$400/month enough?

[shoei]

Lets say....

Pay - $1300/mnth

rent - $700
cell/internet/tv - $100
metropass - $100

$400 leftover for food and going out..do-able? lol

[wisdom_kid]

Depends on what kind of activities you do for fun and the stuff you eat. You should be asking yourself this question not the general public.

[shoei]

Depends on what kind of activities you do for fun and the stuff you eat. You should be asking yourself this question not the general public.

its not me its for a buddy that wants to move out and hes wondering if it can be done and im jus seeing what other people think.

[ben_liu]

In my opinion, i don't think $400 is doable for a whole month of grocery plus other expenses. Surely, he'll have the urge to buy something and it won't work out if $1300 is all he has for a whole month. But if he can survive on $50 a week of grocery, that leaves $200 for other stuff. Can be stingy or find some nice cheap food places.

[helium]

I'd be able to live with $400/month for food. That makes $100 per week...

You can buy a week's supply of instant noodles for like $10 XD

[shoei]

yeah gonna tell him its too hard lol. maybe if he can get a place forl iek 400-500.

[amdfanatic]

nah man tried it myself fcuk that lol....its probably possible but thats tight to live...maybe if he has some cash saved on top of the 1300/month paycheques but you need like 1700-2g's a month to live comfortably. Lets say 700-800rent, around 100-150 for utilities (phone, net, etc), transportation if he's car-less 100, groceries at least 150 a week plus if he goes out and spends money and then be able to keep a little bit extra cash so hes not struggling every month...tell him to look for new employment:D

[Ix2L]

find a room-mate split that 700 in half.

[shoei]

downtown maddd expensive..he was planning to get a roomate and get a 2br condo..thats like atleast $1700/mnth lol.

[nalababe]

what you will find to be the problem is that you will always need something when living by yourself for the first time...

Remember, the person will have to buy everything now...from salt to toilet paper, to light bulbs...it all adds up. 400 will be tight. I would expect him to be struggling.

Now, what about apartment insurance? will all utilities be included? Laundry?

[shoei]

what you will find to be the problem is that you will always need something when living by yourself for the first time...

Remember, the person will have to buy everything now...from salt to toilet paper, to light bulbs...it all adds up. 400 will be tight. I would expect him to be struggling.

Now, what about apartment insurance? will all utilities be included? Laundry?

yeah i htink the place he wants is util included with laundry onsite i think :confused: **** it lol callin him right now and tell him not to do it lol

[Grassgreen]

lol...moving away from home for me meant eating noodles and water every day, and I still consider it a bargain!

[CYP3A4]

$400 is do-able. You don't have to spend money on new dinnerware every month, you just need to buy food.

[Jucius Maximus]

I'm assuming $1300 is AFTER taxes.

I could do my groceries with a little to spare in $400/mth.

But what about savings for retirements or investments? Going out? Maybe some luxury items? Emergencies? Vacations?

You'd be treading water even if you only go out once a week.

[MoonDoggy]

$400/month is too close for comfort. you'll probably spend most of the money on buying little things for the place. if he's younger guy who goes out often, then it's not workable at all!

[M@rk]

$400/month for food is definately enough... that's $13 a day! I see too many people wasting their money away by buying food everyday or buying coffee/pop whenever they feel like it. $1.75 for a Coke may seem like nothing, but all the little things add up, so that's what he's got to watch out for. Knowing how to buy groceries cheaply also cuts down costs by like 50%. He'd have enough left over to go out once in a while.

It's still going to be quite tight though... I don't see how he's going to get by if he doesn't have some extra cash left over for emergencies. What if his fridge breaks down?

[ClubberLang]

where did you find a place in toronto for $700/month?

[canadiandollars]

$50 a week for food is definitely possible if you buy things on sale and brown bag all your lunches.

[aquariaguy]

$400 for FOOD alone is definitely doable if he cooks himself. However he will have $0 to buy anything else which is highly unlikely. So he's screwed. Living paycheque by paycheque what kind of life is that? Tell him to stay home and find a better job first. It's gonna be brutal for him.

[divx]

Since you getting the metropass anyway, move out of downtown and commute there, save 50% on rent.

[hooch]

$400 a month for food, even $200 a month is enough, but it just means that you'd be making most of your meals, instead of going out. It'd also probably involve living with a budget to help keep things organized.

There are plenty of sites that talk about how to stretch one's food dollar:

http://www.fortydollargourment.com/

http://www.the simpledollar.com/

http://frugalliving.about.com/

Though, for someone in their pre-twenties, or in their twenties, it may not be the most enjoyable since you can't go out as often or ordering out. :( Even a night of partying at a pub could burn through most of that money.

[IronMac]

Since you getting the metropass anyway, move out of downtown and commute there, save 50% on rent.



Where's divx and what have you done with him?! :razz:

Recently, you've been making the best posts!!! In the past...not so great.

Anyways, for the OP's friend, yes, it's definitely doable. Have they ever been a student living on their own???

[gaurav_fhs]

student housing can be $500 or even cheaper downtown. Just have to to know where to look :cheesygri

And yes, it's more fun living with dorm mates especially when they're all students

[Mr.Universe]

If for the short term, yes it's possible. But if it's for more than 1+ year, it won't work, he'll need new clothes, have social expenses like birthdays/weddings/etc., medical expenses, starting dating, and more importantly savings.

[boonjaca]

It's hard, really, really hard to live on $400 a month at the beginning especially if he's young. Even if he has to make his food everyday, there's also the other supplies that he has to buy for his place such as toiletry and kitchen supplies. And if he's never lived alone before, he's most likely going to have to pick up small things to furnish the place: mirrors, shelves, etc.

[Chigu]

$400/month for food is definately enough... that's $13 a day! I see too many people wasting their money away by buying food everyday or buying coffee/pop whenever they feel like it. $1.75 for a Coke may seem like nothing, but all the little things add up, so that's what he's got to watch out for. Knowing how to buy groceries cheaply also cuts down costs by like 50%. He'd have enough left over to go out once in a while.

It's still going to be quite tight though... I don't see how he's going to get by if he doesn't have some extra cash left over for emergencies. What if his fridge breaks down?

It's not $400 JUST for food, it's $400 for EVERYTHING including food. How about all minor things he has to buy for the condo, clothes, supplies etc etc etc. Not doable unless u don't want to go out at all. I'd say get a cheaper place or a new job (although $700 a month is reasonable rent).

[Sylvestre]

I'm not going to discuss the $400. All I'm going to say is anyone paying more than 50% of their net (I hope) income on rent is making a mistake.
Tell your friend to get multiple roommates if necessary.

[Captin Howdy]

Lets say....

Pay - $1300/mnth

rent - $700
cell/internet/tv - $100
metropass - $100

$400 leftover for food and going out..do-able? lol

$400 a month is very do-able.

i would say $5-10 a day on food(if he cooks all his meals)
lets say a average of $7 a day = $217 a month leaving $183
save $100 for rainy days/random expenses - $83 left over
lets say he goes out every Saturday, he has about $20 to spend. Not the most money but enough to go out to dinner/movies/club

In the end he could make it however its going to be really tight. As someone said before short term its fine but over long period it wouldn't work.

[Firebot]

700$ a month for rent is too high for his wage (which is ridiculously low, that's minimum wage full time).

[smirnoff]

I spend less than 150$ a month on food. We're talking 3 squares a day. It's totally doable.

[Mr.Universe]

I spend less than 150$ a month on food. We're talking 3 squares a day. It's totally doable.

$150/month on food!? Mind sharing with us your meals and grocery list?

[boxingday]

I spend less than 150$ a month on food. We're talking 3 squares a day. It's totally doable.

$400 A month is going to very tight for anyone.If its was just food then yes $400 coould be done.However $400 for almost everything is very hard to do in the long term.

[hi-tech]

It might just be enough for food, but going out is out of the question.

[kama]

If he's a university student, then it's do-able. I lived on that, but I didnt go out drinking every week with friends or eat out often. It's hard, but definitely do-able. And I'm a girl, so it was harder - what with all the shopping I couldn't possibly do!
The way I look at it, if it's for a cause (assuming in this case it's education), then you'll find a way to make it happen. For instance, you can do without cable and save an additional 50$. Skip on a metropass and walk/bike (make sure the place you rent is close enough to do so). Dont buy fruits/veggies from a big chain grocery store - instead get it from markets, such as the ones in China town or St. Lawrence.

[smirnoff]

$150/month on food!? Mind sharing with us your meals and grocery list?

For breakfast it's Oatmeal, with banana, raisins, and nuts. 5$ worth of oatmeal will last a month easy, 12$ for bananas, 5 $ for raisins, 10$ for nuts... (then there is cinnimon and suger, not a monthly purchase neseccarily)
Approx 35-40$ will cover breakfast for a month.

For lunch I usually make a weeks worth of chili in a slow cooker, and just freeze it in tupperware so I can take it to work.
Cost about 20$/week to make a chili or stew (including meat). Around 85$/month

Dinner is usually just a stirfry or something. Rice $5, carrots 6$, celery 6$, peas 6$, eggs $7, and soy sauce. Nothing fancy. All these ingrediants are quite cheap. I'd say around 30$/ month.


So, depending on the month, that could work out to over 150$ but not by too much. My meals aren't particularly exciting, but they are plenty hearty, healthy, easy to prepare, and quite inexpensive imo.

It's worth noting I didn't include multivitamins etc. in the cost.

As for the rest of the 400$/month, just live according to your means. You're at university, you should be studying anyways.... haha right. :)