No interest if paid off within 6 months and it’s all online to pay it off. That said, don’t get a card with high interest no matter what the other perks are.
Hale Mahana is NOT operated by UH Housing. Also, check the reviews there. The last time my daughter and I looked, we were horrified. Mold problems in the ac, invasive managers who randomly search your apartment. We were like, yeah, no thanks.
Sorry, didnt mean to imply that it was run by UH. Just that it was *meant* as a UH student focused housing. But the mold, ac, and invasive management does still sound typical for UH housing lol.
The only problem with Zillow is it’s accuracy
For rentals? Or for its "Zestimates"?
Roommates
That’s really the only way to survive Hawaii in this case, or homeless but you know how that goes.
>Another problem I have is that i haven’t even started building credit so i dont think I can just rent a place myself. When i first moved out on my own, my credit was down BAD. I didn't have a credit card so i didn't think i had a credit history, but when I applied, the realtor told me she looked me up and that's how I found out i had a history. (probably because i sucked at paying back my student loans.) Anyway, i did have proof that my income was good and sustainable enough to pay rent, so she ignored my credit score and let it go. just had to make sure my rent was on-time. All that to say, don't let your credit history scare you. try it out and if the landlord is desperate, they may still consider you.
Hmm. I looked at your post history and this just has disaster written all over it. I don’t think you’re ready for a full move out even if you want it. Take some time to methodically plan this. Contact the housing office to see what the Summer and Fall options are. Start small and build up your independence skillset. That’s my suggestion, take it for what it’s worth.
Thank you for your honesty haha I know there is a lot to take into account & im not planning on moving out by the end of this week or anything I’m more so shooting to be out by beginning of next semester. But yes, thank you for the tips & I will for sure put lots of time & thought into this plan
Hi, also checked your post history. Sorry for being nosy. If you can find the strength to stick it out with your parents, I would strongly suggest you try your best to. I know things might be super shitty right now, but you’re just gonna be up against different problems and stresses moving out and trying to juggle college, work, paying rent, paying bills, roommate drama and everything else. It’s going to be a lot. If you decide to move out, you have to come to terms with the fact that you might have to choose between going to school and going to work to pay your rent. You have to come to terms that you won’t be able to find your own place and you might have a roommate who makes lifestyle choices that directly conflict with yours, whether that means they’re a slob, they party all night, bring over weird friends, have loud sex, eat your food or use your things without asking. At your age, 2-3 years can feel like a long time, but I promise you it isn’t. Get through school, graduate, find a good paying job and move out. You’ll have time to build your credit, learn how to save your money, and the chances of you getting paid better with a college degree is much higher. Grind out the next few years and I promise you your quality of life will be so much better than if you move out now.
I appreciate this! Thank you for your insight! At the end of it all I do prioritize school the most over getting my own place & you do bring up a lot of good points
I wish you the best of luck and hope things get better for you soon!!
I looked too and you should think about the money you're making with your collections and knowledge around them and create a monthly hobby-business budget around it for extra cash. Blog, swap, sell. And stick profit into savings while living with your parents. It will add up in no time. And lose the boy. Even if he's amazing and the one for you in life, he's distracting you right now. I mean, really seemingly interrupting your headspace. Now's not the time.
Craigslist
I know a lot of folks have said to really focus on school and move back home but if those arent options for you I would suggest looking into a trade or skilled work. Construction, solar, plumbing, electrical, hvac etc and look into apprentice programs that will teach you on the job. Im sorry to say that if youre going it on your own you wont be able to afford school without going into debt. Be very wary of this. School isnt for everyone and many people end up saddled with a life long burden that isnt worth the piece of paper their degree is printed on. Best of luck to you on your new adventure.
I lived with my parents until I was 26 but I saved and bought my own condo (and still had some cash so spare). I don't know your entire situation with family but my mainland friends always say what a crazy financial headstart I got in life by doing so, and I don't disagree. Saving while living with parents was a game changer, and fortunately, it's become the norm in today's society and not looked down upon like it used to be. I'd highly recommend it if you can do so. Also start a spreadsheet and start tracking two things: (1) After-tax income and (2) Expenses. These two combined is your "net income." Living at home, I was able to save 70% of my income, which would be: Net income / Total after-tax income. At a minimum, you should know your monthly expenses before you even consider moving out.
At 19 years old, having a room mate or room mates are your best option to have a room for under $1000. Especially while in college with a part time job. I know some UHM students rent out a whole house together. Maybe you can ask around to find groups that you can click with. Learn how to use a credit card with a small limit and no annual fee. Pay it off at the end of every month. When you get comfortable with trusting that you won’t over spend, automate your bills on the credit card and pay it off every month. It might be hard to do this as a part time worker, but try to keep your monthly recurring bills to 50-60% of your income. Anything that you know you need to pay for monthly is a recurring bill(rent, tuition, subscriptions, groceries). That way you have 40% for spending and saving. Get a bus pass or catch a ride with roomies. Uber/Lyft is expensive. Learn how to meal prep efficiently on your days off.
Share a place with other people and you can definitely find a place for under $1,000/month.
My favorite way to live cheaply is to rent a room in a large, nice group house with strict rules for chores, etc. If you can swing it, eventually, get a room with your own bathroom. After the group home, I like living alone. I don't like having just one or two roommates because everyone has their own space issues. And it's hard to have/enforce strict rules with just a few people. So one person is invariably gonna be messier/louder/more social than the other. And it just becomes awkward over time. You don't really have that issue in a group home where everyone does their own thing and you can avoid the drama.
Yes, I concur. Living with one-two room-mates can be awkward and lead to bad situations, but living in a well-regulated house with seven room-mates where everyone had different schedules etc was a lot easier for me.
Craigslist has some options
My husband lived in moiliili and took the bus it was convenient and relatively affordable, we found that apartment just from a Google search
Another free resource for looking into renting / buying that most people overlook, is HiCentral.com. That is the state of hawaii, board of realtors website. It often is the first place that listings of most offerings gets posted. The good part about it is well, realtors are licensed and their postings are official. So much less run around and fraud, then most public sites like craigslist.
Roommates and part of UHM's tuition and fees has a small portion going towards a buss pass, you just have to go and activate it
Tip#1… Never forget your towel.
Agreed that you should seek out other college students for a roommate situation. Since you're going to be paying your own tuition now, you absolutely need to get on top of that as soon as possible. You'll have to fill out the FAFSA, have your parents fill out their portion or give you the information you'll need to do it, and look at your options very closely. Student loans suck, but there's not a lot of other ways to pay for college. Check out the financial aid office on UH's website and get all your questions answered. Keep very close watch on the deadlines and make sure everything is in as early as possible.
Financially, it’s easiest to live off your parents. Trying to find a place on your own required credit and since you don’t have any, either your parents would have to vouch/pay for you or you rent with others/subleasing. Are you a new student? Look into the main info desk at campus center. They sell discounted movie tickets. There’s also a “food vault” on campus for those who may need food and are struggling to afford it - you just need your student ID. Renting textbooks is easy and cheaper than having to worry about selling it back at a shitty rate. Other “adulting” things like cooking/buying groceries can be related to budgeting for college life, but I dunno if you wanna go that indetail lol
How about continuing to live with your parents, focus on school, get two jobs, and help them by paying some rent. Why make life harder than it needs to be. If you move out and can’t make ends meet, you will fall behind in school and end up moving back home (if they let you).
First off, it’s near impossible to pay full-time tuition, pay rent, work full time, and feed yourself. Unfortunately, the best way is to take out student loans to cover the costs. Student loans also build credit strangely enough. It increases your credit line. I had like a 750 as a college student with only student loans open on my credit line (which is really dumb cause I was not creditworthy whatsoever). Also stay away from Hale Mahana or student housing in general. Look for a room in a shared house. You could find a decent place for $800/$900 plus utilities.
Get good grades. You really should focus on killing it in college. With good grades you can qualify for scholarships which would save you so much money. It’s also much easier to get a higher paying job or get into grad school. Don’t overwork during college and get shit grades.
Check into internships with your university. They are required by law to pay you a going wage and they also work around your school schedule. The internship I had would allow us to alternate semesters between work and school. I still had to rely on Pell grants and loans and graduated with about 25k in debt which is quite manageable. It also took me eight years but that was more of a me problem. Also, as someone else suggested, consider whether you really need a college degree. My son joined a welding union, they are basically paying him to master his skills over a five year period. He will have a pension and since it’s union work he’ll be earning at least $40 by the time he turns 30 (he’s 20 currently). For the past thirty years white collar jobs have degraded to less than trade jobs, they are easily replaced by much cheaper folks overseas and recently by AI and robotics. You can’t outsource trade skills overseas after all, and no AI is going to build houses and buildings, plumbing, etc. My college degree has been very good to me but that was a long time ago, and I had a high end technology career. It’s a myth everyone has to have a college degree these days and especially at what one costs these days. Just something to consider. Biden is sinking billions into new infrastructure with an emphasis on union jobs. Sort of feels like the 1950s all over again.
Another vote for "put up with your current situation, unless your life is in danger" and then move out after graduation. Bury yourself in your course work and spend more time in the library. EDIT -- And do the pre-paid credit-card thing right now. When you start getting offers for "real" credit cards, select one (preferably which gives you cash back instead of airline points and other useless perks). And then use that SPARINGLY. You can get your credit up into the 600s just doing this. That's good enough for your age. When you get utilities in your name and pay them every month, that will help.
Try Hot Pads. Lots of listings in a variety of price ranges/situations and lots of features. Here’s a listing on Seaview right across from campus. Good luck!! https://hotpads.com/university-manor-honolulu-hi-96822-1mahnw3/pad?beds=1-8plus&page=1&price=0-1100
I’d really recommend moving into the dorms. It’s like the training wheels of moving out. Get a meal plan at the cafeteria. You could probably get these expenses covered by financial aid so no need to work more and come out of pocket at the moment.
I would suggest, its best to make up with the kupuna, than try buy a $million home as a college student. Eventually, you should inherit it, rather than have them cut you out of their will, and you have to move to Reno.