Moving out first time.

Guitarmattms · #1 07-22-2009, 11:11 PM

Hey, Guys.

I'm going to be moving out next week! I'm pretty nervous but I think I should be fine. Just gotta make sure I don't spend it all on guitars. I'm going to be transferring from Wal-Mart to Sam's Club as a full time employee. So, yes I'll be getting benefits and everything else. I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice for me? Also, I do have a roommate so we will be splitting everything in half.

Thanks.

bammbamm · #2 07-22-2009, 11:52 PM

It's all on you, so I'm sure $ from Sams won't go a long way, but if you want to be happy, avoid getting high limit credit cards, you'll be working for Visa or Mastercard for the next 5-7 years if you max those out. Keep it simple and don't spend what you can't afford.
Lastly, try and save a minimum of 10% each check and don't touch it, treat it like a bill that you have to pay, just put it in an account that is hard to access and no ATM card associated with the acct. Roommates help, but make sure you can trust him and he pays his share of the bills on time (you too) this can go a LONG way toward maintaining a friendship or ending one rapidly.

Good luck and have fun.

ColinMmmmm · #3 07-23-2009, 12:05 AM

Living with a roommate is tricky - I've been doing it for the last 7 years, and I've decided there's a fine line between a good roommate and a bad one. You're gonna have to lay down some ground rules at the beginning to keep the place orderly. Usually dishes are an issue. And food sharing.

shredmaster · #4 07-23-2009, 10:23 AM

exactly what those guys said. i remember moving out long ago and although it was scary it was also exciting. just like the first day of highschool...you get used to it and it just becomes life.

setting a little budget is a good idea. if your rent is $1200 a month let's say, you need to set aside $600 just for that each month...that gets paid first! then set your car payment, electric/cable, whatever. whatever is left is yours and i do suggest putting a little away as bamm said. having a good friend to room with is great but it can be tricky as well. when i roomed with a friend of mine it was awkward at times. he was a little slow with the rent while i was always early. i would do my shopping and he would be making dinners for his girlfriend with my stuff! i would come home to beer bottles and a mess all over the kitchen. keep a cool head and realize you are 2 different people living 2 different ways. if you respect each others space, there shouldn't be a problem.

money is always an issue and a concern for most people and that usually never goes away. do the best you can and you will be fine.

Kenix700 · #5 07-23-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bammbamm

It's all on you, so I'm sure $ from Sams won't go a long way,
Good luck and have fun.

If he gets up to a manager position at a Walmart he can make pretty good money. They get a bonus every year that can be up too 100k if their store sells lots of crap. And thats on top of their yearly salary.

bammbamm · #6 07-23-2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenix700

If he gets up to a manager position at a Walmart he can make pretty good money. They get a bonus every year that can be up too 100k if their store sells lots of crap. And thats on top of their yearly salary.

Good point... then you could move into a pimped out location and have the roommate removed!

eviltwin · #7 07-23-2009, 05:43 PM

learn to cook.
keep track of ALL OF YOUR EXPENSES (on the computer)
make sure that someone else (close by) has a key

Guitarmattms · #8 07-23-2009, 06:29 PM

On the managment postion... I don't want to touch that job with a 12 foot pole... Well, My friend is in school and his parents will be paying for his way. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Our rent is pretty cheap.... it's $500 a month so $250 a piece. Which is nice and I just got a credit card but there's only a $200 limit. I'm planning on using that in emergencies... So, yea. I think I got it all figured out.

**jaxadam** · #9 07-23-2009, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitarmattms

So, yea. I think I got it all figured out.

I thought that too once! Or twice... Maybe three times? Well, I still think I've got it all figured out!

No, you'll be fine. There's really only so much you can mess up.

Takin' a Ride · #10 07-23-2009, 07:15 PM

If you already have a guitar, don't buy any more. No offense but working at Sam's Club doesn't exactly bring in huge coin. Your best bet is to be very conservative on sending money for the first few months until you get a feel for what your real cost of living is. best case scenario you should open up a savings accounts and start putting a bit of money in there. Once you get a handle on what your real monthly expenses are, get that savings account up to three months of that and then let it just sit there in case of emergencies.

My old roommate and I had a spreadsheet that we used to track expenses. He was in one column and I was in the other. We each had a running total of what we spent. Every time we would pay something jontly (cable, gas, electricity, groceries, etc) we'd put it in there. We'd rotate paying things to try and keep the totals pretty equal. We kept that going for three years. I think when I moved out, I gave him like $25 to settle the difference. Other than helping us keep expenses equal, it did a really good job of tracking our actual expenses.

Guitarmattms · #11 07-23-2009, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takin' a Ride

If you already have a guitar, don't buy any more. No offense but working at Sam's Club doesn't exactly bring in huge coin.

Yea, I know that Sam's Club doesn't pay that great. I'm just making under $10. I'm not planning on buying any guitars. Actually, I'm planning on selling one of them since I don't use it and that I can use the money. May use some of it to upgrade my strat but we'll see. Luckily my parents said it was okay for me to move back home next year. I'm planning on going back to school. I don't want to work for Wal-mart forever!! No offense to those who have decided to do that.

Anyway, thanks for all your advice. Is there someway I can hack into my excel program? My computer came with a 30 day trial and it's froze now. Don't want to spend the money on those programs. :-) J/K!!

Ryan350DX · #12 07-23-2009, 10:51 PM

When your computer comes with a free trial for Microsoft office, Google for a VIN number and eventually you will find one you can type in and you will have unlimited use, I did that for this laptop and my dads. Oh and room mates start off abiding by authority, but eventually they get used to the slack you give, and take it to the fullest extent to the point where you both get in fights alot, This is how almost EVERY band breaks up. Money comes between friends. ALWAYS.

Guitarmattms · #13 07-24-2009, 12:44 AM

money or girls... :~)

DEADTUNES666 · #14 07-24-2009, 01:08 AM

All I can say is "Best of luck to you"...

Don't be afraid to succeed. It sounds funny but so many people have that problem. Failing is easy, because you don't have to do anything to attain it. Success is a never ending work in progress of which there is never enough of...

Stay safe, stay smart, and be happy. Now go and succeed dammitt!!!

Takin' a Ride · #15 07-24-2009, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitarmattms

Yea, I know that Sam's Club doesn't pay that great. I'm just making under $10.

I'm not knocking your job, I'm just saying that a nice Ibanez isn't cheap and is kind of a luxury item. When living by yourself, the best advice is to always pay cash for toys, never use a credit card and make sure that the cash you use still leaves your emergency fund in place.

Oh and girls are always SUPER EXPENSIVE so make sure you've got lots of coin sitting around if you want to start taking them out all the time...lol. Going to school is never a bad idea. You're not far from Western Illinois and that's not expensive at all. Even if you took out some student loans, it wouldn't take you long at all to pay them off once you had a better career.