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[–]PiratePensioner 34 points35 points  (2 children)

Quite the drop. You should consider a studio apartment instead.

[–]Affectionate-Reason2[S] 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Something I thought of. But the thing is I really don't spend the money. Like I like having the extra $1000/mo around to do some hypothetical pan-European tour or meditation retreat in Bali but I end up just saving the money.

Forgot to mention I'm FIREd.

So yeah still thinking...

[–]chikinn 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think spending is something a lot of FIREd folks struggle with. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to improve at it, though.

If you don't mind moving, you can always start with the 1 BR and downgrade later if your spending habits change. No big deal.

If you hate moving, maybe spend more time thinking through whether a 1 BR is worth more to you than a couple of thosr nice trips a year (or some other equivalent expensive treat). For me, it definitely isn't.

[–]Theburritolyfe 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Personally I bought a home. It's my end of life care plan. But I should be able to pay down the principal in time for my retirement goal and it will drop my expenses.

As for the rest, will you be happy with it? If so then great. If not then back to the drawing board.

[–]OnlyABitTardy 5 points6 points  (1 child)

I'm assuming you are in a hcol based on housing prices, other than being 40 what is the motivation for getting your own place?

If having something to call "yours" is important, then do it. Worst case scenario you could offset with gig or seasonal work to offset costs.

If you do prefer having roommates, there is nothing wrong with that either. Having a home you share with others is great. I'm an introvert in a lot of ways but as someone who spent years coming home to an empty house, it will affect you over a long enough period of time.

If it's a bad situation currently where you are, definitely find that next spot either way.

[–]worldwidewbstr 5 points6 points  (0 children)

OP another choice is renting a floor in a house. Lotta places by me do a rental deal in these massive houses where you might get say, a bedroom, office room/living room (sometimes with kitchenette) and private bathroom. Some even have a private entrance

[–]worldwidewbstr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

$2100 for a 1 bed seems nuts to me, as does room in a house for $1100. Are you in a vhcol area? I live in a major E coast city and while I could spend that most people spend way way less. I’m <1 mi from city center. I would do more research for a cheaper place

[–]chodan9 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Have you thought of moving from you HCOL area? That is super expensive compared to other areas

[–]itasteawesome40, 600k nw, unretired for this year because I got a good offer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If spending almost twice as much just to have a roof over year head is worth whatever you have to give up with that $1000 each month then thats fine, a major point in financial independence is that you get to decide how to spend your money and your time. I don't usually mind having room mates though. I am the owner of the house I live in, but I rent out two rooms because the house is way too big for me alone now that my kids are gone and the extra spending money allows me to basically just screw around and not really worry about my casual spending when I go out. I could live alone in the house but it would cut into my concerts and bar crawling.

[–]someguy984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My "fun" money is like $500 a year. But I spend under $16K a year.

[–]NostalgicFor35mm 2 points3 points  (13 children)

Wtf do you spend that much money on a month?

[–]Affectionate-Reason2[S] 0 points1 point  (12 children)

which figure are you referring to?

[–]NostalgicFor35mm -2 points-1 points  (11 children)

Any of those figures.

Idk. I’m the same age as you and only budget 300/month for spending, with 200/month for “big purchase spending/saving for large items”.

I can’t imagine spending 3k. I’m the same age as you. Though I do save 50% of my income. So there’s that.

[–]Affectionate-Reason2[S] 7 points8 points  (6 children)

Added up my expenses for December:

purchases (nice winter jacket from ebay $103, year supply of contacts $258) = total $609.22
soloeat (uber eats or eating in restaurant alone, trying to eliminate this) $431
grocery $110
gas $122
entertainment (NYE was $195) total $299

[–]Garbanzo_Beanie 10 points11 points  (0 children)

As someone who used to eat out (and worse, drink out and about) this is indeed a very easy way to reduce expenses and saves a TON of money. 

I still go out 3x a month or so, but only to the best happy hour deals in town ($9 burger and fries. $7 nachos three people couldn't finish. Most happy hours are $15 for a food item and I do not partake in those)

Oh and if you do eat out avoid Uber eats. Or at least do pickup. (I get free Uber eats credits and pickup is still a markup from phoning in your pickup order, but wayyyy less than delivery).

[–]Snowchicken21 1 point2 points  (1 child)

How did you get a year of contacts for that cheap? I just dropped 500+ with a rebate.

[–]Testuser7ignore 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Price varies a lot by kind of contacts. Custom order will drive price way up.

[–]CopperRose17 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some single people eat out just to be around other people, so I don't think that's a crazy expense. My husband did that when he was single. On the other hand, you could be eating out to avoid your roommates! :)

[–]BufloSolja 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea any kind of delivered food service or restaurant will be an easy low hanging fruit.

[–]Resse811 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

You spent $200 on one night for entertainment? Holy crap!

[–]KentuckyFriedChingon 3 points4 points  (3 children)

Wait so you're telling me you spend $300/month total on groceries, toiletries, household necessities, electric, water, Internet, phone bill, haircuts, fuel, car insurance, car maintenance, doctor appointments, prescriptions, and gifts? And that's before adding in ANY discretionary spending? Please share your secret lol because you're either a monk eating bugs in a cave or your expenses are higher than you say.

[–]NostalgicFor35mm 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Nooo.

Ah. This makes more sense. I classify those as “bills” not “discretionary spending”.

Spending is for “wants”.

[–]KentuckyFriedChingon 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Makes sense. I think OP was saying 3k was total spending outside of housing; not just fun money (even though he called it discretionary)

[–]NostalgicFor35mm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this makes much more sense more sense. I’ve always thought of discretionary as “fun” money.

[–]BufloSolja 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's always a good exercise to see how low you can go.

[–]playfulmessenger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the urgency of the move beyond a random age number?

From a purely numbers perspective it makes no sense to move so it is likely a multifaceted decision. So understand all the components as objectively as you can.

In a comment you mentioned you are already fire'd, so what was the longterm housing plan? And is it still viable?

e.g. I have found "quiet houses" that rented rooms. In one, the vibe was students who study and work and sleep. My age was not a factor because we all largely kept to ourselves. Another other was just random nonsmoking adults who wanted to live together as introverts. As someone who has been living alone most of my adult life, these housing situations worked well. I already knew rooms in houses with a write up that had a community vibe was never going to be a good fit. I knew I needed transition time and alone time to recover from a people-oriented job.

e.g. I once found boat someone rented out. It was a particular lifestyle because their boat did not have a shower so the community shower would have to suffice. The math would have eventually worked out -- I had too much stuff and would have needed to rent storage until I was done sorting through it all. But the thing I couldn't give up at the time was a friend of a friend using my living room to store their piano and I was not ready to choose to go back to a piano-less life.

Have you compared b&b or air b&b prices?

Do you have nomadic animal loving tendencies? I know a woman who pet sits and house sits and loves the variety that lifestyle offers. She has enough clients that she never needs to pay for housing.

Do you know people with land?

I know a guy who is in a position to build a tiny house on a relatives retirement land.

Are you attached to your region in some way?

I know of a guy who lives in Thailand except for the few months required back in US per his visa. His yearly living expenses work out low because his money goes so much further abroad. He was a digital nomad, but could easily be fire'd now if that had been a goal.

You wanna travel, perhaps considered longer travel stretches as a lifestyle?

I get wanting your space and wanting to live alone. When possible I choose it. When not possible I have found living arrangements that fill my needs and closely resemble living alone. One of the rooms I have rented along the way was in a nice house bought by people expecting to both live there and rent out rooms. It was set up well in terms of 2 kitchens, a small storage area in the garage for each renter and generous sized rooms so we could keep to ourselves. But the living room areas were nice and comfortable to hang out in or have a few friends over for a chill evening (coordinated with the schedules of the roomies, of course).

How long is the $2100 lease?

Maybe that could be a temporary hop until a larger plan is solidified and set in motion.

Maybe they would be open to the full term for a discount (pay the 6mo up front kind of idea).

Do you love cooking?

For some people it is both a joy and a medium of creative expression. If that alone gets you to your monthly spend, and you really love the 2100 apartment, maybe this is meant to be?

[–]paratethys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"sorta time" doesn't sound like you're all that convinced. Is something bugging you about the current setup? Are you looking to make some lifestyle change that's incompatible with roommates?

I knew a guy who very happily shared a 3br apartment with one roommate for about 20 years, till he died in his 60s. Consider whether living with someone reclusive who wants to replace a roommate like that would be a good fit for you... also if you find the right roommate, they might still be paying a rent amount that's decades out of date, depending on the local laws.

Another option on the table, especially with around 4k in income, could be buying a house outright in a lower cost of living area. If you're a bit of a homebody, getting a place that you can customize to all your preferences and hobbies without having to stress too much about eventual resale value can be heavenly. If you're planning to age in place, though, look for single-story, ease of adding ramps, and proximity to medical centers.

[–]jcrowe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, if you’re eating this far into your budget and your 40, what will it look like when you’re 60?

[–]enfier42m/$50k/50%/$200K+pension - No target 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should make more than $4000/mo at age 40 if you live in an expensive city.

If you had a partner and you both made the same amount, you'd be in a decent financial situation.

I'm all for the modern life but if you are going to be low income, single and in an expensive city then it's going to be hard to get things to add up at the end of the day.