How To Be Clever About Grown-Up Costs That Are Killing You Softly

We’ve teamed up with Medibank to help y’all with this adulting business, (for as lil’ as just $11 a fortnight for simple, flexible health insurance). You’re doing a good job – that’s a given – but a little guidance never goes astray. 


I remember the day I decided I was moving out. I had a part-time job, a little bit of cash banked away and the prospect of never having to explain where I was going again in reach. I knew it wasn’t going to be a cinch, but I was pretty convinced it was going to be smooth sailing.

While all the costs of independence mightn’t seem so bad individually, those fugly responsibilities add up quicksmart. Where does that leave you? Broke, or bloody close to it, but you’d rather that than move one step forward and two steps back into your childhood bedroom.

RENT

Rent sucks your income up like a vacuum – especially in today’s truly cooked rental sitch. We’ve almost grown comfortable with the fact that everyone around us is paying the same amount of ridiculous dollars as each other. But there are a few things to remember when it comes to paying rent so that it doesn’t break your soul as well as your pay cheque. 

Don’t commit to something you can’t afford
Monthly rent (+ utilities) should be no more than 30% of your monthly salary, but let’s be real, that’s usually never the drill. On average, Sydney is paying 37.9% of their salary on rent and Melbourne coming in at 31.9%. Australia’s other capital cities come in under the 30% benchmark, as well as regional NSW and VIC.

So for you big city peeps, you have to be clearing $1K a week to afford $300 rent. Ouch.

Sooner or later, you’re going to feel the burn of not being able to make ends meet, whether it’s in the form of canned tuna or a sacrificed social life. It’ll be a mish, but hunt hard for something within your budget and for the love of god, hold onto that lease with both hands.

Flip the expense on its head

Your rent should be looked after before anything else in your life – you do kinda need a roof over your head, after all. Because of that, it should be automatically deducted out of your account (weekly, fortnightly, monthly – whatever works for your method of income and real estate agent) so that it’s like the money was never there to begin with.

Instead of trying to budget around the fact that your rent will be coming out, get it taken care of straight off the bat so you can’t even face the BS that comes along with not paying rent on time. Seriously, money never seen = money never missed.

GROCERIES

Grocery shopping is a major badge of independence. In fact, PEDESTRIAN.TV interviewed over 1,000 18-29 year olds recently and found out at least 81% of you are responsible for groceries and household purchases. The average spend on groceries a week? $75-$149. If you’re within that I reckon you’re doing alright, but the below might help keep you in check.

Control yo’ portions

You’ve decided you’re going to make a stir fry tonight and you’re feeling adult AF, right? Or at least adult-ish. You’re ready to put a tenner down for some diced lamb, but they’ve only got a 750g weight size – 250g more than what you need for tonight’s meal. All g, you’ll use the rest for dinner another night. Except you won’t. You don’t. You’ve wasted.

All the times you’ve done that add up. Go to the butchers, deli, and fruit and veggie stores instead so you can get exactly how much you need. 

Think in advance

I’m a huge advocate on food power prepping (preparing your week’s meals in advance) and reckon I’ve saved a buttload for it. Sunday nights are good for this – make all your lunches for Mon-Fri and then whack ’em in the freezer. This prevents you from buying lunch when you’re out and, you might even have a better diet in the process.

BILLS

Bills are the worst. While we can feel that it’s about to roll around soon and can kinda estimate how much it’ll be, it’s one of those, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” things. Plus, there’s no real urgency which ain’t helping matters, let me tell you.

Pay on time so you can feel fine

You need’a be paying this shit on time or you’ll end up paying even more for late fees. Once you’ve gotten your first electricity, gas or water bill, you should be able to vibe how much it’ll roughly cost ya. Implement as you would with your rent, and put that money aside into a separate account every week. That way you won’t be scraping for extra dollars and pissing off your roommates come pay time. 

Be anal if it’ll help you

You might’ve pranced around your parents’ abode as if turning off lights didn’t matter but that was when you weren’t responsible for the bills. Don’t be daft – just as you would turn your oven or hair straightener off before leaving the house (eep, hope I remembered the latter today), turn off your lights, don’t let the taps drip and waste water and so forth. You’re an adult now, or at least an adult-ish human. Act like one.

HEALTH

Get yo’self insured

You can say “That’ll never happen to me” til the cows come home but shit absolutely happens to everyone, whether it’s throwing your back out, gradually getting crappier eye sight or finding a cute little infection on your gums. 

You might save yourself some dollar bills in the long run if you sign up with health insurance. You can get 60-70% back (depending on your level of cover) on things like Dental, Physio, Chiro, Remedial Massage and more with Medibank from as lil’ as $11 a fortnight here.

Don’t pay to be fit

People who are broke but have gym memberships are beyond me. You can lap up free trials at most gyms that want you or board (not to mention F45 and Crossfit) or you can even get around a “pay as you go” system with an app like GymBetter. It’s far better than locking into a contract.

If you think you’ve got the discipline you can also just exercise for free. Whether you’re going for a jog around the block, borrowing the latest Kayla Itsines program from a mate, doing pull-ups at the local park’s equipment or using your $10 Kmart skipping rope in the backyard, prioritise your essentials because a gym membership is not one of them.

The cost of independence is real, folks.

Don’t screw it up and have to move back home.

Photo: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

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