Can you live on 30k a year?

Also, how can i go about making extra money that isn't a scam? Part time jobs are tough given my schedule, but still.

Also, are there resources out there that could help with my above question?

When you move in with your girlfriend and marry, she hopefully will be contributing to the household income.

i live on less that 30K a year and my rent and bills are higher so I know it can be done.. i agree with soaplady, it will be easier when you have a second income coming in but I do alright (okay so i am always broke, but i mean you get used to it) and i support myself and these days my disabled brother who has no income coming in at all.

LOL! we raise a family of 3 here on just barely that so yes it surely can be donewith pinching an planning i find those financial planners helpful and i would recommend breaking your pay down to weekly in your brain thats 480 a week. consider what you dont need. do you need the cell? and if you do, do you really need your land line phone? you should be able to get rid of atleast 1 of those if you want to get rid of 1 payment. at our house we have the land line and we both carry track phones for EMERGENCIES ONLY!! if you use it for more than that than your wasting your money. other than grab some milk on your way home, you better not be calling my cell. I have it so incase the school calls and im out and about but thats it.

break down what you need to pay by a weekly basis. say rent is week 1, utilities week 2, etc. good luck to you!

i agree, i only have a cell and no landline.. the cell is just more convient for me and i got a good deal on it :)
you really can live on that, especially if you are just supporting yourself. I live in NJ and things are pretty expensive here but I still am okay.

i don't have a landline either so that's fine...anyone here who says they do live okay on it, can you offer a sort of skeleton budget? For you who lives in NJ, that's comparable to me I guess (i live outside of philly)...any pointers would be great

that last post was by me, sorry didn't log in

honestly, i do not see how it would be a problem for you.. my rent is over a hundred dollars more than yours, plus another hundred or so for my electric, plus a few hundred a month in car payments, insurance, etc. i am not being smart, just being honest.. i calculated you having $955 in spending money each month the way everything is now. since you only support yourself, that is about $238 a week for spending. That goes for food, transportation, etc. It really is not too bad for one person to live on.
Pay rent with one pay, bills with the other.. When it is time, look for a gas efficent car that you can afford (dealors have good prices these days!) and basic car insurance if you have to (i have full insurance but it is really a good rate)
Living in NJ i am sure is comporable to living outside of Philly, although to be honest things in PA are cheaper, which is why I do my shopping in PA for the most part. So you have an edge there.
I cannot really make a budget for you because I do not know your spending habits. Take a week, save receipts, pay close attention to where your money is going and go from there.

thanks for your help!

we would all agree that alot of waist spending comes from small convient stores and last minute items. make lists all week long and if you forget something too bad! those extra trips to the convience store really add up. it usually costs me atleast 20.00. try not to stop at those types of places. what i do is thurs pay the bills so i know what i have to spend on fri when i go to the bank. i go to the store and fill up my tank the best i can, and then after that i dont purchase anything all week long unless its dire. no eating out, no coffee at sheetz, all that small stuff really adds up. dont make any changes say this week keep your reciepts (or keep a journal i know alot of people do that) see were your money is goin and were you can illiminate some stuff. im sure you are having alot of useless spending that your not even aware of till you see it on paper.

i agree.. once you see where your money goes you can tweek your budget. :)

once i started writing down my spending i realized i was really wasting alot of money on stupid stuff like coffee, gum, chips you dont really realize how much that stuff really adds up.