Cost of living project *grins and bows dramatically *

Hey hey beautiful people, how are y’all? I’m doing quite good, I am getting to the point of the school year where I’m DONE and I don’t wanna do school anymore. One of my last projects that I’m finishing up this year is a project called “Cost Of Living”. Now, this project in theory actually sounds quite fun. You decide what kind of job you want to have when your older, you find a place to rent, you figure out how much it would cost to buy groceries and food and how much your taxes will be-ya know, all that fun stuff. Well, that’s what I thought when I started it anyways. I will say that it was an enlightening project and I came away with a couple things

  1. You might not be able to drive that really cool, awesome, amazing, looking Toyota Tacoma that you dream about because it has horrible gas mileage and as a pretend 23 year old, you just can NOT AFFORD IT.
  2. Living as an adult (and I can not stress this enough) IS INSANELY STRESSFUL. I got so stressed during this project, partly because I wanted to but the really cool looking Toyota Tacoma mentioned above and my “paycheck” simply did not allow and partly because everything costs so much now a days! This project really opened my eyes and I can say that I am now putting a bit of my extra money (that I would usually spend) into the bank.
  3. Coming in under your budget and not living from paycheck to paycheck is an amazing feeling. When I had finished all my calculations and found out I came in under my paycheck amount, I was so relieved. I was worried that I may have used my whole paycheck up, but luckily, that was not the case.

It was still a fun project but it definitely had it’s ups and downs like many projects. Anyways, here is what I found while doing research!

I chose to do monthly costs instead of yearly because I wanted to see everything on a smaller scale. My monthly costs included housing, utilities, transportation, taxes, charity and tithing, food, clothes, and personal expenses (like going out with friends or out to eat).

This is my income information. My dream job is to work at a Black Rock coffee bar or really just to be a coffee barista anywhere. I love coffee and what better job than to learn how to make good coffee? I also love photography so a photography side job would be perfect. Honestly I don’t know if I could actually be good enough at photography to do 3 sessions a week but my mom thought so so I’m like “OK” 😂 Anywho, my overall monthly income is 2,851.02, which isn’t a ton but in my teen eyes it seems like a lot 😂

I “rent” this lovely little shophouse which, (fun fact) used to be my old house! We moved across the driveway into an actual house and now the shophouse is rented out. I rent it with my sister and friend or maybe two of my friends or maybe both my sisters-who knows. Anyway, I rent with 2 roommates and the house is a 3 bed, two bath, with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and office/entertainment room. Plus my parents will live across the driveway so if I’m ever bored, I could walk across the driveway and go visit ;)))

My landlord includes all utilities in rent, which is quite nice because it knocks a lot of money off my plate 😂

I do have a phone with unlimited data, and I also have a mobile hotspot so I can hook the hot spot up to my computer and watch Netflix with my handy dandy subscription!

Taxes: pretty boring, I just went and calculated my taxes for my brackets according to my income and such.

Charity and tithing: I tithe 10% of my paycheck, which I feel like is the golden rule of living, I feel like everyone does 10%? I don’t know. But I “sponsor” a child through Compassion International (which is a really cool program btw, go check it out!) and the rest of money I donate to my church or other charities.

“Funny” story: I actually first was going to drive a Toyota Tacoma because that’s my dream car and I think they’re really cool and awesome looking but my paycheck simply did not allow bc MAN TRUCKS ARE EXPENSIVEEEE. So I “bought” this nifty (wow what cool words I use 🤦🏼‍♀️ but no joke we should start using nifty more, don’t you think?) little Ford Escape hybrid which can be gasoline AND it can be charged electrically so its really cool. And it was cheap. so really cool. 😁

Pretty basic, for finding my food calculations, I went on to our local grocery stores website and I went and added all the food I would want to the cart and I used that total x4. For clothes I kind of just guesstimated a number, but WOW that means I’ll spend $600 per year on clothes and that seems like a TON. But I could do it 🤦🏼‍♀️

(Also, for a really interesting post, go check out my blogging friend Cassidy’s post about the fashion industry and who makes your clothes right here!)

Next is the boring part: Insurance. Pretty basic so yeah, let’s move on 😉

Entertainment: I have $170 to stretch over the month which should work, I don’t go places that cost a lot usually and I don’t eat out a ton.

A summary: I CAME IN UNDER MY BUDGET!!!!! I felt so happy when I calculated everything and it all came out good!

Overall it was a really fun project and I’m super glad to be done, I love the feeling of completion when your done a project. I’ll let you in on a little secret though: I’m almost sad to be done school. I have one more week (yep only one more!!!) and putting away some books last week I got sentimental and sad, it was weird. But I can’t wait for summer break, my one wish is that the corona thing doesn’t drag into summer, because that would be heart breaking.

Did you enjoy this post? I figured it was pretty interesting 🙂 How have you been? Whats your dream job? What’s your dream car? Talk to me in the comments, I love hearing from you guys!!

xx, Jasmin

Author: Jasmin@thewriterofletters.com

I'm a teen lifestyle blogger who thrives to live life to the fullest and loves to pen-pal, journal and just have fun 💛

68 thoughts on “Cost of living project *grins and bows dramatically *”

  1. OH MY GOD! I LOVED THIS POST SO MUCH JASMIN ❤️

    it was so fun and intriguing to read. you should do more posts like this! loved hearing your thoughts on it all. so cute and compassionate you are sponsoring a child!

    my dream car is a volkswagan and dream job would be to be a writer of some sort haha.

    this kinda reminded me of a project we had to do in school where we had to build our own themepark and run it and the costs all associated to that. it was fun.

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    1. THANK YOUUUUU ❤️
      I’m so glad you enjoyed!!
      Ooo I’ve heard volkswagons are wonderful reliable cars! And ahhh being a writer would be so cool!
      AHH that sounds SO FUN!!! Projects like this are super fun and interesting!
      Tysm for the comment, you’re amazing ❤️

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  2. This is such a cool project!! I have done something slightly similar to this before to but at a event at my church. 🙂 I have one week left of school to and I pray that corona will not go into the summer as well.
    Awesome post, friend!!
    *hugs!
    -kaelyn 😛

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  4. I thought this was so interesting! We actually did something super similar at school too 😊 It was a to more basic, but covered the same topic. Honestly I never realised how stressful managing finances was until then? Like it feels like I’d have to cut down soooo much to survive on my monthly pay check! I’m so glad you added a Netflix subscription, like, duh! 😂 That’s so exciting that your summer break is in a week! I hope this corona chaos has died down by then, my summer break isn’t for another 11 weeks 😆 The end is in sight (kinda lol) 💗 Amazing post to read! x

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    1. Thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed!! Ooo that’s cool! YESSS it’s so stressful like I’m not ready to become an adult?! Haha yes, I needed my Netflix 😂 Another kid in my class added all the streaming services to his project, Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ etc. but I just chose Netflix xD
      It is! I’m so excited! Ooo 11 weeks isn’t super long, good luck finishing it up!!
      Awww thank you so much! ❤️

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      1. Anytime!! Of course 😊 Me neither haha! All those bills, I don’t wanna do it 😂 HAHA! Why would I be that other kid in your class though?! 😆 Honestl probably not, I’d rather space my money out so I had enough for Starbucks (yum) 😋
        That’s amazing! I know, I have totally (not) got this 😂 Anytime! 💗

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  6. Ahh this project was such a blast. I was a librarian with a masters renting an apartment with a friend and who bought a used car. Good times. 😆😉
    I enjoyed reading this! ☺️

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  10. Never have I done research into my living costs in the future, but this has inspired me! Hopefully it will lend a hand when you get to adulthood. But let’s not wish away our time… Hope you’re having an amazing week so far, but if not don’t worry. It’s a rough time and completely natural for us to feel meh as well. Take care x

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    1. Yay! I hadn’t done much research before hand either but this was definitely a very helpful post! Yesss, I’m working on treasuring the time I have rn! Thank you! My week is going pretty well, although not amazing because of the corona situation but its been better than some of my past weeks. Take care xx ❤️

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      1. The whole situation really hit me the other day, and I can’t say I’ve been that productive since. However I did write my half of the collaboration which I’ve sent via email. Thank you and have a great weekend 💓

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  12. this was so cool! honestly this is something I would do for fun lol. i literally might just go do this because it would be so interesting haha.

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    1. Awww thank you!! Haha it was pretty fun! Especially if you weren’t doing it for school and you were just doing it for yourself! Then you wouldn’t have to be stressed about it! I would love to see a blog post from you about it if you do end up doing it ;))) Haha thanks for reading! 💕

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    1. Thank you! YESSS exactly! It was a bit stressful (as all schoolwork can be) but it was also pretty fun! Thank you! Thank you also for saying nifty, let’s get that word back in business! 😉😎 Thank you so much for reading and for your NIFTY (😎) comment! ❤️

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  14. This sounds like a great idea!! For my dream job I’d love to be an author but I guess I’d need something on the side too and I have no idea what that’s gonna be 😂 my favourite car is a Renault Clio, I just love them so much! Great post! I want to go off and find a project to do now 😂💕💕

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    1. Thank you! It was quite fun! Ooo being an author would be fun! Haha I don’t know exactly what I want to do when I grow up but I feel that it’s almost better to just go with the flow and see where God takes us instead of having everything nailed down and decided bc most likely it won’t work out perfect. That’s my opinion anyways :))
      Ahhh those are nice cars! Thank you so much!! Haha, good luck with your future projects! 💕

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  15. This is a great post Jasmin! I actually did the cost of living project last term as part of my social studies course and was shocked by how many expenses there are that you might not even think of! We even had to figure out whether or not we could afford to take a loan on a house we’d chosen at the start of the lesson. This was on a joint income so to think that it still might be out of reach was pretty crazy! The cost of living project got me thinking about the how’s of what I want to do. I’ve had what I want to do cemented in my mind so long. It’s not changing! I used to think that was enough. I mean, even now there aren’t too many people who have what they want to do set in stone! It’s not enough though, because without a plan, it’s a mere dream.

    In my early twenties I hope to move to your country! I keep thinking about how different the States is from Australia.. it will be an adjustment and while there are some things I don’t love, I’m stubborn when I want something 😊 over here our minimum wage is $25 for an adult. So if you were a fast food worker, waitress, that’s what you’d earn as a very base salary. For someone my age, 16, you’d probably earn about $15-20 dollars an hour. I know the waiters and waitresses in the states rely solely on tips. That’s a scary thought!

    Anyhow, me rambling.. haha. Great post Jasmin! I really enjoyed this x

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    1. Thank you so much!! Ahh that’s so cool! YES I totally agree! I tried to get most expenses in my costs but I’m still missing so much! That’s honestly so cool that you know what you want to do! I’m sure I want to work at a coffee place but other than that I don’t really know. Yes, without a plan it is a dream but I think that you’re being mindful and knowing that having that dream isn’t enough by itself will help you achieve it!
      Ooo that would be so cool to move here! Or anywhere really xD YESSSS The US and Australia are so different in some aspects! Good for you knowing what you want, I admire that! WOAH. $25 minimum wage sounds like a lot, where I live minimum wage is $11 for fast food and such, I don’t know much about the ages or how it would change for an adult vs a 16-17 year old. It doesn’t seem like a lot!
      haha, thank you so much for your comment, I throughly enjoyed your “rambling” comment xx 💕

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  17. This was really interesting! I can’t believe you do Classical Conversations too! This week’s my last week and I’m sad it’s over as well.

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      5. No blog yet..I’m considering starting one this summer but it’s all up in the air. 😉 I’ll tell you if I do though!

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  18. This was a really interesting post, and I enjoyed reading!! ❤ 🙂 I've been doing well, thanks! Glad you've been doing well too. My dream job (though it has changed 😉 ) is to be a wedding designer/organizer. My dream car is any type of Mercedes, though I know I'll probably never get one. 😉 Also, we actually sponsor a child (he lives in Peru) through Compassion International! We have really loved doing it.

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    1. Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed!! Ahh I’m glad! ❤️ Haha yeah, my dream job has changed many times before 😂 YESSS a wedding designer/organizer sounds so cool, like helping people plan their perfect day, yes please!! Ooo Mercedes are NICE! Haha, I feel like most ppl don’t end up getting their dream cars but here’s to us both getting our dream cars!
      Ayeee that’s so cool!! We sponsor 2 children and I personally think its such a cool program, I would also love to work for compassion international, you get to travel the world as a volunteer!! Thank you so much for your awesome comment, it made me happy 🙂 ❤️

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  19. That seems like a cool project. But also very stressful.

    I think my dream car is just my parents car😂 I just love the Nissan brand for some reason. I used to want an Altima, (we had an Altima and a Rogue) but the Rogue is a lot easier to drive.

    As far as a dream job, that would be a blogger! I’d love to get paid for blogging. Also, I would publish books too. *sighs*. I’ll probably just end up working as a cashier or something though.

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    1. Thank you! yes exactly, fun but stressful 😂
      Hey, I mean if your parents had the same car as you, you would know if its a good car! Haha we all have a car brand we love, I love fords 😂 Ooo I’ve seen a lot of Altimas and I just looked up a rogue, they’re nice looking! I love when cars are easy to drive, its so nice!
      YESSSS being a full time or even part time blogger and getting paid would be awesome! Publishing books would also be a lovely job! Haha sameeee, but here’s to us both getting our dream jobs!!! Thank you so much for your amazing comment, it make my day! 💕

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ONE GRACEFUL TEEN

the shenanigans of my teenage life

Natalie Belle Blog

Pretty Little Scribbles

dream ★ write ★ inspire

A Curly Sue’s Ramblings

lifestyle, reviews, books and more!

Journey Through the Word

Peach & Poppy Co.

writing more letters

THE SISTER SITE

A Teenage Perspective

Pati-Cool

Planet of Positivity

Lifestyle Blog

ambersreadsonline.wordpress.com/

The Blog Girl <3

lifestyle/food/positivity/environmental blogger <3

caraacarmen

Teen Lifestyle Blog

The Simple Little things

Makeup|Lifestyle|Skincare

the introverted extrovert

by mills

be the energy you want to attract :)

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