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The foundation of any budget is good bookkeeping. You need to track your income and your expenses. Set up a budgeting worksheet on Excel, or get Quicken. Quicken will be easier to work with, but it will cost about $60.. I listed the categories to start below. Add or delete categories as needed. Each column in Excel should be one month. Each row should be 1 expense category. Make sure to reconcile your checkbook each month. Failing to reconcile your checkbook is like having a condom, but not using it.

There are some items which are a bit harder to budget. For example, you pay for homeowner’s or renter’s insurance once a year. Take the bill divide it by 12, and add it to your expenses monthly as an accrued item. Some expenses are unpredictable. For example, you know that your car will eventually need an expensive repair, but you don’t know when it will happen. Go through your check register for the last 24 months. Add up all the unexpected items and divide by 24. Then enter that amount on your budget each month.

I suggest you get a book called Bookkeeping for Dummies by Lita Epstein. Please don’t be offended by the name. For Dummies is a publishing company. They contract with top authors who are both experts in their field and have the ability to put concepts in simple English.

INCOME:
Wages and Bonuses
Interest Income
Investment Income
Miscellaneous Income
Income Subtotal
INCOME TAXES WITHHELD:
Federal Income Tax
State and Local Income Tax
Social Security/Medicare Tax
Income Taxes Subtotal
Spendable Income
EXPENSES:
HOME:
Mortgage or Rent
Homeowners/Renters Insurance (actual amount paid)
Property Taxes (actual amount paid)
Home Repairs/Maintenance/HOA Dues
Home Improvements
UTILITIES:
Electricity
Water and Sewer
Natural Gas or Oil
Telephone (Land Line, Cell)
FOOD:
Groceries
Eating Out, Lunches, Snacks
FAMILY OBLIGATIONS:
Child Support/Alimony
Day Care, Babysitting
HEALTH AND MEDICAL:
Insurance (medical,dental,vision)
Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses
Fitness (Yoga,Massage,Gym)
TRANSPORTATION:
Car Payments
Gasoline/Oil
Auto Repairs/Maintenance/Fees
Auto Insurance
Other (tolls, bus, subway, taxi)
DEBT PAYMENTS:
Credit Cards
Student Loans
Other Loans
ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION:
Cable TV/Videos/Movies
Computer Expense
Hobbies
Subscriptions and Dues
Vacations
PETS:
Food
Grooming, Boarding, Vet
CLOTHING:
INVESTMENTS AND SAVINGS:
401(K)or IRA
Stocks/Bonds/Mutual Funds
College Fund
Savings
Emergency Fund
MISCELLANEOUS:
Toiletries, Household Products
Gifts/Donations
Grooming (Hair, Make-up, Other)
Miscellaneous Expense
Total Investments and Expenses
Surplus/Shortage (Spendable income
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There are so many variables… the biggest one is the location you live in. Some cities you can’t rent a room for less than $1200 a month, where I live you can rent a 3 bdrm/two bath place for $350 a month. Do you mind if you are in a rough part of town, or are you willing to pay more for a certain area? It really comes down to what kind of lifestyle you want to have. Here are some things you can do right now to get ready. Buy the little things you will need such as pots, pans, plates, silverware, towels, etc. When you finally move, you won’t have to spend money on the basics because you will already have them. If you know the cost of rent in your area, start "pretending" to pay rent now. Take that much money every month and set it aside in a savings account. This will get you used to that money being gone and will build up a nice emergency fund for when you do move. When I moved into my first place I did it VERY cheaply with a VERY tight budget. The best way to make sure you’re successful is to be prepared with extra money in the bank and don’t rent more apartment than you can afford. Rent should never be more than 25% of your take home pay.
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As you are still living at home, the size of the bills your parents pay is as good a place as any to start gathering information. What do they pay for water, power, trash, cable (if you think you will want it)? Even if that figure seems a bit high for one person, if you take that price, you will have some "wiggle room". It is far worse to estimate too tight and then find the bills are higher than you expected, and money is tight. You probably know already what gas, motor insurance, cell phone etc. cost you.

Groceries vary from person to person – my spending isn’t very high, but you may want to buy different foods than I do. You could volunteer to do the family shopping some week and roughly calculate how much it cost per person. By now you know how much you spend on entertainment and personal expenses. For rent in your area, do a google search, and also factor in an extra month’s rent which is usually expected as a deposit.

My house is paid for so I don’t have rent, and when I allow for the cost of utilities and motor expenses, I’d need $200 a week to live comfortably – say $1000 a month in case I have under estimated anything.

Save hard, find part time extra work if you can, and build up a safety net of $6000 or more before you leave home. You are always going to need an emergency fund. If you also need to furnish the apartment, or provide your own pots and pans etc., you will need money for those too.
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I think you have almost covered them all. The best person who can estimate it most accurately is yourself. If you’re not sure, just make the worst case scenario. Good luck!
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