Living in LA on a budget – Know-how

Living in the second largest city in America can be a daunting task. Especially if you do not have enough money. The eternal problem many people have in our country is living from paycheck to paycheck without any assurances. As you can imagine, a situation like this requires certain measurements if you’re looking into living in LA for cheap. Aside from New York, LA is one of the toughest cities to survive on a tight budget. If the money is tight, and you have a budget you need to stick with, there are many things you can do to achieve success. Often people do not realize how much money is being wasted on unnecessary items and purchases. Living on a budget in LA can be achieved if you know what you are doing.

The mindset you must have if you’re living in LA on a budget

No tip that we can give you here will work unless you have the right mindset in place. You can know every single way to cut expenses, but if you do not set your mind straight, it won’t help. Living in LA for cheap is not something you can do without it. We’ve all been there. You get the paycheck and you feel like a king. In the next few days, you spend way more than you are supposed to. You Uber everywhere, eat fancy food, go out for drinks and buy a bunch of things you don’t need. Just read the experiences of other people who wanted to live in LA on a budget, and what went wrong. This is a system that cannot be sustainable if you’re moving to LA on a budget.

A scenario where the last few days in the month you live on bread crumbs and do not lave your house is not the way to live life. When you get paid, realize that you need to make that last for the next 30 days and save some of it for the future; that’s the cost of living in LA. Furthermore, if you moved to LA to realize your dream, as many do, there is additional moving assistance at your disposal that you need to consider. To conclude, please realize that every single penny you spend will cost you something else. Do not plan everything, set it up, and then not execute when you need to. Living in LA on a budget requires discipline, and without it, you will not make it.

Man playing chess

Living in LA is like a game of chess. Every move and penny you spend needs to be calculated.

Stats you must know before moving here

Before you come to LA, you must know how tough the environment here is. Not the weather, the weather’s great. The cost of living in LA environment is what you need to understand. Therefore, knowing how much you need to have in order to live a certain quality of life here is crucial before moving to LA on a budget. Thanks to Investopedia, We’ll explore some of the most crucial statistics to give you a better picture:

Food

As things stand, A gallon of milk in LA will cost you $4.02, and a loaf of bread costs $2.77. A dozen of eggs is $3.23 and 16 oz. of cheese is $4.29. If you want to go for a boneless, skinless pound of chicken breast, it will set you back for $4.76. Furthermore, statistics like these indicate that the average food budget for a midsize family is $500 a month. Yup, that’s how to live in LA on a budget.

Home cost

Right now, the average price of a home per square feet in Los Angeles is $675. That’s right, you read that correctly. Think about stats like this before moving here. Most noteworthy, the average cost of an LA home is hovering at $849,000, which means that you will need to work for a long time before you can afford to actually buy your perfect home.

Rent

If yo you are looking to live in the center of LA, a one-bedroom apartment in the city center will cost you somewhere in the region of $2,100 per month. Yup, that’s living in LA on a budget for ya’. Although it’s small, there are some perks of living in a small apartment. An answer to this might be to get roommates. By going that route, you’ll need more rooms of course. A three-bedroom apartment sits at $3,930 per month. Not great, but definitely better. It will definitely help if you’re wondering how to live in LA on a budget. Furthermore, the cheapest way to live in LA is going for something outside of the city center where the average rental costs $1,700 per month.

Statistics sheet and a calculator figuring out living in LA on a budget

Statistics can be boring sometimes. If you’re looking into living in LA on a budget, however, they are crucial.

Limited offers

Living in LA on a budget can be a lot easier if you know what you’re doing. Exploring discounts, coupons and limited offers can greatly help you in spending less. Fortunately for you, there are many businesses that offer these type of things. Most of them focus on it, in fact. If the cheapest way to live in LA is one of your main goals, consider using those resources. No matter if you are buying clothes, hardware, cars or basic living necessities like food or household goods, you can always find some sort of discounts or special offers.

In the era of internet, there are many websites/plugins that can help you save money. Unfortunately, this is something that a lot of people are not aware of. Hence why the possibilities are endless. You can buy airplane tickets, get your groceries delivered, custom made clothes, every single thing out there. And at discounted prices too! Form a habit of searching for discounts online in regards to a specific product before paying the full price. You’ll get surprised most times at how much money you were wasting. Here’s a couple of resources that you can use before you make your new purchase:

  • Bargainlist (writer’s tip – the best tool while living in LA on a budget)
  • Woot
  • Deallist.com
  • FatWallet
  • Dealcatcher
  • Slickdeals
Two people walking next to a special deals sign

It’s amazing how much you can save if you do your research. Special deals are a great way to cut expenses.