Hi PersonalFinance! I'm happy to say that, at age 26, I'm about to graduate and just got my first serious job. I'll be starting in July of this year and my starting salary is $44,800 per year ($3,700 per month). Now I'm looking to rent a place near my work.
Other info: I live in California and the average studio apartment in my city is in the $1500-3000 range. I have a car and no debt.
I used this calculator to calculate my take-home pay and got $2,714 per month.
My question: What percent of my monthly income should I spend on rent? I've never budgeted before so I'm not sure how much to reserve for food, utilities, and that sort o
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