Sep 1st I will be moving out for the first time ever. 24 years old. Incoming UC Davis transfer student. I'll be living on my own, 1 bedroom 1 bath apt off campus. So...what can you tell a guy that's living on his own for the first time on a tight budget?

Enjoy your noodles

get a girlfriend that likes to cook for you.

Legumes in bulk. Bulk oatmeal. Paprika, Cumin, Rosemary, hotsauce.

Do the dishes.

pasta goes a long way.

Don't drive to SF every weekend even though Davis is in the middle of nowhere :p

Cook to have leftovers.

I might have to give up going to Ritual Dubstep every thursday night. Davis to SF is TWO toll bridges! That's a cool $10 on top of gas!

Maybe every OTHER thursday

Congrats! I just got my first post-college place!

Fastidiousness is more work, but it's a lot cheaper in the long run.

I just signed the lease to my first place last month. Budget, budget, budget is all I can say!

You'll be just up I-80 from me. I live in Fairfield (about 20ish minutes away). As for Davis, be prepared for: Lots of very attractive (and some not-so-attractive) Asians, lots of bicycles, and a generally very pretty environment.

I moved into my 1bd room about 5 months ago. I tend to eat out more so my fridge usually only has beer and 2 week old milk. But if you don't mind it, living alone is the best thing ever.

CRUCIAL

Same situation here in NYC (but Brooklyn though).

Advice, er, enjoy drinking lots of water.

Oh and learn to cook goddammit. Oatmeal isn't "cooking." You can't honestly screw up oatmeal.

I remember my first place. I made about 1200/month, my rent was 350/month & I paid 600/month on my student loan (octupled to pay it off in 1 year) & everything else was for groceries & utilities. I actually managed to save a lot of money by moving within walking distance of work, carpooling when possibble, never using the air conditioner, using homemade candles instead of lights, not activating cable television service & going with a slower internet option, taking quick cold showers & by never letting water run when not absolutely essential (e.g: turning it off between rinsing each dish). I had such an efficient system that I was able to splurge on groceries & bought everything organic at Whole Foods Market (I was able to offset some of my grocery expenses by helping with my family's vegetable garden & reaping some of what I sowed). I grew basil, parsley & tarragon on my windowsils & I learned to make everything from scratch. My electric/gas bill never once went over 50/month. I learned a lot of lessons by having to live on such a tight budget & to this day I continue to live in much the same way.

I would also encourage you to not be shy in telling people that you prefer cash for gifts (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) & to invite yourself to as many free dinners as possible (I would often attend Catholic picnics just for the food despite being an Atheist). Coupons can be a powerful weapon if you have the discipline for such a thing.

350 a month for an apartment? Ugh. I can't find a studio in DC for less than $1,000/m

I actually found a 1 bedroom for 250/month before I moved into the 350/month place but it was a very shady area. The 350/month place was outside of the city but my neighbors were all dealing drugs & prostituting their wives. I only stayed at that particular place for a year but that was all I needed to pay off my debt(s).

I'm in Paris now & the average decent studio is about 900-1000£/month. A friend of ours is moving in to a new place in a few days, which is 2 months before his old lease expires, so we're moving in for 2 months at only 600£/month (it's regularly 950£/month & he's paying the difference). After that deal expires we'll have to find another place to hold us over until next July. My wife's boss is going to rent us the 1-bedroom apartment above his restaurant next July for 600£/month (all utilities included) & this is in one of the nicest areas of Paris.

I didn't know they use pound sterling in France.

Paris? Nice gig.

I thought you were in the restaurant business.

Whoops! It's dark in here & I can't find the Euro key on this French keyboard!

It's complicated but essentially her former boss opened a new place here in Paris & made her a better offer than the owner of the restaurant that we were co-managing. Instead of just managing the place like we did in the U.S. she'll also become a partner. We still want to open our own restaurant but this seemed like a safe bet in the meantime. It was getting rough in the U.S. because private medical insurance was too expensive & we weren't being fairly compensated. Here, we can work in the field that we've chosen without having to worry about going bankrupt over medical bills. I'm not actually working yet (except for a little construction under the table), although I do have a work Visa, but will try to work with her or at another restaurant once we find a steady home & a daycare for the baby.

Nope! You can't! Yet, I have a townhouse in the area for ~ $835/m. Oh the power of getting roommates! (though finding ones that won't annoy you is a bit tricky)

Speaking of saving money, I decided to, instead of taking the subway and paying for it, run to places in NYC. Across the Manhatten bridge.

But I need a good bag to carry small things in, like my laptop. Any messenger bag will do, or there ones that are designed to be runned with?

There are bags designed to be run with, but most of them are backpacks.

I would think you would need a waist strap of some sort for a messenger bag to work, a lot like a gas mask carrier. You could even use one of those, I suppose, to avoid the "THIS BAG HAS AN EXPENSIVE LAPTOP IN IT PLEASE STEAL IT AND BANG ME SWEETLIKE"