Skip to Main Content Skip to Internet Banking Skip to Sitemap
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

All VyStar offices will be closed on January 18th.

Close Alert
COVID-19
We are here to help our members. Branch Status | Mortgage | Loans | Businesses | Stimulus | Announcements
Close Alert
VyStar Credit Union VyStar Credit Union mobile view
  • Login
  • Become a Member
  • Locations
  • Contact Us
Search this site
  • Rates
    • Business Deposit & Loan Rates
    • Certificate Account Rates
    • Consumer Loan Rates
    • Credit Card Rates
    • Deposit Account Rates
    • Home Equity Loans & Lines Rates
    • Mortgage Loan Rates
  • Products & Services
    • Checking & Savings
      • Checking Accounts
        • Money Market
        • Magic*Touch
      • Savings Accounts
        • Holiday Savings Account
        • Certificates of Deposit (CD)
    • Lending
      • Auto & Recreational Loans
      • Personal Loans
      • Mortgages
      • Apply for a Loan
      • Make a Loan Payment
      • Adoption Line of Credit
      • Emergency Relief Loan
    • Business Banking
      • Business Membership
      • Business Deposit Accounts
      • Business Lending
      • Business Services
      • Small Business Resource Library
      • VyStar@Work
    • Cards & Services
      • Credit Cards
      • Debit Cards
      • Visa Reloadable Prepaid Cards
      • Gift Cards
      • uChoose Rewards
    • Investments
      • VyStar Investment Services
    • Insurance
      • Home
      • Auto
      • Family Protection
        • Delta Dental®
    • Real Estate Services
      • VyStar Title Agency
  • Online Services
    • Mobile
      • Mobile Check Deposit
      • Touch ID/Fingerprint Recognition
      • Card Control App
    • Internet Banking Access
      • Bill Pay Services
      • Send Money with Zelle®
      • External Transfers
      • Email, Text and Push Alerts
      • Entitlements
      • Make a VyStar Payment
      • Internet & Mobile Security
      • Ways to Go Green
    • Protection Center
      • Reporting Fraud
      • How to Protect Yourself
        • FraudScout
      • How VyStar Protects You
        • Scam Warnings
  • Financial Tools
    • Advice & Planning
      • Financial Calculators
      • Money Management
      • Financial Counseling
      • Real Estate Tools
        • Should You Refinance?
      • Hurricane Resources
      • Loan Tools
    • Financial How-To
      • Money Makeover
      • Accounts Management
        • Setting Up Direct Deposit
      • Personal Finances
        • Create a Budget
        • Free Credit Report
    • Investments & Insurance Tools
      • Introduction to Insurance
      • Saving for Retirement
      • Investment Vehicles
      • History and Trends of the Stock Market
      • Compound Interest Mind Bend
      • Rule of 72
    • Video Library
    • Brochure Library
    • VyStar University
  • About Us
    • Blog
    • Calendar
      • Holiday Closings
    • Newsroom
      • Current Promotions
      • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
      • VyStar Branch Artwork
    • Organization
      • Our Vision & Mission
      • Our History
      • Our Team
      • Financial Information
    • Community Involvement
      • Veterans Memorial Arena
      • High School Branch Programs
      • Sponsorship Requests
      • Get Involved with Community Events
      • Military Support
    • Credit Unions vs. Banks
  • Membership & Benefits
    • Becoming a New Member
      • Join Now - Open an Account
      • Why Join VyStar
      • Who Can Join
      • How To Join
      • VyStar Switch Kit
      • Apply for a Loan
      • Owner's Manual
    • Benefits of VyStar Membership
Login
Search this site

  • Rates
    • Business Deposit & Loan Rates
    • Certificate Account Rates
    • Consumer Loan Rates
    • Credit Card Rates
    • Deposit Account Rates
    • Home Equity Loans & Lines Rates
    • Mortgage Loan Rates
  • Products & Services
    • Checking & Savings
      • Checking Accounts
        • Money Market
        • Magic*Touch
      • Savings Accounts
        • Holiday Savings Account
        • Certificates of Deposit (CD)
    • Lending
      • Auto & Recreational Loans
      • Personal Loans
      • Mortgages
      • Apply for a Loan
      • Make a Loan Payment
      • Adoption Line of Credit
      • Emergency Relief Loan
    • Business Banking
      • Business Membership
      • Business Deposit Accounts
      • Business Lending
      • Business Services
      • Small Business Resource Library
      • VyStar@Work
    • Cards & Services
      • Credit Cards
      • Debit Cards
      • Visa Reloadable Prepaid Cards
      • Gift Cards
      • uChoose Rewards
    • Investments
      • VyStar Investment Services
    • Insurance
      • Home
      • Auto
      • Family Protection
        • Delta Dental®
    • Real Estate Services
      • VyStar Title Agency
  • Online Services
    • Mobile
      • Mobile Check Deposit
      • Touch ID/Fingerprint Recognition
      • Card Control App
    • Internet Banking Access
      • Bill Pay Services
      • Send Money with Zelle®
      • External Transfers
      • Email, Text and Push Alerts
      • Entitlements
      • Make a VyStar Payment
      • Internet & Mobile Security
      • Ways to Go Green
    • Protection Center
      • Reporting Fraud
      • How to Protect Yourself
        • FraudScout
      • How VyStar Protects You
        • Scam Warnings
  • Financial Tools
    • Advice & Planning
      • Financial Calculators
      • Money Management
      • Financial Counseling
      • Real Estate Tools
        • Should You Refinance?
      • Hurricane Resources
      • Loan Tools
    • Financial How-To
      • Money Makeover
      • Accounts Management
        • Setting Up Direct Deposit
      • Personal Finances
        • Create a Budget
        • Free Credit Report
    • Investments & Insurance Tools
      • Introduction to Insurance
      • Saving for Retirement
      • Investment Vehicles
      • History and Trends of the Stock Market
      • Compound Interest Mind Bend
      • Rule of 72
    • Video Library
    • Brochure Library
    • VyStar University
  • About Us
    • Blog
    • Calendar
      • Holiday Closings
    • Newsroom
      • Current Promotions
      • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
      • VyStar Branch Artwork
    • Organization
      • Our Vision & Mission
      • Our History
      • Our Team
      • Financial Information
    • Community Involvement
      • Veterans Memorial Arena
      • High School Branch Programs
      • Sponsorship Requests
      • Get Involved with Community Events
      • Military Support
    • Credit Unions vs. Banks
  • Membership & Benefits
    • Becoming a New Member
      • Join Now - Open an Account
      • Why Join VyStar
      • Who Can Join
      • How To Join
      • VyStar Switch Kit
      • Apply for a Loan
      • Owner's Manual
    • Benefits of VyStar Membership

  • Login
  • Become a Member
  • Locations
  • Contact Us
Home > Financial Tools > Advice & Planning > Real Estate Tools > Living On Your Own

Living On Your Own

Average rent across the country  Housing costs in certain geographic areas, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and New York, are very high. If your spending ratio is a few percentage points above 30 for housing, you’re OK. But when it starts climbing over 45%25, you should probably re-evaluate where you live, consider living with a roommate or look at saving in other areas, such as transportation. For instance, you may be able to do without owning a car in a dense urban area.  •	Charlotte – $789 •	Cincinnati – $717 •	Indianapolis – $680 •	Jacksonville – $774 •	Kansas City – $707 •	Las Vegas – $805 •	Manhattan – $2,902 •	San Antonio – $725 •	San Francisco – $1,901 •	Tucson – $652  Across the country, rents are rising. Here’s a sampling of 2014 rent rates for a one-bedroom apartment in the downtown core in 10 metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Rent will be cheaper in the suburbs and rural areas.Living On Your Own And “Bill Time”

Living on your own for the first time can be empowering. It means having independence and all the things that come with it. Some of those things—like not having to share a bathroom—are wonderful. Others—like killing spiders yourself—are not so fun. And leading the pack in the not-so-fun category: bills.

Bills tend to sneak up on us because they don’t fit nicely into a routine. They all have different due dates, some are delivered to your mailbox and others to your inbox, some need to be paid monthly and others yearly, and some have amounts that fluctuate. It takes a lot of wrangling to get them all under control.

The importance of “bill time”

Bills may not stick to a routine, but you sure can. No matter how you keep track of your bills, you still need to take the time to manage them. It can be as simple as 15 minutes, once a week. “Bill time” lets you:

  • Gather up any bills received that week (especially the ones that like hiding under your junk mail)
  • Locate and/or print out any e-bills received that week
  • Input the bill totals and their due dates into your calendar (or notebook, or spreadsheet, or budgeting app)
  • See what bills need to be paid that day
  • Pay those bills (this could be a combination of paying them online and/or writing out checks and addressing envelopes)
  • Mark those bills as paid (and revel in your self-satisfaction)
  • Look ahead to see what your payment schedule looks like the following week and month

Sticking to the same day and time for “bill time” is important:

  • It creates a routine that’s easy to follow
  • It saves time by allowing you to tackle several payments at once
  • It keeps you organized and aware of your payment schedule
  • It’s the best way to eliminate the “out of sight, out of mind” problem that so many of us have with our bills

So, you have your regularly scheduled “bill time” and you have a stack of bills. Now you need a system to keep track of it all. Luckily, there are so many ways to manage your bills that it’s easy to customize a system that works well for you.

DIGITAL

Dedicated personal finance apps

If your smartphone is basically an extension of your body, using an app might be the best way to manage your bills. Although there are several stand-alone bill payment apps to choose from, you might also consider looking into more comprehensive budgeting apps that include bill management as a feature. If the apps are free, download a bunch of them and take a quick tour to see which one you like best. If you have to pay for an app, do some research to understand the extent of its features before you buy it.

These questions may help you in your search:

  • Is it a calendar-based, spreadsheet-based or list-based app?
  • Can you pay bills from within the app?
  • Does the app use a notification system to remind you of upcoming bills? Can you customize those notifications?
  • Is the app secure? (This is especially important if you need to input your personal or banking information.)
  • Is the app supported by your financial institution?
  • Is the app compatible with other apps you use (e.g., your digital calendar)?
Digital calendars

Personal finance apps can be helpful, but when it comes down to it, a generic calendar app is enough to help you stay on track. If you’re already a calendar app user, consider creating a sub-calendar with your bill payment schedule. Or, if you don’t like the idea of mixing “bill time” with leisure time, you can use a completely separate calendar app to manage your finances.

Digital spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are typically more of a laptop or desktop solution than a smartphone solution (although some software packages let you access your spreadsheets from anywhere). Most top budgeting programs include custom-designed spreadsheets, but there are also tons of free spreadsheet templates available for download that work with your default spreadsheet software—even Pinterest is full of them!

Reminders/alerts

A reliable reminder app can give your bill management system a powerful boost. If your bill payment app is lacking when it comes to notification options, a dedicated reminder app can make up for it. If you prefer organizing your finances on paper, you can still set up digital alerts to make sure you stay on track. And don’t forget to set up a recurring reminder for your weekly “bill time”!

ANALOG

On paper

Using pen and paper to manage your bills might sound completely old school—especially when there are so many digital alternatives available—but some people have much more success creating a payment schedule the analog way. There’s just something about writing things down and physically ticking items off a list that can make the process feel more “real” and tangible than doing the digital equivalent on your phone or laptop. So if you find yourself slipping on your payments no matter how many apps you download, give paper a try.

Paper calendars

If you’re a visual person, a calendar system is a great way to go. Wall calendars and agenda-style calendars work equally well (the dollar store and free printable templates are the cheapest way to get started). Mark down your paydays and your bills in your calendar, and come up with a consistent way to note when bills have been paid (like highlighting them).

Paper spreadsheets

Some people feel more organized if they have their spreadsheets printed out and sorted in a binder or notebook. A quick search on Google or Pinterest will connect you with tons of free, beautifully designed and printable spreadsheets that you can use to build your bill payment system.

Pro tip

No matter what system you end up using, this tip can help you avoid getting hit with a late fee. If you’re using a calendar-based system, write down your bills and their due date on the day on which you plan to pay them (not on their actual due date). It helps you stay ahead of the game and buys you a little extra time if you do happen to slip up.

Living On Your Own
Living On Your Own  Are you ready to make the big move? There’s more to it than paying rent—living on your own creates new expenses that you may not have considered, such as rental insurance, commuting expenses and furnishing your new place. Here are a number of things to consider as you plan for your big move.   Build a budget  You will need a budget before you move. It’s the only way to understand what you can afford, and it will help you make sense of all the expenses that come with your new independence. If you’re just starting out, a spending ratio, like the one below, can help you evaluate your spending habits and understand what you can and can’t afford.  •	Housing – 30%25 •	Food – 15%25 •	Transportation – 15%25 •	Leisure – 10%25 •	Clothing - 8%25 •	Personal – 10%25 •	Savings – 7%25 •	Debt – 5%25  Spending ratios are a general guide. Categories can be added to better reflect your personal situation. For example, students will need to factor tuition and textbooks into their spending ratio.   How much rent can you afford?  Using the sample ratio above as a starting point, you can do a quick calculation to see what’s in your price range.  Calculate your housing spending ratio  Add up your regular household expenses  $750 (rent) + $15 (renter’s insurance) + $180 (electricity, utilities, Internet, parking space) = $945 (expenses will vary, depending on the apartment—be as accurate as possible)  Divide the result by your monthly net income  $945 (household expenses) divided by $3,200 (monthly income – after tax) = 30%25 (ideally, your housing expenses should be 30%25, or less, of your net monthly income)   First apartment reality check  What happens when you find an apartment you love, but it’s way outside your spending ratio?  •	Increase your income  Is the apartment you found worth taking on a second job or working longer hours? •	Reconsider your “must-haves”  Be realistic about your expectations, especially if it’s your first time living on your own; compare many different apartments to understand how much more that extra square footage or that view will cost you •	Reduce other spending areas  In some cases, you can justify a higher housing spending ratio if it reduces (or eliminates) another spending category; for example, an apartment near work or school can reduce your monthly transportation costs •	Share the space  Taking on a roommate can give you access  to that dream apartment for less money •	Look in a different location  Rental rates vary widely across the country; check out the pricing in nearby suburbs and cities to see if a move would make sense in the long run   Average rent across the country  Housing costs in certain geographic areas, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and New York, are very high. If your spending ratio is a few percentage points above 30 for housing, you’re OK. But when it starts climbing over 45%25, you should probably re-evaluate where you live, consider living with a roommate or look at saving in other areas, such as transportation. For instance, you may be able to do without owning a car in a dense urban area.  •	Charlotte – $789 •	Cincinnati – $717 •	Indianapolis – $680 •	Jacksonville – $774 •	Kansas City – $707 •	Las Vegas – $805 •	Manhattan – $2,902 •	San Antonio – $725 •	San Francisco – $1,901 •	Tucson – $652  Across the country, rents are rising. Here’s a sampling of 2014 rent rates for a one-bedroom apartment in the downtown core in 10 metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Rent will be cheaper in the suburbs and rural areas.   More than just the rent check  When taking your total housing costs into consideration, be sure to look past your rent payment. Here are a few items to take into consideration. Depending on your situation, there may be other expenses to consider.  One-time expenses  •	First & last month’s rent •	Packing materials •	Moving expenses •	Starter furniture  Ongoing expenses  •	Electricity •	Utilities •	Cable, telephone & Internet •	Renter’s insurance •	Security monitoring •	Parking •	Household items   Save up before making the leap  Just because you have a steady job and your housing spending ratio is in line, that doesn’t mean you’re done just yet. You will need to have a few thousand dollars saved up prior to making the final leap to renting your first apartment.   Sources: Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Forbes, MyFirstApartment.com
Real Estate Tools
  • Should You Refinance?
  • 5 First Steps to Buying Your First Home
  • Mortgage Prequalification vs. Preapproval
  • Demystifying Mortgages
  • Living On Your Own
  • Rates
    • Business Deposit & Loan Rates
    • Certificate Account Rates
    • Consumer Loan Rates
    • Credit Card Rates
    • Deposit Account Rates
    • Home Equity Loans & Lines Rates
    • Mortgage Loan Rates
  • Products & Services
    • Checking & Savings
    • Lending
    • Business Banking
    • Cards & Services
    • Investments
    • Insurance
    • Real Estate Services
  • Online Services
    • Mobile
    • Internet Banking Access
    • Protection Center
  • Financial Tools
    • Advice & Planning
    • Financial How-To
    • Investments & Insurance Tools
    • Video Library
    • Brochure Library
    • VyStar University
  • About Us
    • Blog
    • Calendar
    • Newsroom
    • Organization
    • Community Involvement
    • Credit Unions vs. Banks
  • Membership & Benefits
    • Becoming a New Member
    • Benefits of VyStar Membership
  • Like our page on Facebook
  • See our photo stream on Instagram
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channel
  • Check us out on LinkedIn
  • Explore our Pins
  • Sitemap
  • Careers
  • Disclosures
  • Privacy
  • Security
  • Accessibility

VyStar Credit Union
P.O. Box 45085
Jacksonville FL 32232
904-777-6000 or 800-445-6289
Routing Number 263079276

  • Federally Insured by NCUA
  • Equal Housing Lender
  • Verified by Visa