My husband and I are older folks who lost our jobs and had to start over a few years ago. After payi

Knowing what you want in a rental apartment is pretty easy: space, location, storage, beautiful floors, light, etc. Finding all of those things within your budget can be a bit more difficult. But before you even start contemplating your rental possibilities, you should probably know what your budget is, and fortunately, this step isn't all that difficult.
Generally speaking, your rent should be somewhere around 30% of your income. Some people can stretch that figure sports ticket agencies a bit more, but for most people, 30% is a wise range that will allow you meet all your other living expenses and entertainment expenses and that will still allow you to save for retirement or to put money aside in case of an emergency.
That said, you should take a couple of points into consideration with this figure. For one, you should make this calculation sports ticket agencies not with your salary, but with your actual take-home pay. If there are hefty taxes or other withholdings taken from your check each month, that means that you have less disposable income than your nominal salary figure might lead you to believe.
Second, remember that this figure needs to cover all housing costs, not just rent. I'll speak more about these in a moment, but when moving forward with this figure, sports ticket agencies consider things like utilities, insurance, and other house-related expenses as part of it.
Just because you can pay a certain amount doesn't mean that you should. Maybe you'd like to amass more of a nest egg, or perhaps your budget focuses much more heavily on discretionary expenses like entertainment, travel, or restaurant costs. This means that you might want to spend less on your home than this mathematical sports ticket agencies guideline suggests.
On the flip side, living in some places like San Francisco or New York City often involves paying higher rent, but you may save money on transportation costs or other general living expenses, meaning that you feel more comfortable spending a higher proportion of your overall budget on rent than you might elsewhere.
If you have kids, you should also consider how much their associated expenses will affect your budget. If you're paying for private school or daycare, this will probably change how much you can devote to rental costs.
Ultimately, you should use the mathematical guideline above to get a rough idea, but you should use your personal comfort to develop realistic budgetary goals. Try to discern how much you're willing to devote to necessary expenses, social spending, general living expenses, and savings, and from there, figure out what you'd be comfortable paying.
As you start searching for places, consider what additional expenses will go into housing, and take these into account when you calculate. Paying utilities sports ticket agencies can add a fairly large amount to your monthly payment, sports ticket agencies even if the nominal fee you pay in rent is affordable. When you think about the cost of a particular apartment, try to consider whether you or your landlord pays utilities, whether you'll sports ticket agencies be paying for renters' insurance, and what other necessary bills will form part of your expenses sports ticket agencies (TV, internet, sports ticket agencies etc.). If you'll be living with roommates, also consider sports ticket agencies what expectations they'll be bringing to the table, both in terms of living and in terms of finances.
If this is your first time living on your own, and if you don't have savings to spend on home goods, you may also want to choose sports ticket agencies a place with a slightly lower rent at first so you can devote some money to furnishings. Even the most thrifty people will need to buy lots of things sports ticket agencies that they probably haven't considered before, like a broom, a toilet brush, sports ticket agencies and a waste basket, all of which add up on top of larger expenses like furniture. If you don't factor all of these costs into your rent, you might feel yourself to be a bit in over your head at first, or you might find yourself living a highly minimal existence for a while.
sports ticket agencies Carolyn is a freelance writer and photographer, as well as a lover of all things colorful and quirky. She grew up in Texas and settled in Chicago by way of L.A., England and Paris. Currently, she is a professor at Illinois Institute of Technology.
So glad you mentioned the 30% rule! I have worked in affordable housing for a while, where 30% of income is a pretty standard tool for determine what is affordable and what isn't. I'm amazed at how many of my friends took on huge rent burdens when they started working. On the flip side, it's helps you control the rest of your spending -- when you know that your rent is 30% of less of your take home pay, and you are wondering where all your money is going, you can eliminate rent as the source of the problem and examine sports ticket agencies your other spending more closely.
I was once told by a very cash-savvy person, never to pay more for [your portion of] rent than you bring home in a week. That had to have been twenty years ago now, and although I've never tried it, that's what I'm aiming for.
I'm glad you pointed out that cities sports ticket agencies may require higher rent/living costs. The extra I spend on rent gets saved by not having a car. Definitely figure out a budget that works best for your personal living situation, even if it doesn't meet any rigid guidelines!
As someone who lives in New York, the 30% mark is almost impossible. 40% is more like it. That's the percentage that I, and most of the people I know, hover around. sports ticket agencies However, I second sports ticket agencies Adriana in DC: I do save money not having a car, but every time the MTA hikes subway fares, I cringe.
I think it's safer to include all non-discretionary recurring monthly expenses in your 30%. For me that would include my car payment, car insurance, utilities, union dues, cell phone and internet. It means spending quite a bit less on rent, but I have money to travel and to fully fund my Roth IRA every year.
While it sounds wonderful, sports ticket agencies it just doesn't work in New york City, Manhattan for the most part. I wish it did. Most people I know who live in the city pay over 50% for rent, or even more, like I do, leaving less $ for living.
Renters usually pay utility, renter's insurance, cable and internet and cell and the MTA and food costs keep going up. Finding a rent I could afford based on my income, I would be living sports ticket agencies in a very tiny space.
Adding to the comments about New York City, one also has to consider travel time and costs (express buses or railroads instead of city buses and subways) and neighborhood safety. It has gotten much more challenging to find affordable housing and even older than twenty-somethings are sharing apartments - or parents are subsidizing their kids' rent.
I live in a beautiful city, considered to be the American sports ticket agencies Riviera. We have the ocean and the mountains, but the income level is considerably lower than the rent. For many people that I know, 30% is hardly manageable, especially if you have a family to care for. I'm more like 50%, and I have to drive as we have limited public transportation. Blerg.
I live in Los Angeles.Here landlords and management companies expect tenants to earn 3x the amount of rent they are charging,so about 33%.For sports ticket agencies some strange reasons apartments here come with stoves but I am yet to see any apartment sports ticket agencies that comes with a fridge.For 1st time renters this is an up front expense sports ticket agencies to consider.Anyone sports ticket agencies who plans to buy a car or upgrade the car they have would be wise to plan for that added monthly cost.In cities like NY,SF or Boston parking is quite costly.
My husband and I are older folks who lost our jobs and had to start over a few years ago. After paying for health insurance (a major expense) and transportation costs each month, a *much* greater percentage of our income goes towards rent. Gone are the days when we could live within our means and put aside a little something each month.
Living sports ticket agencies in San Francisco doesn't help, yet we've discovered when we take into consideration what it would cost us to commute in for work -using public sports ticket agencies transportation, which is less expensive than driving- remaining in the City is still less expensive than living in one of the Bay Area's more affordable surrounding areas. For now, anyway.
We're not alone. When my elderly mom was still alive and needed help because of medical needs, a portion of our income (back in the days when we had more of an income) went to help her. It's not like it used to be. Still, if you have the income it's good to be aware of how not to overspend on rent and hopefully save. You never know when you might need to dip into your savings to get by each month. Wish I'd known 20 years ago what I know now!
I'm in NYC and I'm finding a lot of management companies are getting stricter about income requirements. My current building requires me to make 46X the monthly rent; I was denied by a building that wanted sports ticket agencies me to make 50X the rent.
My rent alone is only 18%, but my recurring living sports ticket agencies expenses (unavoidable) push it much closer to 35%. Which is a more accurate reflection of the costs. If my rent alone came to 30%, I'd likely be eating sports ticket agencies ramen noodles and living in the dark.
I guess it has a lot to do with how much insurance/cable/internet/phone/etc cost in your area. In some places rent is cheaper, and those costs are higher, in others it's the opposite, and in some they are both high or both low. Things to consider for sure when calculating the %.
Having sports ticket agencies lived in LA for 23 years, I have found the rent game a tedious one. You have to search Craigslist (how I found my current place), ask around and literally drive up and down the streets on which you'd like to live. Forget Westside Rentals - they are a rip-off to say the least. Rents are all over the place here but rarely are they less than $1,200 for a 1 bedroom. I got extremely lucky with my current apartment that I love, but I went through some bad experiences prior. I'm just under 30% and purposely looked for a rent controlled building. Where I work, we hardly ever get cost of living increases. Without rent control, I'd be screwed. I'm a perfect tenant (super clean, quiet, take care of my place and follow all rules) and am hoping it will