How much does it cost for a college student to live on his own?

Question

Let's assume I live alone. Give me a listed breakdown of each item (cable, food, fun, electricity, rent, etc) and tell me how much each item will cost.

Leave tuition out of the list.

Thanks!

Answer 1

C'mon, I don't mind helping out, but this is a ridiculous question.

How much is your rent?

Where you do you live? Chicago? Boston? Sioux City? Walla Walla?

Do you live in a 2-bedroom luxury high-rise? Do you rent a bedroom in a boarding house? Do you share a 3 bedroom apartment with a couple of roommates?

How much is cable? With what cable provider? In what city? Do you want movie channels, or basic cable?

How much is food? Do you eat a lot of steaks? Are you a vegetarian? Do you like lobster on Mondays? Do you eat out a lot? Fast food? White tablecloths?

How much is fun? What's fun? Reading a good book? Clubbing every Friday and Saturday? Happy hour every night?

Your costs could be anything, depending on your lifestyle and where you're living. The average rent in New York City is $2400 a month. The average rent in Atlanta is $763 a month. The average rent in Oklahoma City is $543 a month.

Food is the same - expensive in some of the big cities, cheaper in other cities, cheaper yet in more rural areas.

There is no way anyone can tell you "how much does it cost for a college student to live on his own" and have it apply to YOUR circumstances and your life style.

If you want to know if anyone from Dallas can give you an idea what it costs them to share a 2-bedroom place near Southern Methodist University, ask that question.

Good luck!

Answer 2

rent: 350-500/month (on the low end of things)

cable/internet: about 60/month

food: depends. are you living on easy mac and ramen? you could probably spend 50 at the grocery store and it last you a week or two i'd say, if you shop smart

fun: depends on your idea of fun

some places include utilities (water/electric) in the rent, so i dunno about that.

if you're moving out of your house though you have to buy a bed and furniture usually also.

a friend of mine lived with some friends, worked two days a week waiting tables (making 200-250 each weekend) and managed just fine. his rent was like 350 and they split the cable and sometimes food though.