I wish that I had been taught more about living expenses before I went out in the world. I probably would have been a lot more prepared and would have managed my money a lot better.
But what’s done is done. I’ll take that past scenario and learn from it. I’ll share with my teens information about living expenses before they go out in the world.
That’s why I’ve created this post. To help my teens (and hopefully others) learn about how much it really costs to live in this world.
As you know, living expenses can vary from place to place. Fortunately, the Living Wage website has this Living Wage Calculator which shows the average cost of living for cities around the country. You can use it to help your teen figure out how much it costs to live in certain places in the United States.
There are also some sites that have monthly expense or budget calculators that you can use with your teen. One is the School & Housing site and another is Frugal Living on About.com. They are handy for doing the actual math when it comes to figuring out expenses.
Know Your Living Expenses
You’re probably wondering why you need to know about living expenses. Well, if you don’t know how much it costs to live in a particular place, you may be in for a shocker. You may get a job in a certain city, move there, then find out you don’t make enough to pay for food and housing. Ouch! You would have to get a second job just to help you pay for everything and that’s no fun.
Another good reason for knowing about living expenses is that it can help you when deciding your future career path. Will the job you are interested in pay for your wants and needs? If not, is there another one that will? Keep in mind that minimum wage jobs typically DO NOT cover all living expenses.
Finally, if you intend to start a family someday, you need to know how much it will cost to feed all of those mouths, including yours.
Below is a list of possible living expenses you may have. It would probably be a good idea to do a little research to find out exactly how much money you need to pay for these items on a monthly basis. The internet and your parents are good sources of information for this. Be aware that living expenses vary from city to city so you’ll need to focus your search on the region you live in or plan on living in.
Living Expenses
- Rent or mortgage
- House insurance
- Home maintenance
- Car payment
- Car insurance
- Car maintenance and gas
- Other transportation expenses (i.e. bus fair if you don’t have a car)
- Phone service
- Internet
- Cell phone service
- Utilities (water, electric, gas, sewer, trash)
- Medical and dental
- Food
- Clothing
- Household items (toilet paper, toothpaste, etc.)
- Recreation
- Other miscellaneous expenses (pet care, etc.)
- Taxes
- Tithing (giving to the church and charities)
- Savings
I know this seems like a lot, and to a certain degree it is. But if you take a little time to learn and plan ahead, you’ll find that living on your own as an adult and paying for all of this stuff isn’t all that scary. In fact, it can be kind of fun. 🙂