After spending years studying to pass the entrance exam and go to study at the university of their dreams, it is common for students to end up facing a very important thought: how much does it cost to live alone?. When a person starts living alone, a lot changes. She has to take care of several aspects of her life on her own: rent, monthly groceries, transportation and much more. Living alone is a moment that, in addition to providing self-knowledge, also asks for attention and responsibility, especially in managing your own finances.
To help you with this task of living alone, Uliving has several advantages and benefits. You will see today:
After all, how much does it cost to live alone?
Leaving your parents' house and starting to live alone is a big challenge and requires a lot of financial planning so that things can work out. This is exactly why it is common to find students searching for things like “Costs of living alone”. However, the cost of living alone is relative and varies greatly according to the student's lifestyle and preferences.
First, it is necessary to point out that the factors that influence costs are diverse, for example, university students tend to go to parties and bars all the time. In addition to the costs that housing brings with it, it is also necessary to take into account the extra day-to-day expenses and leisure expenses.
So that this moment doesn't spoil yours experience of living alone, it is necessary to have control and take responsibility.
Some spending that should be considered in the calculation to know how much it costs to live alone, are:
Food
Food is one of the points that most requires attention, because in addition to being essential, it is what varies the most and can cause costs to the university student.
Bus Routes
Despite the fact that the search for a place to href=”https://uliving.com.br/blog/blog-morar-sozinho-5-dicas-para-quem-vai-sair-da-casa- dos-parents/”> be preferably close to the college, this is not always possible. Also, many housing close to the university tend to be more expensive. Therefore, transportation costs need to be calculated and forecast to be included in the month's expenses.
Basic and fixed expenses of the month
In addition to what we have mentioned so far, there are also fixed household expenses, such as water, electricity, internet and telephone bills. Even if these amounts change each month, remember that they will be charged monthly, so it is important not to leave them out of planning.
Rent, condo and furniture
Last but not least, rent, condominium and furniture costs are certainly the values that weigh most heavily on the pockets of university students who want to live alone. That's because the values are not so accessible.
How to organize finances living alone?
Organizing finances while living alone can seem like a very complex task for university students. But just keep in mind that the basic things to live alone are related.
Check out some tips on how to organize expenses:
1. Don't get into debt
A college student's budget is rarely that high, so it's very important to stick to your income so you don't end up in debt at the end of the month.
Unforeseen events happen, but it is important to set a spending limit and make sure that the bills do not exceed this defined ceiling.
The amount you can spend monthly needs to be controlled so that the risk of debt is low.
2. Try to make a reservation for emergencies
When deciding to live alone, it is necessary to consider that several unforeseen events can happen, which end up compromising the student's monthly budget.
Therefore, it is ideal to make an emergency reserve exclusively for those cases that you did not include in the planning.
An emergency reserve needs to be able to cover all the student's expenses between 6 and 12 months, being enough for him to be able to maintain himself calmly.
3. Calculate fixed expenses
At that moment, you define which standard of living you can live based on your income. This is done by calculating all fixed expenses.
By definition, these costs are all those that the student will have to deal with frequently. That is, rent, transportation, food, internet, telephone, water, electricity, college…
These are expenses considered necessary, which cannot be cut from the budget.
4. Calculate variable expenses
Variable expenses are very relevant because they can compromise the budget, so they also deserve attention.
Here, all costs with: pharmacy, leisure, clothing, or any other possible expense of the last month are considered. Do a calculation to find out what the monthly average is.
In this way, it will be possible to estimate these expenses, managing to include them in your income.
5. Budget according to income
Once you have already calculated all your fixed expenses, it only remains to plan your monthly budget. For example, how much will be allocated to each expense.
There are some methods that help at this time, such as the 50-30-20 where 50% of the budget is devoted to essential expenses, 30% for leisure and 20% for investments.
It is recommended never to use more than 50% of income on fixed expenses and not even 30% on housing.
6. Choose your location wisely
This is perhaps one of the most important steps for those who are going to live alone because rent will be the university student's biggest expense. When choosing the right place to live, it is worth doing a long research and evaluating all the factors involved in this decision.
For example, is it worth paying a very high amount just to live closer to college or is it better to live a little further away and take transportation, saving money?
Other important factors in this choice are: security, value of the condominium, proximity to shops, access to public transport, among others.
Before actually signing a contract, assess whether the chosen location meets all your needs and remember that you will probably live there for a long time.
7. Don't prioritize decorations
Of course, decorating your home should not be a priority. After all, the monthly budget can be compromised with these unnecessary expenses. It's normal for people to end up getting excited about finally leaving their parents' house and starting a new phase of life. However, the student's focus needs to be on essential goods for initial survival, such as: microwave, refrigerator, bed, washing machine, stove and table.
After paying for everything, then you can gradually start investing in decoration items such as a sofa, armchair, rug, among others.
A good tip to be able to reduce expenses with this part is to decorate the environment with thrift store furniture, DIY and crafts. Just use your creativity.
8. Give up some expenses
Giving up some spending is key to being able to stick to the budget. This can be done after calculating all variable and fixed expenses, entering them into a spreadsheet.
Analyze the assembled worksheet and ask yourself: “What can you cut?” Surely several expenses are not so necessary in your routine and you can give up. If you pay for a cleaning lady, how about starting to do this service yourself? Do you really watch cable TV or are you paying without using it?
Many of these costs can be removed from routine, making the budget sufficient at the end of the month, not leaving late bills.
The advantages and benefits of Uliving
Do you know all the worries about rent, furniture and condo? With Uliving this is not a problem. Here, students are the focal point and that is why we organize various events that encourage the life and personal and professional growth of students, even those who decide to live alone.
Some of the main benefits we provide are:
rental without guarantor
We know how important this benefit is, especially for students who are not yet in the job market;
furnished apartments
So that you don't have to worry about buying the furniture that usually hurts university students' budgets;
Expenses included in the monthly fee
Water, electricity, gas and internet already included in the monthly fee and contracts from six months.
Now you know how much it costs to live alone. In addition to all this, Uliving is concerned with the total security of university students, investing in security with access controls, electronic locks and much more! So if you want Living alone with practicality, ease and many benefits, count on the Uliving student housing.
