Moving Out Of Home and General Advice on Renting

Revision as of 11:29, 23 August 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 slice of your income. It is usually quoted as a weekly figure and charged monthly. See realestate.com.au to see what is available in your area. Alternatively try allhomes.com.au if you are in the ACT area.
• Phone and Internet
  • Shop around for the best deal. Many service providers will offer a discounted rate if you sign up for a phone and internet bundle. Some plans also come with a free modem. It may also help to get a capped plan on both services as the excess rates can be very high. This also makes the weekly budget easier to estimate. See whirlpool.net.au to find a good bundle plan.
• Electricity
  • Moderate users can expect to pay approximately AU$100 per month. If you would like a more accurate estimate, ask other people who live out of home. Remember that after the first person, each additional occupant will not consume double the power, but rather around 50% extra. Electricity is charged by the kilowatt and bills are usually paid every three months.
• Water
  • If you are renting, a certain amount of water is usually included in the rent price. However, if you go over that you will be charged an excess. Ask your local real-estate agent what the rate is.
• Contents Insurance
  • Don't be foolish and not buy a home contents insurance policy. They are fairly cheap and will protect you from burglary etc. If you install locks on windows and doors and get a back to base alarm installed, you can expect to pay around $40 a month. See nrma.com.au to get a premium estimate.
• Alarm Monitoring
  • It's worth it to get a back to base alarm installed. It lowers your insurance premium and deters thieves. You can expect to pay approximately $30 per month. Check out the white pages for a LOCAL agent. Local monitoring is best as some companies monitor from sydney or even Bombay India!
• Fuel
  • You will probably have a fair idea about your weekly fuel cost already. If you need to work it out more accurately, go to redbook.com.au and look up the fuel consumption for your car. For example, say your car gets 100KM to 10L, and you travel 500KM each week. If the fuel cost in your area is usually about $1.20, then 50L will cost $60. There is your weekly fuel cost.
• Vehicle maintenance
  • So that you don't suddenly get hit with a whopping car servicing fee, you should allow for this in your weekly or fortnightly budget. Try to put away $15 per week into a car servicing account. This adds up to $780 per year.
• Food
  • Food costs are never consistent from shopping to shopping. Depending on how much you eat and where you buy your food, it can vary from $100 to $150 per person per week. If you want to try a mock shopping, check out homeshop.com.au. Don't forget pet food if you have pets.
• Medical Bills
  • If you're fairly normal and don't get sick often, factor in $25 per month for medical bills.
• Health insurance
  • Basic health insurance is a must. It will protect you from being completely screwed if something big comes along. Basic insurance will cost around $10 per week. Check out nib.com.au.
• Gifts
  • If you're a person that celebrates xmas, try to budget this into your weekly or fortnightly costs. Just divide the amount you spend on gifts by 52 weeks in the year. You may wish to consider birthdays as well.

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.