Moving Out Of Home and General Advice on Renting

Revision as of 22:27, 19 April 2007

Leaving home for the first time can be a complicated and daunting process. This Wiki helps you consider all the expenses and decide if you can afford it or not. There are two main sections; ongoing expenses and initial expenses. You should ballance your ongoing expenses against your income and your initial expenses against your savings or loan. I have also included ways to calculate some expenses. Remember; if you share with one or more person, you can split a lot of these costs. Check out flatmates.com.au for people to share with. Avoid moving in with close friends as you could end up hating them. Just ask arround and you'll see what I mean.

Ongoing Expenses

• Rent
  • Rent is going to take the biggest chunk of your income. It is usually quoted as a weekly figure but charged monthly. See realestate.com.au to see what is available in your area.
• Phone and Internet
  • Phone and Internet are not allways essential but they are fairly cheap. You can get fixed rate packages with a free modem from aapt. Try out their Bundle calculator. Also see Broadband Choice for other internet and phone packages.
• Electricity
  • Moderate users can expect to pay about $100 per month. For a more acurate estimate see How Much Electricity Does My Stuff Use?
• Water
  • If you rent an appartment, water is usually included in the cost of the rent. Sometimes you will get charged extra if you use too much however.
• Contents Insurance
  • Well you'd be a fool to have your stuff stolen as soon as you move in. Contents Insurance is fairly cheap anyway. Installing a DIY allarm system can lower your premium too. NRMA offers a range of options and is a safe bet for first-timers.
• Fuel
  • This ones easy to figure out but hard to pay for. To calculate your fuel cost look up your car on Redbook and find the specs. For example, my car does 100km on 11 Litres arround the city. Figure how far you will go in a month and how much fuel it equates to. Then calculate the cost for that ammount of petrol at the current price. Presto.
• Food
  • Food costs are never consistent from shopping to shopping. Depending on how much you eat and what brands you buy, it can vary from $200 per month to $400 per month. To get an estimate try a pretend monthly shopping at Woolworths Home Shop. Don't forget pet food if you have pets.

Initial Expenses

• Appliances
  • Refrigerator
    • Usually a decent fridge and freezer combo is sufficient for 2 or 3 flatmates. eBay is a great place to pick up second hand whitegoods but allways organise and inspection before buying. Otherwise, keep and eye out for garage sales, markets and warehouse clearance sales. Plan on spending between $100 and $300.
  • Microwave
    • An absoloute essential. Again, try eBay or ask department stores about discounts on ex-display and ex-repair units. You can get a nice one for $50 to $75. Make sure it will fit in the microwave cavity of your appartments kitchen.
  • Washing Machine and Dryer
    • Try to pick up second hand machines with waranties left on them. Expect to pay about $250 each. Also, ask about the energy and water ratings because they'll affect your power and water bills.
  • Iron, Kettle, Toaster and Phone.
    • Ask family members about thier old ones as they are something that everyone tends to have a few of. Alternativley, you can buy them on eBay for about $30 each.
  • TV
    • Most people have 2 or more TV's in their house these days. Ask if you can take one with you. If not, a nice 51cm TV will cost about $150.

• Furniture
  • Dining set and Sofa.
    • Check out ex-government and factory outlets for basic furniture requirements. A nice dining table and chairs will cost about $300 and about $200 for a nice 3 seater sofa.
  • Bed Frame
    • Bed frames can be bought from any old furniture store. A no-name bed frame will set you back about $150 to $250. Make sure it will fit in your new bedroom. Or perhaps your parents will send you on your way with your old bed.
  • Matress
    • Personally I am disgusted by the thought of a second hand matress. I recommend splashing out on a new one. Plan on $200 to $600 depending on the size and quality.

• Other
  • Bond
    • A collateral payment you give to the landlord when you move in. It is usually 2 to 4 weeks worth of rent. You get it back when you move out providing you caused no damage to the property.
  • Initial Food Shopping
    • This is where you fill your pantry with spices, condiments and staple ingreedients to get you started. Try to get as much of the basic stuff as you can from home. Plan on spending about 3 to 4 times your ongoing food budget.
  • Laundry Products
    • Most of this can be bummed from home. Things like washing powder, dish soap, spray and wipe, bleach and toilet cleaner are the basics. Count this in to your initial food shopping if you can't get it from home. Should be about $75.
  • Crockery, Cutlery, Utensils and Cookware
    • Again, try to get a basic set from home. Count this into your initial shopping if you can't. It would come to about $250 if you bought it all new.