28 March 2012: The Economics of It All

Finding a new house sucks. It really, really does. I've never had to pay rent before--the $12k a year for my terrible dorm room was covered by scholarships and loans, so none (or very little) of it came out of my pocket. Now, however, I've entered the real world.

Our rent is $1200 a month. That number alone is terrifying. But there's six of us, so that comes down to $200 a person plus divided utilities and all that. That's not too bad, right? I mean, it's a lot. But it's reasonable.

The hard part is that, for April and May, 3 of the 6 roommates won't be living there. They won't be paying rent. Suddenly, things jump up to $500. That's a lot of money.

At the job I'll have over the summer, I'll make $7.75. With tax and all that, it means I'll have to work approximately 30 hours the entire month to pay rent. That seems reasonable enough; of course I'll work more, but that's the bare minimum.

Thankfully, I have a job right now that pays $10/hr. I get paid on the 15th of every month, so I'll get two more paychecks with this job. That's about $400, or two months rent right there. I also have some money saved up, but that's to buy a car, so I'd rather not cut into that.

So, where's my advice or the lesson? For God's sake, save your money. You don't need to get tacos tonight, because you have ramen at home. You don't need that $10 candle when they have tiny candles at Wal-mart for like $2. It's okay to splurge on occasion, but refrain if you can. Rent is more important than how your house smells or, to some extent, how hungry you are. Yes, you need food, but sometimes you might just have to sacrifice your fancy food for normal people food.

And make sure everyone that's paying rent is fiscally responsible. I'm seeing a bit of that problem, too. My boyfriend just got his first job (at 21, bless his heart) about two weeks ago. He's making minimum wage, about 10 hours a week. I might have to spot him on rent. That's going to hurt me financially, but I'll do it, because I love the man and want him to live with us. But if you're not able to help your roommates with their share of rent, don't do it. Simple as that. No matter how good of friends you are, there's a chance they'd never pay you back, or not be willing/able to help you if you end up in hot water yourself.

I haven't even moved into this place yet (we do around 14 April) and I'm already stressed. This'll be fun, y'all.