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As someone who lives in Dallas, don't get sucked into the Uptown "lifestyle" and you'll be fine!
Live in M Streets/ Henderson/ Lakewood instead of Uptown and you can keep your rent well below <$1,000/mo for a nice place in a safe, fun neighborhood. Starting rent in Uptown is $1,000-1,500.
Hang out on Henderson / Lower Greenville/ Deep Ellum/ Exposition Park/ Cedars vs Uptown/Downtown. You'll save a couple bucks per drink everytimr you go out and you won't have to pay for valet either. Still cool & fun areas, just more laid back than the Ritz & Zaza.
Car: get a used BMW 3-series, Audi A4, or FourRunner and you'll fit in just fine. Find one 2-3 years old with less than 20k miles and it should last you another 8-10 years. Put as much down as possible and don't finance a note longer than 3 years.
If you're a female, get your nails done & haircut anywhere but Uptown or Highland Park, where it coststhe most. Tons of places on Greenville or East Mockingbird with $35 M/P (vs $55-75 in Uptown). Aveda salons are a solid bet for a haircut and color that won't break the bank.
Buy most of your trendy going out clothes at Forever 21, Francesca's, or the shops at Mockingbird Station. Invest in your work wardrobe, shoes, and handbags. The trick to survival in Dallas is mixing your $25 dress from Forever 21 with Manolos and Lauren Merkin or LV handbags. Buy one good work bag (LV, Marc Jacobs, Tod's) and people will assume you're wearing higher end clothes than you really are- as long as they fit well. Find a good cheap tailor!
Home furnishings: avoid Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, etc. For unique high-quality furniture & home decor, shop the many stores in the design disrict (Antiques Moderne, Lula B's West), the home consignment stores on West Lovers (arteriors too, Area 25), and the Forrestwood Antiques Mall (all kinds of goodies!).
Good luck! Live like you make $40k for the next 2-3 years and you will be set up nicely for a house, wedding, world travel, etc by your mid to late 20's. You'll be far ahead of your peers!
The smartest thing to do is don't get married for a few years and when you do think about getting married, watch the spending habits of your possible future spouse and know their debt before you commit. The bad spending signs should be there if you pay attention. How much has the future potential spouse saved or do they live paycheck to paycheck? How much credit card debt are they carrying? For those who think that's a callous criterion for selecting a spouse consider that many a marriage has gone down the tubes over money/spending fights so eliminate the problem before you are tied to it.
Can't give you investment advice but when I started to seriously save money was when my paycheck was direct deposited into my checking account. I found it was easier to save money by having the bank then automatically debit my checking account, every month for a set amount, at a specific time every month to transfer the money into some kind of savings. You know, I made the commitment once and then I had no control over what I saved/did not save. It was easier for me to not touch the money or not be responsible for what I saved if I never saw it. Raise the amount debited when you get a raise. Also, if your company has some type of savings plan/retirement plan, let them debit your paycheck for a set amount. If you never have the money at your disposal, you won't rely on it to live. It will be easier to save.
Housing 1,200.00
401 k 270.00
Food / eating out 600.00
Clothing 200.00
Car 400.00
Car Insurance 150.00
Gas 150.00
Utilities 300.00
Entertainment 100.00
Phone/internet 100.00
Cell phone 100.00
Health Care 250.00
Education 100.00
Credit cards 250.00
Student Loans 350.00
Emergency Fund 500.00
Travel (in savings) 250.00
Misc 60.00
Total Expenses $5,330.00
= $ 0 left
Any Expense amounts you can get LOWER than what I have here would be extra gravy that you can pay down the student loans faster.
I love to look at budgets and look for ways to reduce costs.
- Someone mentioned the rent in the $1k range, go for that and save $200!
- No need for land line; just use the cell phone all the time.
- Food/eating out. Wow, $600 for a single person. I live in Texas too and we're a 2 person household and we've spent about $475/month but it depends on what restaurants you go to.
- Utilities can be cheaper than $300 especially if its new construction. We have an apartment that's 900 sq ft. and the bill is about $70/month!'
As someone who lives in Dallas, don't get sucked into the Uptown "lifestyle" and you'll be fine!
I agree with Turtle on this one. At one time I lived in FTW and worked with people who commuted all the way from downtown Dallas. They worked their tails off at their jobs in FTW so they could sustain their Dallas night life. They were basically dead broke but they were party animals.
DFW can be a very affordable place to live.....or conversely completely unaffordable.
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