Hi there,
So I'm 22 and I've just got my first job after uni in Wellington, New Zealand. I need to decide on a living situation and figure out how much money is reasonable to spend - given that I have always been poor and done without things that some people call necessities I am likely to try save too much while being unhappy that I "cannot afford" x, y, and z! At the same time, I know that it'll hurt less to save a high proportion of my income now than to get used to living a fancy lifestyle before trying to cut down. I'm hoping that some of you kind people will take a little time to give me advice because I know I have a great opportunity here with my new income and no financial commitments, but I'm afraid of making dumb decisions to try fit in with new friends and be less stressed about moving to this city.
So, firstly, my financial situation (everything is in NZD, 1NZD = .83USD):
Assets - $5,000$5,000 savings in an savings account that gets 3.75% interest (about $20/month) - I know I may be able to get a better rate, but it was best for my situation previously
My car is older than me and reasonably fuel efficient. It's probably not worth anything because my parents gave it to me when they wanted to upgrade.
Debt - $9,000$9,000 interest-free student loan
No other debts
Money going in - $50-60k$50-60k income from the new job
Money going out - $14,300 per year but going up to get work clothes, non-leaky shoes, and individual cooking$150 per week rent, have to find a new place to live this month
$20 per week shared utilities
$40 per week fixed annual costs - insurance, car registration, dentist, dr, etc
$5 per week cellphone
Food, personal spending, and fuel for car used to be $60 per week, but it's crazy now with moving and buying work clothes
So, the things I would like some other opinions on are: making new friends cheaply and what to look for in the place I choose to rent. I'll research where to keep my savings using some very handy NZ-specific threads that already exist on the forum.
Firstly, making new friends! I don't know many people in this city, certainly no close friends. Most people's approach would be: pay to join some sort of sport or hobby club; socialise expensively around coffee, alcohol, and meals in the city; or go to free community events. I've tried going to free community events by myself but mostly I just feel more lonely because I am the only person by myself in a sea of people who are with their friends or family. I'm comfortable talking to strangers for no reason, but I don't see anyone sitting around unoccupied! What should I do to meet people around my age/life stage? Would it be worthwhile to pay for membership to a hiking club or something?
Secondly, I need to find a place to live and the rent prices are scaring me because they're ~150% up on the last city I lived in. I've decided to flat with others, because look at the price of living by yourself here!
http://www.realestate.co.nz/rental/search/bedrooms_max/1/districts/265 In those "cheaper" places you don't even get a carpark or your own bathroom/kitchen. The qualities I have to weigh up are: 1) living within walking distance of work vs living further out by a bus stop. Note that living further out could hinder my friend-making efforts because buses stop running at midnight and it is quite difficult to find a place with a bus stop directly outside (people freak out about females walking from bus to home alone at night and I'm a rolling road hazard on a bike). The bus would be about $2 each way and rent is probably $30-$50 cheaper per week to live away from the city centre and it's a 10 min drive or 25 min bus rather than a 5 min walk. 2) living with young students vs living with people my own age. Note that people my own age might spend lots of money and probably want me to pay a share of SkyTV (it's like cable and I don't even watch TV), but they'll sleep and wake at normal working-person hours. Also, the less 'spendy' people my age seem to live outside the city centre. Would it be worthwhile to drive to meet friends in the city at night, perhaps if I found a free event to go to?
So maybe someone has some advice or tips for me? Please? Haha hopefully I haven't written too much.
Thank you from Sharon in NZ!!