Question for those who live alone

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It is going to depend entirely on what country, state, city, etc, that you are in!! !! I can give you estimates for my area, but they are mine and are not related to other parts of my own country, and I am well aware of that. Food prices vary considerbly, as does everything else, so before you start asking how much it is likely to cost, perhaps give some indication of where abouts you are, what type of diet you eat, etc. Then those in that area can give some indication. Even just the state or, preferrably major city that you are closest to is the best thing to help.

I spend about $30 a week for food in a fairly expensive U.S. metro area.

Have an exact plan for what food you need every week and don't buy any food on impulse.

Bigger question, If you're new to living alone why are you buying a home? It would be easier to rent. Your monthly costs will be more predictable, you will have less maintenance and it's easier to get out of a lease than sell a home.

I bought a home after several years of renting and every day I wish I cold go back to renting.

What would be stopping you?

I think renting can be OK for some folks, but there are usually sound economic advantages to owning.....in the UK, rents are going up and mortgages down, and of course mortgages do eventually stop, while with rent you generally pay forever and end up with nothing of your own. The maintenance costs can be a headache, so get a good survey and don't take on what you can't afford to maintain. My place is a mid-terrace, the roof's still good after 20 years, so are the walls.....central heating's seen better days but it still works, and if it goes, it's not the end of the world, there are other ways of heating a room. There is a sense of pride in owning a house, it feels slightly less proletarian than renting. Depends how much responsibility you feel you can cope with, I guess.

I budget $100 a week for food, sundries, pet stuff, clothes, whatever. This is WAY below what I actually have (beyond rent, insurance, gas, internet and phone bills) extra each week. This way I can slowly build on my savings account and if anything strange happens (like a car repair, a blown computer, a fantastically cheap flight or an amzing deal on sausages), it's no big deal. You've either got a cushion to pay for it or you know that you'll be able to pay for it soon enough.

I've taken to shopping at ethnic stores. The food can be really good and the prices on produce is often much better. There's a mainly Philippino farmer's market I go to with fantastic prices. I think I need to start seeing if I can take tagalog lessons. Maybe they'll cut the price of my tomatoes....

$300 is my monthly budget for food, and it is actually generous for myself.

This is slightly off-topic, but one important thing I learned after owning my own house for 7 years, is that it is very prudent to have a few thousand dollars available for unexpected repairs. I am sure you are aware of this, but things can get out of hand very fast. Some common unexpected disasters that can happen(and not covered by insurance), especially on older houses:

-Replacing damaged sewer drain line between house and street= $2,000-$4,000
-Replacing damaged natural gas line between house and street= Same as above
-Complete roof tear-off and replacement, even from a small leak= $1,000-$10,000 depending on size
-Replacing broken appliances= $300-$1000+
-Replacing Furnace/Central Air= $2,000-$10,000 depending on size
-Copper water line replacement= $1,000-$3000
-Broken hot water heater= $400+

These are just a few examples. Depending on where you live, you can usually buy cheap insurance for the gas and sewer line going to your house. The smaller the house, the better! Good luck.

Ok, firstly I live on a benefit in NZ so how relative this is to you I don't know - pressumably you are North American so a currency conversion should be close?
Secondly I am fairly anti -consumerist and operate on a Free, Re-claimed, Re-cycled ethos, ie; if I can get it from a dumpster or in any other way which isn't theft then I will, secondly I fix stuff, re-use stuff, I will buy it second hand etc...

My grocery costs therefore don't include bakery products as I have a reliable source, also I cook everything from scratch as I don't like either the quality or cost of processed foods [not to forget god knows what crap they put in them!], I am vegan so there is no meat or dairy costs, after all that...

My weekly average food and cleaning/hygene products spend in $NZ.

Fruit and Vegetables from farmers market $20-00
Supermarket $20-00
Asian foods market $10-00
South Asian/Middle Eastern Food Market $10-00

peace j

I live in Australia. Mid North Coast NSW to be exact.

My diet isn't all that healthy to be honest. Once I move out I'll definately be cutting back on all the indulgent things (no more trips to the supermarket when I have the munchies for example. I'll be doing that one weekly shop and that's it). And since it will only be me, I don't see much sense in cooking myself proper food, unless it's something that can be reheated later should I make too much. I don't usually eat breakfast.



Yes, I am perfectly aware of things that may go awry in future should I own a house. I've still been tossing up between buying a house or an apartment actually. A house just seems more worthwhile owning but I'd imagine a unit would be a lot cheaper to maintain.
One house I'm looking at doesn't have a sewerage connection atm (none of the houses in the area do) but the council is putting a sewer line through in the next three years, so I'd have to put a few thousand dollars aside for that if I wish to make the switch. The plan always was to keep at least several thousand aside for a "rainy day". I'm gonna try to furnish the place with as much 2nd hand stuff as I can, excluding the bed of course, I'm paranoid of 2nd hand beds .

If worse comes to worse, I can always move back home and rent it out, but I'd have to live in it for at least 6 months first so I don't lose my first home owners grant.



Yeah that. Mortgage payments are actually going towards something, future equity, whereas with rent you're just paying the landlord's mortgage off. It's kinda the opposite here in my town. The weekly rent you could get being a landlord would only cover about 70% of the repayments at most (A unit costing $200k, $280/wk repayments, would only get you $200/wk rent). I've been keeping the rent received to mortgage repayment ratio in mind when I've been shopping around. I don't want to be too much out of pocket should I need to move and rent it out one day.

For me, it's around $40-50 per week, in a moderately priced part of the US. I purchase no meat, but spend extra on lots of fresh produce. I cook most things from scratch, so that lowers my food cost. I hope that helps...

It used to be about 50 - 75 a week for groceries and household items, but now that my boyfriend is in the picture, it is roughly double that a week! So much for the saying that 2 can live as cheaply as one!

I spent about £40 a week but lots of that was junk food. Its a lot less if you're not addicted to crisps and chocolate and more if you like a varied diet.

As I only eat roughly four things or a variation of four things, I didnt really do varied.

I probably live on an entirely different continent so this may not help you at all, but for six months last year I wrote down everything I spent. Dailies (mainly groceries and hygiene products) was around 180€ (260$) a month, electronics 52€ (75$), medication 30€ (45$). Those were the biggest categories after rent (370€ or 535$).

Yes, it depends a lot on what you eat. I never cook. I like expensive ice cream.

My total income was then 850€ (1 230$) a month and it was more than enough.

Just some notes in case anyone sees this thread in the future.

Other than food ... One practical thing I never thought about before getting a house was all the one-time things I'd have to buy at the beginning. As a former apartment dweller, I didn't have a rake. Or a snow shovel. Or a spade. Or clippers for bushes. I had some tools, but they were for fixing small computers, not fences and pipes. At some point you will have bought everything, but right at first - prepare to be amazed by all the stuff you never thought of before.

Also be prepared to learn about things that can go wrong that you never suspected could go wrong. Did you know foundations develop cracks and there are people who put what are essentially big rubber bands on them? Did you know the spring on a garage door can break with a sound like a grenade exploded?

The weirdest thing I ever did with my house was change a light fixture: The bracket in the ceiling had two sets of holes, an inner set for smaller fixtures and an outer set for heavy ones like I was putting up. Well, the light fixture's screws that came with it didn't fit the bracket's holes. No problem, I have a basement full of screws. I tried every screw in my basement and finally found one that fit the holes. But it was too short. No problem, my town has hardware stores on every corner. All of them had this size screw, but none had one that was long enough. I found a place on the web (boltdepot.com) where you can order any screw at any length, and ordered some. When they arrived, I could put up my light fixture. This is exactly the sort of thing you'll run into with a house. You have to treat it as an adventure, a challenge.

The single most useful tool you can buy for your house is in the automotive department at Sears, a little flexible rod about three or four feet long with a claw at one end and a button that extends the claw at the other. This tool will save your life when wires slide back beyond your reach into a wall, things fall in areas no human arm could reach, something falls down a drain, and so on. I don't know what this is called, but it sure is useful.

I think you're going to get different answers here. First, it will depend on where you live in the world, and then where in that country you live. Different parts of one country are more expensive than in other parts of that same country, even. But if you want a guestimate from me, here's what I'll say. I live in the Southeast USA, which tends to be more expensive than in other areas.

Second, depends on which grocery store you go to, and how you buy your groceries. Do you buy groceries before or after you eat? That makes a huge difference, as people who don't eat prior to going to a grocery store are more likely to buy "junk food" which makes a shopping trip more expensive. Third, do you use coupons? If you don't, looking at paying more money at the grocery store. But if you use coupons, make sure that they are things you will use. Just because something's on sale doesn't mean you'll end up using it. Better to spend nothing on something, than to get it cheap and never use it.

I like to look for bargains in the store. Buy one, get one free (along with using coupon for it if I have it) works. I can buy groceries on a monthly basis for around $150 at most. That's because I do what I wrote above this. And that's for living healthy. However, eating out at restaurants can cost a lot of money. My favorite local pizza place sells pizza by the slice. Thus, I buy two slices (about a half pizza) and pay less for that than the medium one topping pizza at another pizza place. Save money as well as calories.

On average $40-50 a week on food
$10 on personal needs & pet needs
$35 a month on electricity