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Conquering the Real World:
A Guide for Achieving Success After College

 

Managing Life on a Budget

 

Living on Your Own: Managing Life on a Budget

 

For many new college grads, one of the hardest transitions is to the real world is living on a budget.

 

Think you don't need a budget? Consider these typical living expenses you'll be facing:

• Apartment/Housing costs (rent/mortgage payments -- and never more than 2 weeks of your salary)
• Phone (land-line, mobile) monthly charges
• Electric/Gas monthly (and set-up/deposit)
• Cable/Satellite monthly (and set-up)
• Daily transportation costs (car payments, parking, public transportation, gas, tolls, maintenance, etc.)
• Insurance payments (car, home/renters, life, health)
• Personal/healthcare expenses (health clubs, co-payments, etc.)
• Clothing budget
• Furnishings budget
• Credit card monthly payments
• Student loan monthly payments
• Entertainment/Social budget
• Food/living budget
• Business/Professional Fees/Memberships
• Investing/Savings plan
• Taxes
• Misc./Other expenses

 

Most experts give the following percentages as guidelines for budgeting. In terms of annual spending...

• Housing: 25-30 percent
• Food: 20-25 percent
• Transportation: 10-20 percent
• Personal Debt: 10 to 20 percent
• Insurance and Taxes: 5 to 15 percent
• Clothing/Personal Care: 5 to 10 percent
• Utilities: 5 percent
• Entertainment: 5 percent
• Savings: 5 percent
• Miscellaneous: 1-5 percent

 

 

 

Lost? Go to the Map of the Real World Tutorial: A Guide for Achieving Success After College.

 

 

Have you checked out the rest of the great free career and job-related tutorials offered on Quintessential Careers?

 

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

 

 

 

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