LadyKate wrote: Rodahn, a lot of us never had any financial support from our parents....thats probably why you're getting ribbed...many of us have been on our own financially since before we graduated high school. Even when my parents were alive they did not bail me out of ANYTHING...forget gas money, I was homeless with a 4 mth old baby and when I asked for financial help of the huge sum of $165, my mom said no way and traipsed off to Europe for vacation..
I'm sure I'm not the only one...so, no, you're probably not going to get any sympathy here because your father's retirement (congratulations to him, btw) is putting YOU in a financial bind.
That being said, you've got lots of friends here. If support and sympathy is what you want, try posting maybe your monthly budget or something and your goals and stuff. Seems to me we have had quite a few productive conversations on budgeting, finances, and tools here over the years.
Well, I'm not necessarily looking for sympathy, rather constructive advise. Sorry, I guess I should have made that a little clearer in my OP. That still, however, should not be a carte blanche for personal attacks (myself included, which is why I edited my last reply).
Anyway, moving on to the subject at hand: It's kind of a complex situation -- on one hand, my parents have said on several occasions that they do not mind helping me as long I am actually trying to support myself as well, which I have been, and (as I posted earlier) I have been trying to financially emancipate myself for a while now. On the other hand, I have personally felt (and verbalized to them) these wishes for more independence, but realistically could not do anything about it. There is simply no way I could have supported myself fully on the jobs that I have held. And no, it's not just as easy as finding a better job or moving to a better-paying area, especially in the current economy.
I've worked for nearly half my life (about 15 years or so), so it's not like I'm just coasting on a free ride, and my parents have been pretty firm that they have no intention of allowing me to sponge 100% completely off of them.
As for finances, I make $8/hour working about 42 hours a week.
My biggest expenses are:
Medical (Varies, but I have a single prescription at almost $300/month, which I pay), house payment (nearly $700/month, which again, my father currently covers), car insurance (not sure on exact amount anymore, but I think around $100/month -- father covers, but might be able to take over myself), credit card bill (Varies, but I usually pay $100/month, and with me having to charge the aforementioned prescription, the total amount builds in a hurry), cable + internet bill (just under $100/month, I pay), food (varies, but I generally try to keep it around $100-120/week -- food is so damn expensive! I pay). Any remaining bills are under the $100/week or month threshold, so I pay those. So the really the two that my father currently handles are car + house, but they alone add up to an entire month's pay for me.
Luxury expenses (all paid for by me):
MMO account (Varies depending on whether I am currently playing one or not -- about $15/month), Netflix ($9/month), Gym ($40/month -- really need to keep this one going for health reasons), XBL Gold ($50/year -- such a long period billing that this is almost a non-issue). That's about it, really. Any other luxury purchases are few and far between enough to be non-issues.
Goals:
As mentioned already, to completely sever my financial dependence from anyone.
Also, to reduce non-essential recurring expenses. Netflix is the easiest to ax (since it's so easy to cancel/re-sub to it), and my use of it is fairly spare as of late. WoW account could be ganked as well, but really, as some others have mentioned in a previous thread, MMOs are actually a pretty cost-effective form of entertainment comparatively.
To find a good-paying career-oriented job. I'm pursuing some options, but really in this economy, it's a slow/hit-or-miss process.
If I can meet those goals, I think I'll be in pretty good shape, and then it's just a matter of maintaining.
Raltar wrote: Might want to look into moving somewhere that has a lower cost of living if you can find a job somewhere. I have no idea where you live and what the cost of living is there, but it is always an option. Also, you might just have to suck it up and get an apartment, noisy neighbors or not.
Yeah, I've toyed with moving, but it seems like most everywhere else is being hit hard by this slump we're in. My current state, West Virginia, actually made out pretty well in the recession, due to some smart financial decisions by the powers that be. Still, not many good job opportunities around here, and people tend to hold onto those jobs for dear life. Like I said above, easier to dream about than to actually do.
As for the apartment, yeah, like I said in my OP, I have actually thought about it anyway to cut expenses and to help lighten the parental financial burden. I don't have much stuff, and the house I live in is a tad big for just me. My folks actually pushed for me to get a house (I guess so I could get a taste of the experience of being a home owner), but I don't mind living more Spartanly in something like a townhouse or an apartment, as long as it's not a roach/rat motel.
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