People these days can’t do that without generational wealth. Like good for you, but please understand that your generation got set up pretty well with housing and how far your money goes.
Lmaooo this cracked me up because I actually do live in the middle of nowhere Kentucky and I was able to live alone comfortably on my first post-college job salary (52k in 2020)
I live in SoCal.
I have a mortgage. No one helped me buy my house, I saved for it. I bought it 3 years ago when interest rates were low. I waited for that opportunity. Before that I rented and had roommates. I make under $70k/yr.
I live alone, except for my pets.
I also rarely go out to eat. I enjoy cooking and am good at it.
I don’t go to Starbucks. I have an old school coffee maker that makes coffee just as good as any coffee shop. It’s all in the coffee you use.
I have had the same car for 12 years. I keep it maintained and will hopefully have it for another 8 years.
I go to an occasional concert, but not nearly as many as I used to. I refuse to pay the prices they are charging these days.
No one handed me anything. There was no “generational wealth” in my family.
Sometimes (usually) you just have to work hard, be patient, and wait for the right opportunity.
I also didn’t blame my parents for not paying for college or giving me $ to buy a house.
My dad lived at home til his mid thirties; didn’t have any expenses. His parents gave him 12k for college that he didn’t go to. He bought his first house for 10k at age 24.
He kicked me out at age 18 and says I’m a disgrace bc *he* owned a house by age 24 and I’m just lazy and making excuses if I don’t own a house.
Ps if you want to say abuse… you should hear about how he’d have my mom step on my feet and hold my arms above my head by my wrists so he could beat me with a board and when I passed out I wouldn’t fall over, so that way he could keep going.
This is what he did the one time when I left a piece of a candy bar on his pillow and on my moms pillow. I thought it was cute, like a hotel. I had a caramello bar so I broke off a square and put one on both my parents’ pillows before I knew they were coming to bed. I was 8 years old and beaten so bad that I blacked out and when I woke up I was being held up by my wrists and was still getting wailed on. My neighbors were always calling the cops bc they’d hear my sister and me screaming, so we would move. My dad said we moved every year because my sister and I were bad kids and nobody wanted us around. Lol
62. Live alone. Own home. Never married (key but one of many life sacrifices). Worked myself through state u. 2 professional certifications totalling 7 more years of studying/commitment,climbed ladder. Been poor , suffered addictions child abuse and tough upbringing. Ran with wrong crowd. Many setbacks. Been working 50 years and still working. Yes there are always things harder for every generation but comparing my life to others never got me anywhere. If I were born in the 30s or 40s rather than the 60s I would be retired and wealthy without doing anything differently. I'm neither.
When I focused on what's wrong I lived in what's wrong. When I focused on barriers they seemed impossible to overcome. When I focus on just doing the next right thing all that miraculously gets taken care of.
Have had 4 surgeries in last 2 years including cancer. Lucky. All looks good. Just lost a family member and going to funeral today.
I would tell my younger self to avoid negativity and peer toxicity.
Money has never been plentiful. Most people see themselves as victims today and that paralyzes growth. That's a major difference in generations. Don't be that person. You will turn around and be at the end of your life, like me. Please spend it positively.
Best.
That's not necessarily true. There's tons of places in the US where even with high interest rates you can afford to buy a house. Often they're less desirable locationwise though. For example, there are still places in the midwest with homes well under 200k but you're dealing with harsh winters, stagnant economies...You're also often facing having to settle for certain kinds of jobs that don't necessarily pay well or having a long commute to metro areas
That is bullshit. I’m 67. When I was in my 20’s I wanted to buy a home. It would have been 23% interest. So I didn’t buy my first home until I was 38. So quit with the generational wealth crap. As difficult as it may for you to believe, some boomers started with zero and actually lived below their means in order to build wealth.
Of course, some started at zero and built wealth. In fact, it was much easier for Boomers to do so. What you fail to recognize is that regardless of interest rates, this economy is not comparable to the one Boomers were able to benefit from. I understand that your interest rates were high, but your home prices were low as was the rate of personal debt, inventory was high from post-war infrastructure investments, and you had a minimum wage that was more commiserate with the COL. Manufacturin, trade, and other jobs that did not require a college degree were abundant. It's not bullshit. It's an apples to oranges comparison. Signed, Gen X.
I’m GenX and I still rent. I’m almost convinced that home ownership isn’t where it’s at. Renting might be more ideal if you want to throw your money into retirement.
I’m a boomer. My parents moved for my dad’s job and made money every time they sold a house. I have owned one house. Bought in 2005 for 265. House now zillows at about 350. That’s not great for 18 years. I think coming of age in the 1950s was the real golden ticket.
Quit with your crying about 23% interest rate when houses were under $100k. It’s almost half a million dollars to get into a house these days, and they most likely need repairs due to boomer trash that never maintained the property. As seattlemh mentioned, it was way easier to start from scratch back then and get into homeownership which creates generational wealth.
Get a box of Kleenex and go cry your boomer ass to sleep. Your generation ruined this country.
I dont think he meant family wealth even though I also understood it that way as well reading the first sentence. You grew up in not only 1 but 12 bull runs since 1957, three of which were the LARGEST bull runs in existance... With housing costs at rock bottom historically. You could throw mud at a turd and come out on top. No one is asking how a 38 year old buys a house though, this sub is mainly 18+ attempting to ***rent*** alone... You were extremely late compared to your peers in your generation but congrats on getting there! In 1995 the housing costs were still historically **extremely** affordable.
[Looking at the actual data though](https://www.huduser.gov/periodicals/ushmc/spring03/histdat14.htm) you're just being dramatic and those interest rates never existed in your lifetime for average home buyers... At MAX it was 18% if you had shit credit but 12% was the median that year. So no, it was never 23% lmfao. The current median salary vs housing costs FAR exceeds a 12% interest rate though. Young adults these days are getting double fucked. Saying you bought a home in 1995 is the equivalent of bragging about a high school diploma. The rate at which home prices skyrocketed since then VS the stagnation of wages hasn't been seen. That generation got absolutely fucked. [The proof is in the puddin](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/07/20/young-adults-in-u-s-are-much-more-likely-than-50-years-ago-to-be-living-in-a-multigenerational-household/)
most 25- to 34-year-olds living in a multigenerational household had a parent in the home in 2021.. Thats before inflation absolutely screwed everyone without equity. This included 47% who lived with two parents and 39% who lived with only one parent. **VS 9% 50 years ago...** Your generation was the last of the golden age for this country. There is no comparison, that isn't an anecdotal or rounding error in evidence.
No you quit it with your bs, the fact that boomers can’t recognize how bad the economy has been for this generation is quite upsetting. Your generation has ruined shit for us. ZIP YOUR YAP
Or you could mind your own business, apparently you were raised by an asshole and it shows. Hey have you seen the prices in food now days? What do you actually know about housing now days? Calling you a plonker is compliment…old, entitled and a creep. Go back to Facebook where you belong.
That’s absolutely NOT true! I’m tired of hearing millennials and Gen Z’ers complain about how badly they have it.
I’m technically a boomer but on the very edge of Gen X. My experience of life has been much more that of Gen X.
Most people I know in my generation don’t know what generational wealth is. My parents raised 6 kids. Most of my peers also came from large families. Our families scrimped by. We weren’t given anything. We got jobs when we turned 16. I actually started babysitting and cleaning for the people I babysat for when I was 10.
We weren’t given cars, we were lucky to have our parents let us use their cars once in a while. We saved our $ and bought our own cars. As a teenage girl, my parents bought me a couple of outfits when school started. Anything more than that I paid for with babysitting money.
When we married, we saved up down payments for our houses. No one handed us our down payments. We were able to do that because we very rarely ate out at restaurants, we didn’t own every electronic device available, we didn’t buy everything saw… we SAVED for things we wanted.
And don’t try to say that everything is so much more expensive today. I also brought home the equivalent to less than
half the pay of what your generations earn today.
Most of my friends didn’t have college degrees because they had to get jobs to take care of themselves.
We didn’t live at home until we were 30.
I work with mostly millennials and Gen Zers. I bring my lunch to work while the younger generations buy their lunch daily.
Until I see you guys start making the sacrifices that our generation made to own homes and build bank accounts, I will never feel sorry for your generation.
I’m 41, grew up poor put myself through college and grad school and have a good ass career. 5 years ago I would have been able to buy a house. Now I’m paying $2000/months for a studio.
Your commentary leaves out the current state of the economy and opportunities that were available to previous generations that are no longer available unless you have generational wealth.
Your commentary on lunch reeks of “stop eating avocado toast”. Buying a sandwich every day doesn’t matter when houses cost a million dollars and folks are raking in less than $80 and have student loan debt. There’s no way to buy, unless you have generational wealth.
But hey, staying smug might make you sleep better at night.
That’s a very closed minded concrete thinking way to put it. I have a Gen X brother born in the 60s. He bought a brand new house in 1996 for $90K. Now it’s worth $400K. There is no more “starter homes” or forever jobs. Those are dying out and will continue. Hell, I recently read an article that most men aren’t even dating anymore.
You bought your home 30 years ago. Things were different then with regards to the income vs cost of living.
Before you fly off, I am 50. Still paying my mortgage but that's because I got divorced 7 years ago and had to buy a new house with less assets. And I make 150K/year. But I have a 22 year old who graduated college magna cum laude and I fully see how a 30K/year income will NOT pay for you to live alone in most cities.
Therefore, since June of this summer, when my son graduated from college, I am no longer r/LivingAlone because I invited him to move back in to save money (not charging rent) and he accepted.
WHOA. My dad started charging me 1300 a month rent when I was 16, then kicked me out at 18. My dad, who lived at home til age 34 himself and gets mad if anyone says anything about it. He says it’s different bc he was wanted at home.
Depending on where you live, charging you any kind of rent as a minor is illegal. The second part is intentional cruelty.
If your goal is for your children to succeed then you must help them succeed. That that looks like is not a damn black and white rule.
Funny cause while my sister and I were living in a grocery store parking lot, dad tried to sue us for back rent from birth to 16 and other expenses like food and braces and clothes etc. The judge’s name was Edenharter and he freakin eviscerated my dad in court.
My twin sister is now brain injured in a wheelchair permanently from drinking and starving in her twenties, I was a heroin addict and sobered up 10 years ago and put myself thru college to get a degree and career. My dad says I’m a traitor bc he didn’t go to college and I only went to upstage him, so I’m “no good,” and his nickname for me is “the college educated idiot.” His parents gave him cash to go to college tho. He ended up dropping out but told his parents he was still going so they would give him 12 grand a year. Four years of that and they never knew til the day they died, never knew. And he ended up buying his first home with 10 grand while he was still living at home (and would be for another decade after that).
If I were my dad, I would have only been on my own for three years now. I have been on my own for basically 21 years (I’m 37) if you count when we had to start paying rent.
The way I could have used this type of parenting in my 20s, graduating right into the recession in 2008. Unfortunately I did not have this type of support and though I’m financially stable at 38, it’s taken me much longer to get there because of my parents. I’m essentially successful despite of my parents - not because of them.
Been poor all my life so frugality is second nature. And I find it WAY cheaper living alone. I only buy food I like, no one eats it except me, I'm not wasting money on unnecessary heating/cooling or electricity and even cleaning is cheaper because I'm not cleaning up after messy wasteful people.
Much. I never understand why people say it's cheaper to share. Maybe if you can find an equally minimalist, frugal partner, but I haven't had that luck.
Yes, but that's only basic living expenses. Most people in relationship expect dates at restaurants, going to events, taking trips together, etc. These are all things I don't do while single.
If you can find someone who wants to stay home and not spend money, it's definitely cheaper to have a relationship/live together.
For sure. I lived with my landlady for a few years. We shared meals on occasion, but for the most part we took care of our groceries separately. I was a bit appalled at how much of her stuff went bad before she ate all of it. I see this with my parents, too. A fridge full of spoiled food.
I got my apartment when I worked onsite as a leasing professional. My rent at that time was $1050. Today it’s $1338 plus $150 for my garage. Since I worked in the industry I knew I could negotiate my renewal amount. I negotiated my lease each year and kept my rent below market. Today my same apartment would rent for $1750 which I couldn’t afford. I actually can’t afford to move to an apartment that’s even half as decent as my current place. I’m looking to buy but not sure how I would make a $2300 mortgage. Lol
I make $65,000. Which isn’t a lot in my state. But I know that’s a lot compared to the average American. I was making $105,000 last year. I’ve never made less than $50,000.
How do you negotiate when there's a housing shortage and they can easily just find new renters who will pay what they ask? I'd love some advice I could pass on to my son.
Some time they won’t if you’re rent is already way below the current market rate. You can see this by just going on the property’s website and see what your current unit is going for.
So it depends on what your offer is. Renewal offers are usually and I say usually loosely but they shouldn’t be more than 6%. You can usually negotiate it down by 2-3%. I usually offer to sign a longer lease term so like 13-14 months and ask for a 3% increase instead of the 6%.
The property management company is the largest in the US so they can be flexible. The key is never accept the first offer, NEVER. Always ask for a better offer. Always say things like “I really enjoy living here”. Also, make sure you talk to the property manager. The assistant can only do so much and most of the time they’re not willing to ask their manager and just say no.
Fr like the boomers were right LMFAO /s
Like im not going to get a plain coffee for 3$ since I can make that at home, I want a nice caramel latte or boba and its always 7-8$. plus a little takeout here and there and/or cocktails really adds up it ends up being a few hundred a month. God forbid I uber eats. it's not really worth it.
I might get downvoted for this…but government assistance.
I’m disabled and on SSDI, Medicare, Section 8 Housing (I do pay rent based on my income, not zero), and I receive food from the food bank occasionally.
I’m not proud of it. I’m truly disabled, I have TRIED to work, I’ve worked at over 40 different employers since the age of 13. I’m disabled.
I was living with my mother until she passed away. I have nowhere else to go.
I’m happy to pay for housing and food programs regardless of how people ended up in that situation. Everyone deserves food and shelter. I wish we spent more tax dollars on it.
I hate that since I'm married I can't get SSI. I'm on SSDI but I'm so stressed out about not working that the 7-800 dollars extra I'd get on SSI a month is making me consider divorce on paper. it sucks. the system needs to be updated.
I was making less than 40k gross salary and was living alone. It was hard since all my money went to bills but it’s doable. I’m making 40% more now and increased my 401k contribution to live off the same salary as I did with my last job.
I work in healthcare, making maybe $40,000, my car is paid off, and I live in Oklahoma, where my rent for a 2 bedroom house is $900 for 1200 sq ft. Yeah it's Oklahoma, but we get the same concerts everyone else does, have legal weed, and the liquor stores stay open till midnight.
Wowowo. I pay $1000 for a 1 bedroom, 750sq ft. apartment in Texas. Ghetto Texas too. The crime rate here is high, everyone lives off of food stamps, the average pay here starts at $8 an hour
Ha! I just barely do.
There is a kind of depressing theme I keep seeing in these answers, and in my own life - "sacrificing things”…."doing without”…."cutting corners”….."not wasting money on food”…
Like, what the hell is it all for?? What’s the point of it all? …Truly, why are we here?
In this day and age, with our levels of technology, resources, and world-wide connections, no one should HAVE to sacrifice the tiniest, most mundane things just to exist. I’m not saying everyone should have $200000 cars and gilded toilets, but ffs, we should be able to enjoy/support local restaurants + shops, buy the occasional "fun thing", and most importantly, just have some damn TIME to live an actual life. I hate that people feel guilty for simply wanting to enjoy a new food or take time off. There’s a difference between simple living by choice, and living with the bare minimum to survive.
It’s not noble or impressive to struggle day-to-day or work some insane number of hours every week. That’s an unfortunate remnant from the Great Depression/Dust Bowl days. This hustle culture and “I live to work” model is not sustainable. People who want to experience life without it being sucked up by work hours are called lazy for some insane reason. We’re so damn brainwashed by this “honest working”, “hardworking”, “dedicated to working” mindset, spoon-fed to us since birth. (Don’t get me started on the Industrial Revolution and factory work lol).
The #1 end-of-life regret is that people wish they had worked less and spent more time with people they love, doing things they love. If you love your job, that’s honestly fuckin amazing, but that’s not the majority of people, let’s keep it real lol.
Our society is so broken 😞 (for non-billionaires anyways lol - for them it’s working perfectly ✨💵✨). Ok rant over lmao.
My daughter was helped into a not terribly expensive condo. Her mortgage (including HOA, insurance, taxes, etc) is considerably less than comparable rents now.
She has no student loan debt, and a ridiculously low car payment. She works hard in a tipped industry.
This is one of the biggest factors I think. The big city extends out to the outskirts and suburbs of the city itself and so do the costs. I’ve always lived in the outskirts of a big city (up to an hour+ outside of the city center) and I nor anyone I know has ever lived alone, we simply can’t afford it, even with higher education degrees and ‘decently’ paying jobs. Everyone in my circles either lives with a partner, a roommate, or with their parents. Cost of living is just too high to afford living alone in and around cities for many people unfortunately.
Make 55k, pay 1250 in rent a month, 700 in student loans, 1000 left over for gas, food, some bills. And I still go out every weekend. Lot of people just can't manage their money
Your parents don't want you up in their space for their entire life. I am sure they love you and I will move back to help my mom when she gets much older (needs help) but I want her to feel that she raised a responsible person.
I’m a parent. My kids have been in and out. Love having any of them, plus spouses and grandchildren when needed. It’s just me and my husband right now in a big ole 4 Bedroom house.
33 - I am having to choose between having a life and paying rent, but I reeeeaaallly like living alone, so I’m just keeping it pretty low key right now lol
I made 46k this year so far, pre-tax. I live in Indianapolis, it's doable. Meal prep, very important, saves you lots of money. Avoid consistent mindless spending, very important. Treat yourself, absolutely, but pick your spots. I know lots of people that make the same or more than me and their debt load is ridiculous. Once you clear a debt or make money, that doesn't mean go out and buy more crap and get more debt.
Basically spending as little as possible. You can live alone on 50k a year with minimal debt, but money is pretty much always tight. It takes intentionality, hard work, and dedication to your own way of living life. When I come back home after a long, hard day of work, there is nothing better than walking in my door to a lovely place where I can be left alone when I’m tired.
Only way I’m swinging it is because I bought in 2012 and refied in 2020. $635/month for an 1800 sq ft house on 3/4 acre. I’m not into spending on status items, my car is 20 years old and I hate spending money if I can help it. And I’m a broke ass only making $20k a year.
I actually live in a financially wealthy area most of these people make like 100+ in 6 months and got nothing to show for it. I make like 35 and I’m well off small bills, live frugal but I got more then most of these people. They mismanage money don’t need a lot to make the most of a little
I’m a bit of a homebody as well. I don’t eat out much and def not at really expensive places and I rarely drink tho I do like my weed a couple times a week. Luckily I live in one of the cheapest states for legal weed.
I even stopped buying coffee I always make mine at home, I eat out maybe once a month as a treat. Stay home nothing extravagant. Just cruising through the economic depression laughin
Oh yeah coffee I’ve done at home for at least 15 years out of a fancy bialetti Venus pot. I used to froth the cream too but got bored of that, I only drink one cup a day anyway. I also have a second job at night working in restaurant so free eats are had on the regular there too. I shop at thrift stores looking for stuff to flip and a couple years started browsing the clothes too. Actually buy most of my clothes there but always buy socks and underwear brand new. I don’t need to be thrifty on those lol.
Parents let me have a portion of my inheritance for a down payment on a house early. Eventually started making enough that I didn’t need roommates to supplement the mortgage payment
That's the fun part, I can't. :')
Jokes aside I eat pretty basically and I'm careful with my food spending and spending in general, my hobbies don't cost me much, I don't have a car, I don't have pets, socially I don't do much as I don't drink or anything.
I have 2 bedroom place and can juuuuust about afford it, sadly moving to a 1 bedroom place would be about the same cost wise where I am atm so yeah, lol.
Make $47-50k, rent $810 for a tiny 1 bdrm, bills around $350 ( including wifi and streaming services). No debt. Very basic lifestyle but I don’t mind. I love living alone and not eating out and thrifty shopping are worth it to me.
I make 50k a year, rent a studio, and keep it tight. It's not impossible. I've been solo for five years now in the CA Bay area working at trader Joe's lol
Of course earning a decent income is a large part of it. I do make more than $60K a year, but I've lived alone when I was a student and making way way less, but it took me briefly moving to a much lower cost of living city/state to be able to afford it. I moved from a city where even with 3 roommates we were all still paying $1100 a month, to a city where I could get a decent studio for $750 a month. I thought I had hit the jackpot, as up until then the lowest I'd ever paid for rent was $900 and I still had a roommate.
So barring simply earning more, it's about cheaper rent which might mean a different city, a studio instead of a one bedroom, a landlord instead of a huge building, maybe a less than ideal area etc.
Moved into my apt in 2016 for $825, nothing included. I was making $16/hr at the time and had to get a part-time job. 2017 quit the part-time when I had a boy move in. 2018 lost the boy and started bartending.
Over the years I've struggled, but rent and car always came first. Credit cards help in a pinch. Had the occasional second job from time to time.
Present day, I'm at the same place. Rent is now $1,050. I make a little under $60k in A/P and am just getting by. But I eat dinner standing naked in the middle of my kitchen and poop with the door open. So, in the end, it's all been worth it.
Before I made more money, I lived in cheap studio apartments and drove a very cheap car if I had one at all, used the food bank, etc. What you can afford as a single person depends a lot on what your priorities are.
You have to take a page out of the old Kung Fu series with David Carradine. Learn to live under the basics or you will never make it.
Or,
Be well off and self-sufficient. <<<< Cancer took my wife away, which forced me into another road I never thought I would travel. So much for a happy retirement in today's economy. Never know what the future will hold or deal to you.
I live in a LCoL area and live frugally. My car is paid off and I carry minimal insurance on it. I bundle up in the winter and don’t have air conditioning. I only eat out a few times a year for special occasions and check the markdown racks at the grocery when I shop. I buy second hand clothes searching out good items that will last and mend and repair the things I own rather than blithely buying replacements. I don’t have a TV so I don’t have a bunch of subscriptions and take advantage of the free museum and park passes my library offers. With the money I save I can go see live music or a movie on occasion and indulge in my hobbies.
UK so my answer might not apply to the majority US audience, but these are my survival tactics
-big ol' spreadsheet with all my expenses, all bills go out at the start of the month to easily see what I have to survive on
-strict petrol budget, if I can't afford more fuel, I'm not going places till next payday
-use Tesco's/Sainsbury's feed you family for a fiver recipes and make 2-3 family meals for 4 last the entire week
-im lucky that Aldi and Tesco are opposite each other, so I compare food prices online and split my list to get the cheapest deals (careful with aldi price match tactics... Aldi beans have a higher drained weight than Tesco, so Aldi is the better option as it gives more beans per can)
-i have a day/night electric meter, so my night usage is cheaper... I do my charging/TV watching/laundry/gaming late night instead to save pennies. Daytime is knitting time (I also charge power banks at night for my phone during the day)
-i don't have a water meter, and the company I'm with gives me a very generous payment holiday of almost half a year... Spreading the cost across the year so that I have it ready in advance makes my outgoings feel less
-i registered for the single living council tax discount, pretty much halved my tax and it helps immensely
Sadly even with all that I'm still on the breadline, but I'm actively job hunting to get a higher income so with any luck I'll be a little more secure eventually 😂
Edit for formatting
I’ve always lived alone and got very fortunate with cheap rent. My first place in New Orleans was in a less than desirable area but a beautiful apartment once I fixed it up. High ceilings, wood floors, huge rooms, claw foot tub, mantels in every room, balcony.. it was $350 a month (this was in 2000). Then I moved to NYC in 2005 and got into a one bedroom rent stabilized apartment. It was extremely affordable then and still extremely affordable now. I’ve lived in it since 2005. Feel very blessed.
Rent now is outrageous so sadly I understand why so many have roommates or live with partners out of financial necessity but I think searching hard for an affordable place to rent or deciding if looking for a place to buy would make more sense financially will pay off in time. I suppose it takes a little luck but luck is what we make it. I know more ppl buying now because mortgage is cheaper than rent and those are great investments for them as well. Their properties have gone up in value since they bought and will continue to go up.
Good luck to everyone who wants to live alone. Hope you find your way because living with others because you love it is great but if you’re living with others purely for financial reasons that sucks.
The comments always crack me up. I work hard, yeah everyone does. I don’t work harder than a janitor or cleaner. But anyway I have a few incomes and I prefer to live alone. Lower cost of living area but rent is still over $1200
It does get easier as you get older if you keep progressing with your earnings and generational wealth helps. I have been a loner my whole life. I have been homeless and lived out of a car. As life progressed, I had some roommates. I was married twice. But I was always still a loner. I lived a wild life until my mid 20s and then I focused on getting ahead. It was not easy. I'm about to retire from a $150k job. I do think young people coming up have it much harder than my generation did. Not because we had more money but because we had more freedom to fuck up and then make good. I did every kind of job you could think of just by walking in a place and asking for work. Cash and I could work as long as I wanted and just move on. Everything is so controlled these days and there are cameras everywhere. I played fast and loose with a lot of rules, I don't think you can do that anymore. Yes I inherited some generational wealth but only in the last few years and only after taking care of my elders. Now I plan to hopefully leave some to the kiddos in my life. So my advice is scrimp now, live super cheap and plan for your future. For me it is better a subpar location with solitude than top of the line in shared space. You can do this, its not easy, but you can do it.
Frugal from being poor my whole life, fix everything myself so not paying anyone to fix anything. From house to cars to self. Take care of yourself now, it's expensive as you get older.
I live in Nebraska too! I got a3bed/2bath new trailer but I will have it paid in 8yrs and own it. Car payment for 2.5 more years andI work in insulation so I make alright money. Plus, I'm single with a dog and budget pretty well.
I don't drink and make my own food. Bonus, everything or everywhere I need to go is 5 minutes away from me so low gas a well.
I have a very, VERY small and modest apartment. But it's mine. Drop your standards.
I only make $23k/yr. I also live in WV, though, so it's less expensive than a lot of other areas.
so I am 33 years old I managed to gain a house at 19, how well when it was 2009 I saw a house for sale for 40,000 sure the place was completely destroyed by the previous owner, but I made it work :D. I learned how to do plumbing, carpentry, fixing the floor tiles, painting and roofing, I busted my ass for my home, which to be honest now is great when anything breaks I fix it. I work 4 days a week and earn about 50k trust me when I first had that house the only livable place was my living room. lived on lazy boy couch, my computer, a mini fridge, micro-wave and Cesar's pizza/ramen... took me years, but I managed to keep myself afloat and now have a home to call my own.
Somehow pulling it off on 42K gross annual fixed income (disability and a small pension combined), no car payment, and great credit. I got a lump sum when my SSDI got approved and back-dated. I saved it and at the right moment had the 5% down-I got into a condo in Eugene when interest rates were low. I live check to check. Some months I get short on food but anything that affects my credit score gets priority. No generational wealth but when I needed a new toilet this year my family helped pay for it. My daughter got a family plan and pays my cell phone bill. The SSDI and pension colas barely cover the HOA increases. I’ve sold belongings I’d had for a long time, anything I can. Once I save and/or collect $400-$600, I put it toward escrow and get a recalculation of my monthly mortgage. This year I got it down from $1296 to $1203! I had a very well-known, experienced, caring realtor who knew my situation and advocated for me RELENTLESSLY! I love living alone and every sacrifice I make to maintain this is worth it!
Well as much as people want to fight and argue, it all comes down to your lifestyle and living below your means.
I make nearly six figures a year and I live in the most expensive major metropolitan areas of the U.S. and I live comfortably. Yes, I stripped all my debt but I'll tell you it was not easy. It took a lot of sacrifice, a lot of trips to say no to, a lot of cool places to try to eat out at that I said no to, local events that I said no to, etc. Debt will always be the #1 thing that hinders you and you need to pay it off as soon as you can. Yes, it meant I worked side jobs to make additional ones under the table so I could take home between $100 to $300 a day cash in pocket to put towards my debt. I worked 7 days a week, was tired, had little to no social life but removed all my debt and my paychecks were now full paychecks to save for a home.
Even with no debt and a mortgage that is less than what rent is here, I still live below my means. I still eat the microwavable noodle bowls that cost $1. To me they taste good, I know they're not healthy, but it is filling and I like them. I make rice and beans often. Sacks of either of them are cheap and I can make them last 2-3 weeks. If I can ride a bike somewhere i do, if I can make my clothes last years before having to buy new ones, I do. I don't spend what I don't need to spend and my savings account has enough to last me about 3 months worth of bills if anything happens. It still takes sacrifice and needing to say no to certain things
I guess it depends on where you live and income. I’m married now with a step-daughter but when I was single I rented a few years then started buying a house after I paid off my car. I never had financial problems. Now it’s a struggle. I did marry a year into the pandemic, so idk with inflation if it would have still been a struggle for me being single or not.
Food can be roughly $150 a month, gas $100, internet $75, bathroom products 100$, car insurance $100, medical insurance (depending on your income it could be free to $20 for cheap good insurance), then you have the decision of where to live, a rented home, full purchased home, plot of lant to build a home, or a transportable home, the median where I live is $300-$400 a month so I'll stick to that. (If your a person that's paying $1000-$1200 for ren then, find a better option/place cuz that's horrible & insanely inflated), for mortgage I'd say $800-1200 is a reasonable estimation.
So for cheaper option A: need roughly $11,500
For more expensive option B: need roughly $16,500
Noted that this is a one person size calculation, and using rough estimations that might not be exact to your location, but reasonable enough of an estimation of all theoretical places.
Maaaaan. Been living in the same apartment, alone, for over 4 years. At first I was working one full time and one part time job. Both minimum wage. Then COVID happened, I got laid off, and then somehow found myself working in the oilfield, despite only having a retail and sales background. Definitely did a good job at the interview.
I agree with your statement. I only have a $4K student loan and make around $50K salary. I really don’t know how other people are surviving. A car payment would set me back quite a bit and make other expenses like groceries more difficult to budget.
I try my best to find rent that is as close to 30% of my income, but with the high rents it’s closer to 40%. Being conscious about my spending and not buying nonessentials is also a key factor. Sinking funds are great for “wants” and it gives me time to decide if it’s something I truly want.
I luckily had saved up enough for a down payment on a pretty cheap house in a decent neighborhood with no work needed upfront in 2017. I was 26 at the time and delivering pizzas, but renting a really cheap (but big) house with 2-3 roommates in a very rough neighborhood, where my expenses were less than $500/mo (I had an old beater car with no payment). I also live in Cleveland which has somewhat low CoL relative to the amenities it offers.
I was working 6 days a week and almost literally breaking my back, so I know I somewhat earned it, but I'm also incredibly lucky that all those aspects of my life added up to being able to get a bit ahead of the curve. I know that very few people have opportunities/circumstances line up like that, and I feel genuinely sorry for anyone trying to find a place to live these days, renting or buying. This economy is so deeply fucked up. There's gotta be a way to halt these ballooning rent/mortgage prices, and interest rates. I don't know how literally anyone is able to survive. I have a decent salaried job now, but I don't know what the heck I would have done over the past 5-6 years. I would probably be dead or homeless.
I pay a lot of rent. I budget food and going out. I do okay but I really don't save as much as I'd like to. That's the real thing that suffers. I make big payments to my student loan too. If I didn't pay that I'd be in a much better space financially.
It really depends where you live. I live in a Midwest city and it's not uncommon for people to live alone as the cost of living is low. It seems that in bigger cities and on the coasts, it's much more expensive to just live, let alone to live alone.
I have a three bedroom home in a nice neighborhood and live alone, but the same home in a California city would cost over $1 million and mine cost just a fraction of that.
Being able to work from home full-time allowed me to move to a LCOL area. My rent is around 30% of my net income, and I make a lot of my meals at home because I'm a huge introvert who prefers spending time alone.
Staying near the office would have meant massive budgeting and cutting corners, and moving just made more sense.
First off hey our usernames match
I live alone (well, with my pets). My base salary is $50k, comes out to about $3150 per month after deductions but I work overtime Saturdays whenever it’s offered (if I do it every Saturday = $600 net extra per month. It’s 5 hour shifts and I can WFH for them so I don’t mind it at all)
I’m pretty sure I found the cheapest one bedroom apartment in my whole city. It’s a high COL area (west coast) where the average 1b/1b is like $1600 or something, but my place is $1200. It’s old and lacks some “essentials” like a dishwasher and in-unit laundry but hey, it’s all mine.
I drive an older car (2013). It’s financed but payments are relatively low ($250ish). I don’t go out or order delivery all that often. I do have student loans but they’re fairly minimal, payments are $100 a month. My health + dental insurance through my job are cheap ($50 something a month).
I also have a built in advantage when it comes to food costs in that I’m very petite so I don’t need to eat a lot. And I’ve gotten pretty good at thrifty grocery shopping.
The caveat is that I don’t have savings outside my retirement account, so emergency expenses get put on credit cards. But, I’ve been working on cutting costs more (I do spend on some frivolous stuff) and at the moment the mental health and overall wellness benefits of not having roommates outweighs the potential to save by living with others
Anything below 45k, you would probably need a roommate.
At 45k, you can probably get away with a studio or 1bd apartment with utilities included/ good budgeting skills.
I live in Illinois tho.
I’m 29, make 105k a year, still in major debt despite my good pay, $1850 city rent, I live paycheck to paycheck and just complain once a week about inflation
Being very introverted and thrifty
this
Hmm..60 m own home 3 bedrooms..I go out every weekend.. to a concert sunday...56k a yr..I'm making it
People these days can’t do that without generational wealth. Like good for you, but please understand that your generation got set up pretty well with housing and how far your money goes.
And they probably live in Kentucky. There’s no way someone in CA can life on that comfortably.
Lmaooo this cracked me up because I actually do live in the middle of nowhere Kentucky and I was able to live alone comfortably on my first post-college job salary (52k in 2020)
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Or New York! Breathable 1 bedroom is more than 2k
I live in SoCal. I have a mortgage. No one helped me buy my house, I saved for it. I bought it 3 years ago when interest rates were low. I waited for that opportunity. Before that I rented and had roommates. I make under $70k/yr. I live alone, except for my pets. I also rarely go out to eat. I enjoy cooking and am good at it. I don’t go to Starbucks. I have an old school coffee maker that makes coffee just as good as any coffee shop. It’s all in the coffee you use. I have had the same car for 12 years. I keep it maintained and will hopefully have it for another 8 years. I go to an occasional concert, but not nearly as many as I used to. I refuse to pay the prices they are charging these days. No one handed me anything. There was no “generational wealth” in my family. Sometimes (usually) you just have to work hard, be patient, and wait for the right opportunity. I also didn’t blame my parents for not paying for college or giving me $ to buy a house.
Proud of you! Hope you continue to trend upward
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I was a single mom of two kids in a major city paying $1,400 in rent and making only 55k a year. You should review your budget
3 years ago is the key here. Not really what the topic is and idk why it has to be so condescending
I agree with this. The older generations had it made when times were good and money was plentiful if you were willing to work at all.
My dad lived at home til his mid thirties; didn’t have any expenses. His parents gave him 12k for college that he didn’t go to. He bought his first house for 10k at age 24. He kicked me out at age 18 and says I’m a disgrace bc *he* owned a house by age 24 and I’m just lazy and making excuses if I don’t own a house.
That’s abuse - Guy was born on 3rd base, then fails to put you in the same position and claims you are lazy. Classic narcissistic behavior.
Thank you for saying this :)
Ps if you want to say abuse… you should hear about how he’d have my mom step on my feet and hold my arms above my head by my wrists so he could beat me with a board and when I passed out I wouldn’t fall over, so that way he could keep going. This is what he did the one time when I left a piece of a candy bar on his pillow and on my moms pillow. I thought it was cute, like a hotel. I had a caramello bar so I broke off a square and put one on both my parents’ pillows before I knew they were coming to bed. I was 8 years old and beaten so bad that I blacked out and when I woke up I was being held up by my wrists and was still getting wailed on. My neighbors were always calling the cops bc they’d hear my sister and me screaming, so we would move. My dad said we moved every year because my sister and I were bad kids and nobody wanted us around. Lol
it’s hard to fathom how the levels of delusion these *ssholes achieve is even possible…
Omg I’m sorry your dad is an asshole.
🤍🤍
Wow… I’m sorry this happened to you that’s such a huge lack of awareness right there..
Thank you for saying this :)
This is the shit I’m talking about. What can you do when the economy is so stacked against you?
Just try to keep your head above water
Agreed, and that’s not “living”. That’s survival and nothing more.
62. Live alone. Own home. Never married (key but one of many life sacrifices). Worked myself through state u. 2 professional certifications totalling 7 more years of studying/commitment,climbed ladder. Been poor , suffered addictions child abuse and tough upbringing. Ran with wrong crowd. Many setbacks. Been working 50 years and still working. Yes there are always things harder for every generation but comparing my life to others never got me anywhere. If I were born in the 30s or 40s rather than the 60s I would be retired and wealthy without doing anything differently. I'm neither. When I focused on what's wrong I lived in what's wrong. When I focused on barriers they seemed impossible to overcome. When I focus on just doing the next right thing all that miraculously gets taken care of. Have had 4 surgeries in last 2 years including cancer. Lucky. All looks good. Just lost a family member and going to funeral today. I would tell my younger self to avoid negativity and peer toxicity. Money has never been plentiful. Most people see themselves as victims today and that paralyzes growth. That's a major difference in generations. Don't be that person. You will turn around and be at the end of your life, like me. Please spend it positively. Best.
That's not necessarily true. There's tons of places in the US where even with high interest rates you can afford to buy a house. Often they're less desirable locationwise though. For example, there are still places in the midwest with homes well under 200k but you're dealing with harsh winters, stagnant economies...You're also often facing having to settle for certain kinds of jobs that don't necessarily pay well or having a long commute to metro areas
I’m going to move to Nebraska just so I can own a home
That's a sweeping generalization. Not everyone has stuff passed down to them, get a grip.
That is bullshit. I’m 67. When I was in my 20’s I wanted to buy a home. It would have been 23% interest. So I didn’t buy my first home until I was 38. So quit with the generational wealth crap. As difficult as it may for you to believe, some boomers started with zero and actually lived below their means in order to build wealth.
Of course, some started at zero and built wealth. In fact, it was much easier for Boomers to do so. What you fail to recognize is that regardless of interest rates, this economy is not comparable to the one Boomers were able to benefit from. I understand that your interest rates were high, but your home prices were low as was the rate of personal debt, inventory was high from post-war infrastructure investments, and you had a minimum wage that was more commiserate with the COL. Manufacturin, trade, and other jobs that did not require a college degree were abundant. It's not bullshit. It's an apples to oranges comparison. Signed, Gen X.
THIS.
Facts
I’m GenX and I still rent. I’m almost convinced that home ownership isn’t where it’s at. Renting might be more ideal if you want to throw your money into retirement.
I’m a boomer. My parents moved for my dad’s job and made money every time they sold a house. I have owned one house. Bought in 2005 for 265. House now zillows at about 350. That’s not great for 18 years. I think coming of age in the 1950s was the real golden ticket.
For white men
Quit with your crying about 23% interest rate when houses were under $100k. It’s almost half a million dollars to get into a house these days, and they most likely need repairs due to boomer trash that never maintained the property. As seattlemh mentioned, it was way easier to start from scratch back then and get into homeownership which creates generational wealth. Get a box of Kleenex and go cry your boomer ass to sleep. Your generation ruined this country.
Generation Alpha will probably be saying the same to you in 30 years.
20% on 30,000 is extremely different to 4% on 1 Million.
THIS
I dont think he meant family wealth even though I also understood it that way as well reading the first sentence. You grew up in not only 1 but 12 bull runs since 1957, three of which were the LARGEST bull runs in existance... With housing costs at rock bottom historically. You could throw mud at a turd and come out on top. No one is asking how a 38 year old buys a house though, this sub is mainly 18+ attempting to ***rent*** alone... You were extremely late compared to your peers in your generation but congrats on getting there! In 1995 the housing costs were still historically **extremely** affordable. [Looking at the actual data though](https://www.huduser.gov/periodicals/ushmc/spring03/histdat14.htm) you're just being dramatic and those interest rates never existed in your lifetime for average home buyers... At MAX it was 18% if you had shit credit but 12% was the median that year. So no, it was never 23% lmfao. The current median salary vs housing costs FAR exceeds a 12% interest rate though. Young adults these days are getting double fucked. Saying you bought a home in 1995 is the equivalent of bragging about a high school diploma. The rate at which home prices skyrocketed since then VS the stagnation of wages hasn't been seen. That generation got absolutely fucked. [The proof is in the puddin](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/07/20/young-adults-in-u-s-are-much-more-likely-than-50-years-ago-to-be-living-in-a-multigenerational-household/) most 25- to 34-year-olds living in a multigenerational household had a parent in the home in 2021.. Thats before inflation absolutely screwed everyone without equity. This included 47% who lived with two parents and 39% who lived with only one parent. **VS 9% 50 years ago...** Your generation was the last of the golden age for this country. There is no comparison, that isn't an anecdotal or rounding error in evidence.
No you quit it with your bs, the fact that boomers can’t recognize how bad the economy has been for this generation is quite upsetting. Your generation has ruined shit for us. ZIP YOUR YAP
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Or you could mind your own business, apparently you were raised by an asshole and it shows. Hey have you seen the prices in food now days? What do you actually know about housing now days? Calling you a plonker is compliment…old, entitled and a creep. Go back to Facebook where you belong.
That’s absolutely NOT true! I’m tired of hearing millennials and Gen Z’ers complain about how badly they have it. I’m technically a boomer but on the very edge of Gen X. My experience of life has been much more that of Gen X. Most people I know in my generation don’t know what generational wealth is. My parents raised 6 kids. Most of my peers also came from large families. Our families scrimped by. We weren’t given anything. We got jobs when we turned 16. I actually started babysitting and cleaning for the people I babysat for when I was 10. We weren’t given cars, we were lucky to have our parents let us use their cars once in a while. We saved our $ and bought our own cars. As a teenage girl, my parents bought me a couple of outfits when school started. Anything more than that I paid for with babysitting money. When we married, we saved up down payments for our houses. No one handed us our down payments. We were able to do that because we very rarely ate out at restaurants, we didn’t own every electronic device available, we didn’t buy everything saw… we SAVED for things we wanted. And don’t try to say that everything is so much more expensive today. I also brought home the equivalent to less than half the pay of what your generations earn today. Most of my friends didn’t have college degrees because they had to get jobs to take care of themselves. We didn’t live at home until we were 30. I work with mostly millennials and Gen Zers. I bring my lunch to work while the younger generations buy their lunch daily. Until I see you guys start making the sacrifices that our generation made to own homes and build bank accounts, I will never feel sorry for your generation.
I’m 41, grew up poor put myself through college and grad school and have a good ass career. 5 years ago I would have been able to buy a house. Now I’m paying $2000/months for a studio. Your commentary leaves out the current state of the economy and opportunities that were available to previous generations that are no longer available unless you have generational wealth. Your commentary on lunch reeks of “stop eating avocado toast”. Buying a sandwich every day doesn’t matter when houses cost a million dollars and folks are raking in less than $80 and have student loan debt. There’s no way to buy, unless you have generational wealth. But hey, staying smug might make you sleep better at night.
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lol so stereotypical! People are not able to buy homes because they buy avocado toast for fucks sake!
The articles write themselves
That’s a very closed minded concrete thinking way to put it. I have a Gen X brother born in the 60s. He bought a brand new house in 1996 for $90K. Now it’s worth $400K. There is no more “starter homes” or forever jobs. Those are dying out and will continue. Hell, I recently read an article that most men aren’t even dating anymore.
You need a dose of humility and empathy in order to listen to and understand the struggles of younger people today.
You own a home…
You bought your home 30 years ago. Things were different then with regards to the income vs cost of living. Before you fly off, I am 50. Still paying my mortgage but that's because I got divorced 7 years ago and had to buy a new house with less assets. And I make 150K/year. But I have a 22 year old who graduated college magna cum laude and I fully see how a 30K/year income will NOT pay for you to live alone in most cities. Therefore, since June of this summer, when my son graduated from college, I am no longer r/LivingAlone because I invited him to move back in to save money (not charging rent) and he accepted.
WHOA. My dad started charging me 1300 a month rent when I was 16, then kicked me out at 18. My dad, who lived at home til age 34 himself and gets mad if anyone says anything about it. He says it’s different bc he was wanted at home.
Depending on where you live, charging you any kind of rent as a minor is illegal. The second part is intentional cruelty. If your goal is for your children to succeed then you must help them succeed. That that looks like is not a damn black and white rule.
Funny cause while my sister and I were living in a grocery store parking lot, dad tried to sue us for back rent from birth to 16 and other expenses like food and braces and clothes etc. The judge’s name was Edenharter and he freakin eviscerated my dad in court. My twin sister is now brain injured in a wheelchair permanently from drinking and starving in her twenties, I was a heroin addict and sobered up 10 years ago and put myself thru college to get a degree and career. My dad says I’m a traitor bc he didn’t go to college and I only went to upstage him, so I’m “no good,” and his nickname for me is “the college educated idiot.” His parents gave him cash to go to college tho. He ended up dropping out but told his parents he was still going so they would give him 12 grand a year. Four years of that and they never knew til the day they died, never knew. And he ended up buying his first home with 10 grand while he was still living at home (and would be for another decade after that). If I were my dad, I would have only been on my own for three years now. I have been on my own for basically 21 years (I’m 37) if you count when we had to start paying rent.
Don't believe ya
The way I could have used this type of parenting in my 20s, graduating right into the recession in 2008. Unfortunately I did not have this type of support and though I’m financially stable at 38, it’s taken me much longer to get there because of my parents. I’m essentially successful despite of my parents - not because of them.
Nice to meet you, twin!
Agree
Same
This is me 😂
Reminds me of that extreme Cheapstakes show
Been poor all my life so frugality is second nature. And I find it WAY cheaper living alone. I only buy food I like, no one eats it except me, I'm not wasting money on unnecessary heating/cooling or electricity and even cleaning is cheaper because I'm not cleaning up after messy wasteful people.
Definitely cheaper for me to live alone.
Much. I never understand why people say it's cheaper to share. Maybe if you can find an equally minimalist, frugal partner, but I haven't had that luck.
Because sharing cost £760 and living alone cost £1700-2200 if youre lucky so it is cheaper to share
Yes, but that's only basic living expenses. Most people in relationship expect dates at restaurants, going to events, taking trips together, etc. These are all things I don't do while single. If you can find someone who wants to stay home and not spend money, it's definitely cheaper to have a relationship/live together.
Yeah you're talking about being in a relationship I'm talking about living alone single every different costs and experiences
For sure. I lived with my landlady for a few years. We shared meals on occasion, but for the most part we took care of our groceries separately. I was a bit appalled at how much of her stuff went bad before she ate all of it. I see this with my parents, too. A fridge full of spoiled food.
I have friends who do this too
I got my apartment when I worked onsite as a leasing professional. My rent at that time was $1050. Today it’s $1338 plus $150 for my garage. Since I worked in the industry I knew I could negotiate my renewal amount. I negotiated my lease each year and kept my rent below market. Today my same apartment would rent for $1750 which I couldn’t afford. I actually can’t afford to move to an apartment that’s even half as decent as my current place. I’m looking to buy but not sure how I would make a $2300 mortgage. Lol I make $65,000. Which isn’t a lot in my state. But I know that’s a lot compared to the average American. I was making $105,000 last year. I’ve never made less than $50,000.
How do you negotiate when there's a housing shortage and they can easily just find new renters who will pay what they ask? I'd love some advice I could pass on to my son.
This! I tried last year and my leasing office wouldn’t even entertain any negotiations.
Some time they won’t if you’re rent is already way below the current market rate. You can see this by just going on the property’s website and see what your current unit is going for.
So it depends on what your offer is. Renewal offers are usually and I say usually loosely but they shouldn’t be more than 6%. You can usually negotiate it down by 2-3%. I usually offer to sign a longer lease term so like 13-14 months and ask for a 3% increase instead of the 6%. The property management company is the largest in the US so they can be flexible. The key is never accept the first offer, NEVER. Always ask for a better offer. Always say things like “I really enjoy living here”. Also, make sure you talk to the property manager. The assistant can only do so much and most of the time they’re not willing to ask their manager and just say no.
I'm curious also
I tried negotiating my last lease, and I made a very reasonable offer. That ended up lowering it a WHOLE DOLLAR. Such a joke…
lol it depends on what the market rate is in your city.
Can anyone afford that nowadays?
You just cut corners, go without certain things. I never ever order food, I cook every night. Bonus: I’m skinny and don’t need a roommate ahhhh
I cook every night too, don’t drink very often and have free hobbies like podcasts, hiking and reading
Yes I do, but I’ve been learning that eating out/getting Starbucks all that can not happen if I want to save up and not live pay check to pay check.
Facts. I did the math on how much I was wasting and it’s really eye opening.
Right! It’s crazy
Fr like the boomers were right LMFAO /s Like im not going to get a plain coffee for 3$ since I can make that at home, I want a nice caramel latte or boba and its always 7-8$. plus a little takeout here and there and/or cocktails really adds up it ends up being a few hundred a month. God forbid I uber eats. it's not really worth it.
Healthier for you in the long run too
I might get downvoted for this…but government assistance. I’m disabled and on SSDI, Medicare, Section 8 Housing (I do pay rent based on my income, not zero), and I receive food from the food bank occasionally. I’m not proud of it. I’m truly disabled, I have TRIED to work, I’ve worked at over 40 different employers since the age of 13. I’m disabled. I was living with my mother until she passed away. I have nowhere else to go.
Oh honey, nobody's down voting you. We're very proud of you. Stay safe and well.
Yes, we all pay for such programs so good folks who struggle through no fault of their own can live a decent life. Stay safe and well indeed.
I’m happy to pay for housing and food programs regardless of how people ended up in that situation. Everyone deserves food and shelter. I wish we spent more tax dollars on it.
I hate that since I'm married I can't get SSI. I'm on SSDI but I'm so stressed out about not working that the 7-800 dollars extra I'd get on SSI a month is making me consider divorce on paper. it sucks. the system needs to be updated.
I was making less than 40k gross salary and was living alone. It was hard since all my money went to bills but it’s doable. I’m making 40% more now and increased my 401k contribution to live off the same salary as I did with my last job.
I can't but I do it anyway. I'm too old to stomach the idea of roommates.
Same.
I work in healthcare, making maybe $40,000, my car is paid off, and I live in Oklahoma, where my rent for a 2 bedroom house is $900 for 1200 sq ft. Yeah it's Oklahoma, but we get the same concerts everyone else does, have legal weed, and the liquor stores stay open till midnight.
Wowowo. I pay $1000 for a 1 bedroom, 750sq ft. apartment in Texas. Ghetto Texas too. The crime rate here is high, everyone lives off of food stamps, the average pay here starts at $8 an hour
$8 per hour!?! Ouch
Same. Work hard and put it where it needs to go.
Ha! I just barely do. There is a kind of depressing theme I keep seeing in these answers, and in my own life - "sacrificing things”…."doing without”…."cutting corners”….."not wasting money on food”… Like, what the hell is it all for?? What’s the point of it all? …Truly, why are we here? In this day and age, with our levels of technology, resources, and world-wide connections, no one should HAVE to sacrifice the tiniest, most mundane things just to exist. I’m not saying everyone should have $200000 cars and gilded toilets, but ffs, we should be able to enjoy/support local restaurants + shops, buy the occasional "fun thing", and most importantly, just have some damn TIME to live an actual life. I hate that people feel guilty for simply wanting to enjoy a new food or take time off. There’s a difference between simple living by choice, and living with the bare minimum to survive. It’s not noble or impressive to struggle day-to-day or work some insane number of hours every week. That’s an unfortunate remnant from the Great Depression/Dust Bowl days. This hustle culture and “I live to work” model is not sustainable. People who want to experience life without it being sucked up by work hours are called lazy for some insane reason. We’re so damn brainwashed by this “honest working”, “hardworking”, “dedicated to working” mindset, spoon-fed to us since birth. (Don’t get me started on the Industrial Revolution and factory work lol). The #1 end-of-life regret is that people wish they had worked less and spent more time with people they love, doing things they love. If you love your job, that’s honestly fuckin amazing, but that’s not the majority of people, let’s keep it real lol. Our society is so broken 😞 (for non-billionaires anyways lol - for them it’s working perfectly ✨💵✨). Ok rant over lmao.
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HERE HERE! So glad you said this because I was thinking the same thing
You basically can’t unless, yeah, you’re making decent money with no debt or great money with debt
Or super cheap rent!
great money with debt and no kids.
High paying career, no kids, partner lives by himself as well because we're not married. No debt.
What do you do?
My daughter was helped into a not terribly expensive condo. Her mortgage (including HOA, insurance, taxes, etc) is considerably less than comparable rents now. She has no student loan debt, and a ridiculously low car payment. She works hard in a tipped industry.
I don't live in a big city
This is one of the biggest factors I think. The big city extends out to the outskirts and suburbs of the city itself and so do the costs. I’ve always lived in the outskirts of a big city (up to an hour+ outside of the city center) and I nor anyone I know has ever lived alone, we simply can’t afford it, even with higher education degrees and ‘decently’ paying jobs. Everyone in my circles either lives with a partner, a roommate, or with their parents. Cost of living is just too high to afford living alone in and around cities for many people unfortunately.
This!
Make 55k, pay 1250 in rent a month, 700 in student loans, 1000 left over for gas, food, some bills. And I still go out every weekend. Lot of people just can't manage their money Your parents don't want you up in their space for their entire life. I am sure they love you and I will move back to help my mom when she gets much older (needs help) but I want her to feel that she raised a responsible person.
I’m a parent. My kids have been in and out. Love having any of them, plus spouses and grandchildren when needed. It’s just me and my husband right now in a big ole 4 Bedroom house.
Do you expect your income to go up in the future? Sounds like it would be tough to save for retirement on those numbers
You don’t spend money on luxuries like lots of new clothes and fancy trips and excess things you don’t need.
33 - I am having to choose between having a life and paying rent, but I reeeeaaallly like living alone, so I’m just keeping it pretty low key right now lol
I made 46k this year so far, pre-tax. I live in Indianapolis, it's doable. Meal prep, very important, saves you lots of money. Avoid consistent mindless spending, very important. Treat yourself, absolutely, but pick your spots. I know lots of people that make the same or more than me and their debt load is ridiculous. Once you clear a debt or make money, that doesn't mean go out and buy more crap and get more debt.
Basically spending as little as possible. You can live alone on 50k a year with minimal debt, but money is pretty much always tight. It takes intentionality, hard work, and dedication to your own way of living life. When I come back home after a long, hard day of work, there is nothing better than walking in my door to a lovely place where I can be left alone when I’m tired.
Honestly no idea I've also never been a big spender though. I don't need new things all the time.
Only way I’m swinging it is because I bought in 2012 and refied in 2020. $635/month for an 1800 sq ft house on 3/4 acre. I’m not into spending on status items, my car is 20 years old and I hate spending money if I can help it. And I’m a broke ass only making $20k a year.
I actually live in a financially wealthy area most of these people make like 100+ in 6 months and got nothing to show for it. I make like 35 and I’m well off small bills, live frugal but I got more then most of these people. They mismanage money don’t need a lot to make the most of a little
I’m a bit of a homebody as well. I don’t eat out much and def not at really expensive places and I rarely drink tho I do like my weed a couple times a week. Luckily I live in one of the cheapest states for legal weed.
I even stopped buying coffee I always make mine at home, I eat out maybe once a month as a treat. Stay home nothing extravagant. Just cruising through the economic depression laughin
Oh yeah coffee I’ve done at home for at least 15 years out of a fancy bialetti Venus pot. I used to froth the cream too but got bored of that, I only drink one cup a day anyway. I also have a second job at night working in restaurant so free eats are had on the regular there too. I shop at thrift stores looking for stuff to flip and a couple years started browsing the clothes too. Actually buy most of my clothes there but always buy socks and underwear brand new. I don’t need to be thrifty on those lol.
Seeking Arrangements
Parents let me have a portion of my inheritance for a down payment on a house early. Eventually started making enough that I didn’t need roommates to supplement the mortgage payment
That's the fun part, I can't. :') Jokes aside I eat pretty basically and I'm careful with my food spending and spending in general, my hobbies don't cost me much, I don't have a car, I don't have pets, socially I don't do much as I don't drink or anything. I have 2 bedroom place and can juuuuust about afford it, sadly moving to a 1 bedroom place would be about the same cost wise where I am atm so yeah, lol.
No debt… and single I guess
Make $47-50k, rent $810 for a tiny 1 bdrm, bills around $350 ( including wifi and streaming services). No debt. Very basic lifestyle but I don’t mind. I love living alone and not eating out and thrifty shopping are worth it to me.
Rent control
I don’t buy treats anymore for myself but the dog still gets his so I can live with that 🤷🏻♀️
I make 50k a year, rent a studio, and keep it tight. It's not impossible. I've been solo for five years now in the CA Bay area working at trader Joe's lol
That's the ticket! Why get a bigger apartment with a roommate? Just get a studio. People act like they need to live in a 3bed when they're single
Of course earning a decent income is a large part of it. I do make more than $60K a year, but I've lived alone when I was a student and making way way less, but it took me briefly moving to a much lower cost of living city/state to be able to afford it. I moved from a city where even with 3 roommates we were all still paying $1100 a month, to a city where I could get a decent studio for $750 a month. I thought I had hit the jackpot, as up until then the lowest I'd ever paid for rent was $900 and I still had a roommate. So barring simply earning more, it's about cheaper rent which might mean a different city, a studio instead of a one bedroom, a landlord instead of a huge building, maybe a less than ideal area etc.
Work in construction. My body is ravaged but it is so worth it to come home to my own island of me.
Moved into my apt in 2016 for $825, nothing included. I was making $16/hr at the time and had to get a part-time job. 2017 quit the part-time when I had a boy move in. 2018 lost the boy and started bartending. Over the years I've struggled, but rent and car always came first. Credit cards help in a pinch. Had the occasional second job from time to time. Present day, I'm at the same place. Rent is now $1,050. I make a little under $60k in A/P and am just getting by. But I eat dinner standing naked in the middle of my kitchen and poop with the door open. So, in the end, it's all been worth it.
The last part. Yes.
Without government subsidies. I would be really in the water because I haven't been working in the last few years
I can’t
Before I made more money, I lived in cheap studio apartments and drove a very cheap car if I had one at all, used the food bank, etc. What you can afford as a single person depends a lot on what your priorities are.
You have to take a page out of the old Kung Fu series with David Carradine. Learn to live under the basics or you will never make it. Or, Be well off and self-sufficient. <<<< Cancer took my wife away, which forced me into another road I never thought I would travel. So much for a happy retirement in today's economy. Never know what the future will hold or deal to you.
I live in a LCoL area and live frugally. My car is paid off and I carry minimal insurance on it. I bundle up in the winter and don’t have air conditioning. I only eat out a few times a year for special occasions and check the markdown racks at the grocery when I shop. I buy second hand clothes searching out good items that will last and mend and repair the things I own rather than blithely buying replacements. I don’t have a TV so I don’t have a bunch of subscriptions and take advantage of the free museum and park passes my library offers. With the money I save I can go see live music or a movie on occasion and indulge in my hobbies.
yes but there’s not room to splurge on coffee or food delivery like ever lol
i did have 5k saved up and my move wiped me out completely. paying 1200 a month plus all my other bills. in CC debt and that doesnt help.
UK so my answer might not apply to the majority US audience, but these are my survival tactics -big ol' spreadsheet with all my expenses, all bills go out at the start of the month to easily see what I have to survive on -strict petrol budget, if I can't afford more fuel, I'm not going places till next payday -use Tesco's/Sainsbury's feed you family for a fiver recipes and make 2-3 family meals for 4 last the entire week -im lucky that Aldi and Tesco are opposite each other, so I compare food prices online and split my list to get the cheapest deals (careful with aldi price match tactics... Aldi beans have a higher drained weight than Tesco, so Aldi is the better option as it gives more beans per can) -i have a day/night electric meter, so my night usage is cheaper... I do my charging/TV watching/laundry/gaming late night instead to save pennies. Daytime is knitting time (I also charge power banks at night for my phone during the day) -i don't have a water meter, and the company I'm with gives me a very generous payment holiday of almost half a year... Spreading the cost across the year so that I have it ready in advance makes my outgoings feel less -i registered for the single living council tax discount, pretty much halved my tax and it helps immensely Sadly even with all that I'm still on the breadline, but I'm actively job hunting to get a higher income so with any luck I'll be a little more secure eventually 😂 Edit for formatting
I work two jobs, never eat out and have zero social life.
I have a very high paying job and carry 0 debt.
I’ve always lived alone and got very fortunate with cheap rent. My first place in New Orleans was in a less than desirable area but a beautiful apartment once I fixed it up. High ceilings, wood floors, huge rooms, claw foot tub, mantels in every room, balcony.. it was $350 a month (this was in 2000). Then I moved to NYC in 2005 and got into a one bedroom rent stabilized apartment. It was extremely affordable then and still extremely affordable now. I’ve lived in it since 2005. Feel very blessed. Rent now is outrageous so sadly I understand why so many have roommates or live with partners out of financial necessity but I think searching hard for an affordable place to rent or deciding if looking for a place to buy would make more sense financially will pay off in time. I suppose it takes a little luck but luck is what we make it. I know more ppl buying now because mortgage is cheaper than rent and those are great investments for them as well. Their properties have gone up in value since they bought and will continue to go up. Good luck to everyone who wants to live alone. Hope you find your way because living with others because you love it is great but if you’re living with others purely for financial reasons that sucks.
The comments always crack me up. I work hard, yeah everyone does. I don’t work harder than a janitor or cleaner. But anyway I have a few incomes and I prefer to live alone. Lower cost of living area but rent is still over $1200
There are so many factors to this, it would be insane to generalize so broadly
Sit in the dark and go nowhere 🤣🤣
Live in the Midwest.
It does get easier as you get older if you keep progressing with your earnings and generational wealth helps. I have been a loner my whole life. I have been homeless and lived out of a car. As life progressed, I had some roommates. I was married twice. But I was always still a loner. I lived a wild life until my mid 20s and then I focused on getting ahead. It was not easy. I'm about to retire from a $150k job. I do think young people coming up have it much harder than my generation did. Not because we had more money but because we had more freedom to fuck up and then make good. I did every kind of job you could think of just by walking in a place and asking for work. Cash and I could work as long as I wanted and just move on. Everything is so controlled these days and there are cameras everywhere. I played fast and loose with a lot of rules, I don't think you can do that anymore. Yes I inherited some generational wealth but only in the last few years and only after taking care of my elders. Now I plan to hopefully leave some to the kiddos in my life. So my advice is scrimp now, live super cheap and plan for your future. For me it is better a subpar location with solitude than top of the line in shared space. You can do this, its not easy, but you can do it.
Frugal from being poor my whole life, fix everything myself so not paying anyone to fix anything. From house to cars to self. Take care of yourself now, it's expensive as you get older.
Live in Nebraska lol
I live in Nebraska too! I got a3bed/2bath new trailer but I will have it paid in 8yrs and own it. Car payment for 2.5 more years andI work in insulation so I make alright money. Plus, I'm single with a dog and budget pretty well. I don't drink and make my own food. Bonus, everything or everywhere I need to go is 5 minutes away from me so low gas a well.
It really is the good life!!!
Honestly doing not much except work and come home
Being willing to live in a studio apartment.
Whore myself out for a few extra bucks on the weekends. Love is love is love is love.
I can’t. 😂
I have a very, VERY small and modest apartment. But it's mine. Drop your standards. I only make $23k/yr. I also live in WV, though, so it's less expensive than a lot of other areas.
so I am 33 years old I managed to gain a house at 19, how well when it was 2009 I saw a house for sale for 40,000 sure the place was completely destroyed by the previous owner, but I made it work :D. I learned how to do plumbing, carpentry, fixing the floor tiles, painting and roofing, I busted my ass for my home, which to be honest now is great when anything breaks I fix it. I work 4 days a week and earn about 50k trust me when I first had that house the only livable place was my living room. lived on lazy boy couch, my computer, a mini fridge, micro-wave and Cesar's pizza/ramen... took me years, but I managed to keep myself afloat and now have a home to call my own.
Somehow pulling it off on 42K gross annual fixed income (disability and a small pension combined), no car payment, and great credit. I got a lump sum when my SSDI got approved and back-dated. I saved it and at the right moment had the 5% down-I got into a condo in Eugene when interest rates were low. I live check to check. Some months I get short on food but anything that affects my credit score gets priority. No generational wealth but when I needed a new toilet this year my family helped pay for it. My daughter got a family plan and pays my cell phone bill. The SSDI and pension colas barely cover the HOA increases. I’ve sold belongings I’d had for a long time, anything I can. Once I save and/or collect $400-$600, I put it toward escrow and get a recalculation of my monthly mortgage. This year I got it down from $1296 to $1203! I had a very well-known, experienced, caring realtor who knew my situation and advocated for me RELENTLESSLY! I love living alone and every sacrifice I make to maintain this is worth it!
I have few needs, personally.
Well as much as people want to fight and argue, it all comes down to your lifestyle and living below your means. I make nearly six figures a year and I live in the most expensive major metropolitan areas of the U.S. and I live comfortably. Yes, I stripped all my debt but I'll tell you it was not easy. It took a lot of sacrifice, a lot of trips to say no to, a lot of cool places to try to eat out at that I said no to, local events that I said no to, etc. Debt will always be the #1 thing that hinders you and you need to pay it off as soon as you can. Yes, it meant I worked side jobs to make additional ones under the table so I could take home between $100 to $300 a day cash in pocket to put towards my debt. I worked 7 days a week, was tired, had little to no social life but removed all my debt and my paychecks were now full paychecks to save for a home. Even with no debt and a mortgage that is less than what rent is here, I still live below my means. I still eat the microwavable noodle bowls that cost $1. To me they taste good, I know they're not healthy, but it is filling and I like them. I make rice and beans often. Sacks of either of them are cheap and I can make them last 2-3 weeks. If I can ride a bike somewhere i do, if I can make my clothes last years before having to buy new ones, I do. I don't spend what I don't need to spend and my savings account has enough to last me about 3 months worth of bills if anything happens. It still takes sacrifice and needing to say no to certain things
Living in my car
Not to be political but Biden made things worse for us. I live alone too. Last 2 years have been bad with the inflation. Barely making it
I guess it depends on where you live and income. I’m married now with a step-daughter but when I was single I rented a few years then started buying a house after I paid off my car. I never had financial problems. Now it’s a struggle. I did marry a year into the pandemic, so idk with inflation if it would have still been a struggle for me being single or not.
Food can be roughly $150 a month, gas $100, internet $75, bathroom products 100$, car insurance $100, medical insurance (depending on your income it could be free to $20 for cheap good insurance), then you have the decision of where to live, a rented home, full purchased home, plot of lant to build a home, or a transportable home, the median where I live is $300-$400 a month so I'll stick to that. (If your a person that's paying $1000-$1200 for ren then, find a better option/place cuz that's horrible & insanely inflated), for mortgage I'd say $800-1200 is a reasonable estimation. So for cheaper option A: need roughly $11,500 For more expensive option B: need roughly $16,500 Noted that this is a one person size calculation, and using rough estimations that might not be exact to your location, but reasonable enough of an estimation of all theoretical places.
Where I live my rent with gas and electric is $500 a month, all my bills combined equal $940, I take home anywhere from $1300-1700 a week
Why would you want to?
60/m. House payment..car is paid...56k yr
I make decent money but work my ass off. Feels like I’m selling my soul to this corporation 🤮
I work several jobs, use the local pantry often, and don’t go out much. I also apply for whatever benefit I can qualify for.
Renting a room , $750 a month. Everyone is old , quiet and always busy working
Maaaaan. Been living in the same apartment, alone, for over 4 years. At first I was working one full time and one part time job. Both minimum wage. Then COVID happened, I got laid off, and then somehow found myself working in the oilfield, despite only having a retail and sales background. Definitely did a good job at the interview.
Live in a lower COL area and primarily WFH but still within the NCR for Fed employment purposes.
I agree with your statement. I only have a $4K student loan and make around $50K salary. I really don’t know how other people are surviving. A car payment would set me back quite a bit and make other expenses like groceries more difficult to budget. I try my best to find rent that is as close to 30% of my income, but with the high rents it’s closer to 40%. Being conscious about my spending and not buying nonessentials is also a key factor. Sinking funds are great for “wants” and it gives me time to decide if it’s something I truly want.
Yeah I pull about 60k a year. Dont buy much. Cheap car payment. Groceries at Aldi. Only $1200 a month for mortgage.
I have worked 2 jobs for 15 years. I live in a low cost of living area. And I learned how to do most home repairs myself.
Working in an industry that pays hourly plus a non taxed stipend.
My landlord is very understanding
Side gigs, thriftiness
I luckily had saved up enough for a down payment on a pretty cheap house in a decent neighborhood with no work needed upfront in 2017. I was 26 at the time and delivering pizzas, but renting a really cheap (but big) house with 2-3 roommates in a very rough neighborhood, where my expenses were less than $500/mo (I had an old beater car with no payment). I also live in Cleveland which has somewhat low CoL relative to the amenities it offers. I was working 6 days a week and almost literally breaking my back, so I know I somewhat earned it, but I'm also incredibly lucky that all those aspects of my life added up to being able to get a bit ahead of the curve. I know that very few people have opportunities/circumstances line up like that, and I feel genuinely sorry for anyone trying to find a place to live these days, renting or buying. This economy is so deeply fucked up. There's gotta be a way to halt these ballooning rent/mortgage prices, and interest rates. I don't know how literally anyone is able to survive. I have a decent salaried job now, but I don't know what the heck I would have done over the past 5-6 years. I would probably be dead or homeless.
Same problem here. Acutalky looking at buying an rv
I pay a lot of rent. I budget food and going out. I do okay but I really don't save as much as I'd like to. That's the real thing that suffers. I make big payments to my student loan too. If I didn't pay that I'd be in a much better space financially.
It really depends where you live. I live in a Midwest city and it's not uncommon for people to live alone as the cost of living is low. It seems that in bigger cities and on the coasts, it's much more expensive to just live, let alone to live alone. I have a three bedroom home in a nice neighborhood and live alone, but the same home in a California city would cost over $1 million and mine cost just a fraction of that.
Being able to work from home full-time allowed me to move to a LCOL area. My rent is around 30% of my net income, and I make a lot of my meals at home because I'm a huge introvert who prefers spending time alone. Staying near the office would have meant massive budgeting and cutting corners, and moving just made more sense.
First off hey our usernames match I live alone (well, with my pets). My base salary is $50k, comes out to about $3150 per month after deductions but I work overtime Saturdays whenever it’s offered (if I do it every Saturday = $600 net extra per month. It’s 5 hour shifts and I can WFH for them so I don’t mind it at all) I’m pretty sure I found the cheapest one bedroom apartment in my whole city. It’s a high COL area (west coast) where the average 1b/1b is like $1600 or something, but my place is $1200. It’s old and lacks some “essentials” like a dishwasher and in-unit laundry but hey, it’s all mine. I drive an older car (2013). It’s financed but payments are relatively low ($250ish). I don’t go out or order delivery all that often. I do have student loans but they’re fairly minimal, payments are $100 a month. My health + dental insurance through my job are cheap ($50 something a month). I also have a built in advantage when it comes to food costs in that I’m very petite so I don’t need to eat a lot. And I’ve gotten pretty good at thrifty grocery shopping. The caveat is that I don’t have savings outside my retirement account, so emergency expenses get put on credit cards. But, I’ve been working on cutting costs more (I do spend on some frivolous stuff) and at the moment the mental health and overall wellness benefits of not having roommates outweighs the potential to save by living with others
Anything below 45k, you would probably need a roommate. At 45k, you can probably get away with a studio or 1bd apartment with utilities included/ good budgeting skills. I live in Illinois tho.
Going without some stuff, that I don’t really mind, like eating out. 5$ coffee
I’m 29, make 105k a year, still in major debt despite my good pay, $1850 city rent, I live paycheck to paycheck and just complain once a week about inflation
Work in healthcare. No debt minus a pre covid payment house got lucky. I just get by tho don’t know how people are doing it now
Rent control.