Written by Lauren Lind
A few weeks ago I sat down with my dad to talk about moving to
New York City after graduation. I was overwhelmed and nervous at first because
I knew that he was not going to fund my move to New York. Being a broke college
student, with the exception of a little in savings, I didn’t know how to start
planning the move to one of the most expensive cities in the country. After
laying everything out on paper, I discovered exactly how much I would need to
earn per month to survive and I feel more comfortable knowing the salary
necessary for living. Here is the step-by-step process that I went through to
figure out my new budget for a new city and hopefully this will be of
assistance to you too.
•
Start your monthly budget by filling in this template. You may not need to fill out every
area in the template depending on your individual needs. You may also need to
add another category or two. This is just a starting point, so feel free to
customize to your needs.
•
When
filling out the income taxes withheld, do some research online to find the
correct numbers for your estimated tax bracket. Also be sure to look up or ask
someone about any other specific taxes that the city you are moving to has. For
example, New York has a 4% luxury tax.
•
Next, add up all withheld tax percentages to see
how much of your income will go to taxes so you can adjust your spending
accordingly. When I added up everything, about 38% of my income will be
withheld and this does not include any tax refunds.
• Rent can be tricky if you are moving to a new city by yourself.
Luckily, I have friends who are moving to NYC as well and together, we
researched thoroughly to find the best place for rent in a safe location. Decide
what you are willing to sacrifice when it comes to rent. I will have a 35-minute
commute to work everyday, but I will be saving $300 a month in rent by living
further away in a larger space. For me, it’s definitely worth it.
• If you are moving by yourself, research sites that pair people
together and decide what you are looking for in an
apartment and a roommate. If you know someone in the city that you’re moving
to, ask him or her for recommendations on safe areas of town.
•
For transportation costs, add up the mileage and
calculate your estimated gasoline costs to and from work. Personally, I will
not need a vehicle and will be taking the subway, so I looked up the price of
monthly metro cards and also budgeted in some money for cabs.
• Decide what items are needs versus wants. You might have to
sacrifice things that are not necessities in order to fit your budget, such as
Starbucks every morning or spending money eating out. Living beyond your means
is a surefire way to get yourself in financial trouble.
The hardest part about making a budget is estimating costs,
because more times than not, people don’t know exactly what they intend on
spending. With that said, it is better to overestimate than underestimate.
Knowing how much you will need to make in order to meet your monthly needs
financially will make moving to a new city seem more manageable. You will know
whether or not you will need to get another job to cover costs. I hope these
tips will help prevent you from being blindsided by the costs of supporting
yourself in a new city. Good luck to you!
Hat tip: About.com
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