Alternate title: Things you don’t think about paying for until you have to pay for them yourself.
While tinkering with PearBudget I had my first taste of the “sticker shock” of living. I understood the major expenses: rent, utilities, food, student loans, etc. Still, there are some things that I’ve never considered and now have to rework them into my spending plan.
1. Dry cleaning: Most of my business clothes (wool slacks, pencil skirts) are dry clean only. I once washed a pair of wool slacks by mistake… I know, I know, that is a laundry sin! Well, never again. Cost: $35-45/month. I’m getting Dryel so I don’t have to dry-clean every single week.
2. Internet access: I have an amazingly fast connection at college, without a thought as to how much it would cost in the “real world.” I still don’t know. So, question: what are my options for internet access in my apartment? Dial-up? Wireless? DSL? Cost: ???
3. Car insurance: Mom & Dad took care of it during breaks when I drove the car. Now I have to pay for it myself - although many twentysomethings are still on their parents’ policies, I don’t want my parents’ financial situation to be compromised if I’m in an accident. Cost: $1200/year?
Word. I feel you on the car insurance thing. I am currently paying around 1200 a year, but if you don’t have any accidents on your record, I would imagine that your yearly amount would be somewhat lessened, perhaps in the 800-1000 range.
Because you are female and will be a college graduate, $1200 sounds about right until you turn 25. I paid $97/month out of college in 2001 on a brand new Ford Focus.
Ugh, dry cleaning sucks. Unfortunately, a lot of nicer professional clothes are dry clean only. What’s up with that?
If you already have a landline, DSL is a pretty good deal. We’re currently paying $15 for the slowest DSL, but that’s bundled with our landline.
Be sure to ask about dry looping for DSL. Whatever the lowest price for the slowest Verizon DSL is ($15 a month in the example above), you should be able to get it for $5 more without paying for the landline if you dryloop it (bundled with the landline is usually about $15 more). This isn’t available everywhere, but major cities should offer it.
RoadRunner is usually $45/mo in my town, but I dropped down to their Lite offering to save $15/mo. I don’t need crazy speed just to check email, and I rarely download movies & music.
Car insurance - at one point I was paying $200/mo because of a speeding ticket and an at-fault accident. Now I’m only paying $67/mo, with a $500 deductible for comp & collision. A $1000 deductible wouldn’t have saved me that much money, so I kept it at $500. TIP - I got into a much lower rate band with State Farm as a “valued customer” because my dad’s been with them for decades, and I was transferring off his policy. See if your parents’ carrier can do the same for you.
It all depends on where you live. Dry cleaning is crazy cheap in New York City but car insurance and everything else are expensive.
I’m in the San Francisco area and I’ve found that Wawanesa Insurance, which doesn’t advertise much, has the best rates if you’re a good driver and want to keep deductibles at $500 or less (they don’t offer anything higher, strangely).
Wow where do you guys live? On the east coast that’s about how much I pay for car insurance per 6 month period. =(
Actually, its recommended that you only dry clean suits (including pants) about twice a year. Otherwise you’re actually just wearing them out. If they smell bad or are wrinkled, then the Dryel sounds like a good idea. Otherwise just put them back in the closet!
[...] 18th, 2007 by wellheeled Several months ago, I wrote a post on the expenses I’ll have to face once I graduate & move out on my [...]