I need advice on how to use my money for a cheap place to live

**bjl584** · 08-04-2014, 06:12 AM

Renting is not stupid. It makes perfect sense if you can't afford to buy a home.

Standard advice for buying a home are:

Don't buy a house that costs more than 3 times your annual gross income
Have a 20% down payment
Have a 3 to 6 month Emergency Fund in place before buying
Pay off as much consumer debt as possible before buying

**phantom** · 08-04-2014, 08:53 AM

I'd be curious to see your budget numbers. Saving up $12,000 takes a lot of discipline and should be commended. But, if you've spent two years working 84 hours a week at a good paying job without needing to pay rent, I'm a little surprised you don't have even more stashed away. I'm also a little surprised to hear that you believe you need to be making $24960/year ($12/hour*40 hours/week * 52 weeks) to come up with $340/month in lot rent. You say you don't have a car payment anymore. Do you have some other obligations that take a large chunk out of your budget? Also, if you were to leave your current job and get something less demanding on your health, what's the max you think you could come up with to spend on housing each month? It seems like there must be something you can do to come up with more room in your budget for housing expenses, but it's really hard to say what without knowing where your money is going now.

**Dsquared513** · 08-04-2014, 12:08 PM

I had to chuckle when you said that you are theoretically opposed to the entire collegiate education system. If you are the OP and are reading this then you might want to skip this post, I'm about to be a douchebag (and yes, I know that self-awareness doesn't negate my douchery). Stop making excuses for your life, get some xanax and ambien and trudge through a crappy 40 hour a week low paying job like the rest of us. I just graduated 1 year ago from an associates degree program in medical lab technology that had a 96% job placement rate, and while that's not a one hundred percent guarantee it's pretty good odds and I had gotten a full-time job at a hospital before I even graduated, so there are ways to pursue further education responsibly. On television the other day I just saw a man with no arms throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game, so your shyness and insomnia are incredibly lame excuses. I am fully aware that thinking that 'Merica is the land o milk, and honey and that all you have to do to succeed is try hard, is a falsehood; there are always mitigating factors and a lot of people who live in poverty work extremely hard yet remain entrenched due to sociological factors, family demands, and countless other uncontrollable variables and circumstances. With that being said, your post just sounds like you want a cheap place to live so you can skate by doing as little as possible. Suck it up. If your mother makes as many excuses for all the problems in her life as you do then I could see how living with her would be stressful.

**Petunia 100** · 08-04-2014, 02:21 PM

I'd think carefully before buying a used mobile home in a trailer park. If they raise your space rent, you have little choice but to pay the increase. Moving the mobile home is very expensive and not good for it. Plus, most mobile home parks do not accept new tenants with old mobile homes. They want mobile homes being moved in to be new.

Make sure it is someplace you really want to live before handing over your money.

**GaiaGoddess** · 08-05-2014, 01:27 AM

Originally posted by bjl584 View Post

Renting is not stupid. It makes perfect sense if you can't afford to buy a home.

It makes "perfect sense" because it comes down to either that or be homeless, lol I personally think renting is only good if you plan to only live in a place for a few months, and you want to bounce around to experience different areas.

Standard advice for buying a home are:

Don't buy a house that costs more than 3 times your annual gross income
Have a 20% down payment
Have a 3 to 6 month Emergency Fund in place before buying
Pay off as much consumer debt as possible before buying

20% down payment? I owned a house once and I didn't have to put anything down at all. But even so, if this were required (maybe it's a new rule?), 20% of even a cheap home would be around $20,000, it would take someone working a normal job YEARS to save up for that. I couldn't do this on ANY of the jobs i've had, maybe the job I have now but i'm working 84 hours a week and i'm sure most people dont do that.

**GaiaGoddess** · 08-05-2014, 01:53 AM

Originally posted by phantom View Post

I'd be curious to see your budget numbers. Saving up $12,000 takes a lot of discipline and should be commended. But, if you've spent two years working 84 hours a week at a good paying job without needing to pay rent, I'm a little surprised you don't have even more stashed away.

It took me about a year to save up $12,000. Since i've had this job, here are my expenses:

gas- $150 one way to work so about $300 round trip, and I come home every other month. So I guess on average I spend about $200 a month on gas, counting travelling to and from work and any driving I do when i'm home and at work.

car insurance- $400 every 6 months so about $70 a month

car maintenance (oil changes, etc.)- about $20 a month on average, counting frequent oil changes, fluids, etc.

cellphone- Over the last 2 years it has varied but on average around $100 a month

credit card- I generally pay it off every month, it's usually around $50. The only reason I keep this is because I get ProActiv billed to it every month, it's an automatic recurring bill so it's a monthly thing. I also want to keep it for emergencies, I have a pretty big limit on it so it would come in handy if I ever need something major.

groceries- I get free food and a room while i'm working so I only need to buy my own food when i'm home and travelling home, i'd guess it averages out about $100 a month.

hotels- When i'm travelling to and from work I stay a few nights in a hotel each way. I guess this would average around $400-$500 a month. In the winter I usually stay longer to wait out bad weather, I don't drive if it's snowing.

car payments- Before I paid it off last year, I had $300 a month payments, but since I got this job I waited til I had $5000 then I put that towards the car, I did that 3 times to pay it off quicker.

entertainment- When I am at work I rarely spend money on entertainment but when i'm home I go to a few movies, go out to eat a few times, so i'd say this averaged out to be about $50 a month.

toiletries- I consider this seperate from groceries because I do need to buy these all the time, not just when i'm home. I'd say about $100 a month. This includes supplements, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. Lots of little things add up!

I'm also a little surprised to hear that you believe you need to be making $24960/year ($12/hour*40 hours/week * 52 weeks) to come up with $340/month in lot rent. You say you don't have a car payment anymore. Do you have some other obligations that take a large chunk out of your budget?

I was figuring in EVERYTHING, not just lot rent. I was figuring in mobile home insurance, car insurance, gas, groceries, utilities (electric & gas), toiletries, entertainment, cellphone, credit card, and cable/internet. Yeah I don't have a car payment anymore but all those other things added up would come to about $1500 a month.

Also, if you were to leave your current job and get something less demanding on your health, what's the max you think you could come up with to spend on housing each month? It seems like there must be something you can do to come up with more room in your budget for housing expenses, but it's really hard to say what without knowing where your money is going now.

I am assuming I would be working at minimum wage (considering that's what most of my jobs have been), and if i'm lucky enough to get full time, a 2 week paycheck would be about $640 BEFORE taxes, so probably about $500 after taxes. That's only $1000 a month. As for cutting stuff out, yeah I could go to less movies, go out to eat less, but that little bit would barely make a dent. Everything else is necessary.

**GaiaGoddess** · 08-05-2014, 02:05 AM

Originally posted by Dsquared513 View Post

I had to chuckle when you said that you are theoretically opposed to the entire collegiate education system. If you are the OP and are reading this then you might want to skip this post, I'm about to be a douchebag (and yes, I know that self-awareness doesn't negate my douchery). Stop making excuses for your life, get some xanax and ambien and trudge through a crappy 40 hour a week low paying job like the rest of us.

Ambien doesn't work for me, neither does melatonin, Sonoma, or caffiene. And I HAVE been trudging through crappy low paying jobs my whole life, where does it get me? I'm 41, I should at least have something to show for it by now.

I just graduated 1 year ago from an associates degree program in medical lab technology that had a 96% job placement rate, and while that's not a one hundred percent guarantee it's pretty good odds and I had gotten a full-time job at a hospital before I even graduated, so there are ways to pursue further education responsibly.

The medical field is the easiest career path to get jobs in, everyone knows that. I am not going to spend $100,000 on something I have no desire to do.

On television the other day I just saw a man with no arms throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game, so your shyness and insomnia are incredibly lame excuses.

It isn't insomnia, and the first ignorant doctor I went to told me the same thing but I didn't give up and I found a doctor who has heard of this disorder, it's not something that responds to "cures". If you had it or "shyness" (not the word i'd use), you would understand. You shouldn't call anyone's "excuses" lame when they are problems you've never had to deal with.

With that being said, your post just sounds like you want a cheap place to live so you can skate by doing as little as possible. Suck it up.

I have never tried to skate by on as little as possible...hell i'm working 84 hours a WEEK right now, I work harder than all of my friends combined! I am fine with hard work, what gets me is DESPITE my hard work, I have nothing to show for it. I'm not saying I deserve to live in a mansion while working part time, I am saying I deserve a roof over my head, that is all. I would live in a trailer park or an RV in a campground even!

If your mother makes as many excuses for all the problems in her life as you do then I could see how living with her would be stressful.

Why would you assume my mother is the same way? She isn't, that isn't why it's stressful living with her. That problem is actually not necessary to discuss here.

**GaiaGoddess** · 08-05-2014, 02:12 AM

Originally posted by Petunia 100 View Post

I'd think carefully before buying a used mobile home in a trailer park. If they raise your space rent, you have little choice but to pay the increase. Moving the mobile home is very expensive and not good for it. Plus, most mobile home parks do not accept new tenants with old mobile homes. They want mobile homes being moved in to be new.

Make sure it is someplace you really want to live before handing over your money.

I have thought carefully about this for years. I realized I would only be able to afford something like this. I dont know of any options cheaper than this, that's why I started this thread. Maybe there's something I haven't heard about. I know you can buy a foreclosed home of course, but I know nothing about home repairs/remodeling and foreclosed homes always need work, not to mention you need a lot of money to make a foreclosed home liveable.

**bjl584** · 08-05-2014, 05:24 AM

Originally posted by GaiaGoddess View Post

It makes "perfect sense" because it comes down to either that or be homeless, lol I personally think renting is only good if you plan to only live in a place for a few months, and you want to bounce around to experience different areas.

20% down payment? I owned a house once and I didn't have to put anything down at all. But even so, if this were required (maybe it's a new rule?), 20% of even a cheap home would be around $20,000, it would take someone working a normal job YEARS to save up for that. I couldn't do this on ANY of the jobs i've had, maybe the job I have now but i'm working 84 hours a week and i'm sure most people dont do that.

How did you end up with a mindset that it's either buy a home or be homeless? It isn't that extreme. Drop that mindset because it simply isn't true.

You said in another post that it took you 1 year to save up $12,000. Well then, save up for another year or two and there is your 20% down. I'd rent till then.

Why can't you find better employment? How hard have you tried to find a better career or receive some sort of degree or training? What options have you explored? It looks like you may qualify for financial aid. Maybe a scholarship. I wouldn't settle for low paying jobs. Make a plan to improve your income situation and execute it.

**JulieAlbright** · 08-05-2014, 06:00 AM

Well, I'll just add that no, I don't know of any way to afford a house on a part-time minimum wage job. I really only know a minimum amount about programs such as Habitat for Humanity but I do know those recipients are financially screened and the have to prove ability to pay. $700 a month in income just is not going to go very far. I have a nephew that purchased an old dilapidated Farm House on some sort of County Rehab mortgage program for $6000. He literally moved in with a sleeping bag and camp stove and then spent probably $120,000 in cash over the next 3 to 4 years rehabbing it. So it was low upfront costs for him but a ton of cash outlay and sweat equity to make it truly livable.

I understand not wanting to keep your current back breaking schedule for many many more years, I truly do. But I just have to mention the elephant in the room here.

You say you are 41 years old, what are your retirement plans and how are you going to pay for them?

Okay, let's try to get a little creative here and think outside of the typical. Do you know a small plot of land that you could buy and then you could put one of those Tiny Houses or even the Trailer you have considered on it? Maybe power it on solar and live mostly off the grid?

I've seen article where people have purchased that sort of package for $40 to $50k total land and little house - especially if they were able to construct the house themselves. If you were able to save the way you have been doing for another couple of years, you could perhaps do the purchase outright.

**Eagle** · 08-05-2014, 06:28 AM

Originally posted by GaiaGoddess View Post

I am assuming I would be working at minimum wage (considering that's what most of my jobs have been), and if i'm lucky enough to get full time, a 2 week paycheck would be about $640 BEFORE taxes, so probably about $500 after taxes. That's only $1000 a month. As for cutting stuff out, yeah I could go to less movies, go out to eat less, but that little bit would barely make a dent. Everything else is necessary.

I wonder if buying a house with income making minimum wage is a good idea?

**Petunia 100** · 08-05-2014, 07:43 AM

I think you have some opinions which are really limiting your options in life. Going to college does not need to cost anywhere near 100k. There are many programs available in a community college leading to an AA or certification which would allow you to make much more than minimum wage. Additionally, they offer the intangible benefit of enjoying your work, if you choose something which appeals to you.

You are 41. It is only going to become more difficult to hold on to those low-skilled jobs as you age and your body simply cannot do what it once did.

Do you deserve to have financial security and a home of your own? I think you do. What do you think?

**Eagle** · 08-05-2014, 07:46 AM

Originally posted by GaiaGoddess View Post

I have no college education, in fact I don't believe in it for the simple fact that it's a guaranteed debt with no guarantee of a career after you're done. Besides that, I have NO interest in conventional careers. I have worked at a McDonalds, a factory, a bed & breakfast, a teenage shelter, a thrift store, and i'm currently working in a man camp/lodge in the North Dakota oil fields. It pays good but we are working 84 hours a week, for 6 weeks straight. I have been doing it for 2 years and i'm so burnt out, I dont know if I can last another year. But I press on only because it's giving me a place to live (while i'm working) and any way I can avoid being home with my mom is worth the burn out. But I also don't want to get sick. I NEED my own place ASAP.

So basically here's the way I see your situation.

Option 1:
With no education or specialized skill set you are going to be limited by your own admission to jobs that pay minimum wage.

Option 2:
With education (college or trade school for say plumbing, electrical, carpenttry, etc) you take the risk of incurring debt (or as others suggested you could get grants which is free money for those with lower income) but also the potential to doubling or trippling your yearly income.

I worked minimum wage or slighly above paying jobs. I got tired of it. I went back to a state school nights & weekends, worked 50 hours a week, and doubled my income after 2 years of graduating. It took me 5.5 years to do and I paid as I went along along with scholarship graduated debt free. I'm now making almost 3 times what I was making prior to my degree. It is possible just takes a lot of effort.

Why put 84 hours into a job you don't like and don't see a future in?

Why not put 40-50 hours towards work and the other 35 hours towards school? Food for thought.

**isaac** · 08-05-2014, 12:08 PM

nevermind

I need advice on how to use my money for a cheap place to live