<prompt> Human: I live in Chicago suburbs and work part-time as a CNA in my local hospital, making around 1400 per month. I go to college full-time student for nursing, paying from my own pocket and planning to apply for financial aid for my next semester. I dont own a car though I might need to get one soon, dont pay for my health insurance, and have about 15,000 on my account. I also have no credit history. Due to personal family issues I need to start living on my own as soon as I can. I dont know if Ill be able to afford living on my own. I dont know what do. Please help.  <response>: EDIT - I assume that youre speaking about your NET pay- the cash you have after taxes and deductions- and NOT your gross pay before taxes and deductions. - EDITDoing it on your own will be tough. I live in the city and earn a similar amount and can give you some generals and then some specifics.Though rent might be cheaper than in Chicago, your choices will probably be slim. Having no credit also means theres a very high probability that any prospective landlord will want a cosigner on your lease- someone who has both the credit history and score you lack and will agree to pay your rent if you dont. Is there anyone you know that would be willing to do this for you- Im assuming your parents wont- particularly in your family? Think aunts, uncles or grandparents.An alternative is finding roommates. I personally dont find it an attractive option, but I know its there. Again, this may be more difficult to do in the suburbs. There is the possibility that you walk into something worse with your roommates, or something that makes living with any one of your roommates difficult. As above, though, the landlord will want credit and rental history so needing a cosigner is still very likely to apply here.Next, it is possible to do this, but on a fairly tight budget. I currently spend: 130 on food for myself approximately 230 on necessary bills transportation, phoneinternet, and insurance 100 that includes foodtoys for my pet, any toiletries I need, and one or two nice things a month- eating out, a gift to myself, whatever I wantneed 690 in rent which includes all utilities- gas, electric, and heat- but I lucked out there. In my experience, for a single person living alone, electric runs between 25-40 a month depending on the weather AC and space heaters as long as you are not billed for heat. Gas runs around 20-30 a month if you only use your stove to cook, and you are not billed for heat. Heat, either gas or electric, will add a lot during the cold months. If the equipment is efficient and there are no major drafts in whatever place you look at, heat could add up to 100 a month. Less is possible in a very small space or if you use it sparingly.All said and done I usually have about 350 left over every month that I split between savings and emergency funds. Its not always easy or fun and sometimes extra things- like new shirts to replace holey ones- dig into what I have leftover, but its doable.So, to work out what you can afford, think about your expenses.What do you spend on food and bills and can you cut any of it out or make it cheaper?Then, how much is school costing you every month? If youre paying out of pocket you will probably need to consider loans. How long will payments be deferred? What kind of interest will the loans be accruing in the meantime? You can consider Federal loans, however, FAFSA generally requires that you include your parents income as a way to partially fund your education until you will be 24 in the year you are requesting a loan. There are certain circumstances which will allow you to be considered an independent student before this time, and while I have no experience with it personally, I have heard many times that it can be difficult to do this because the need must be extreme. Simply not getting on with your parents because of arguments- Im making no assumption on whats going on here- wouldnt qualify you as an independent student, for instance.You mentioned 15K in an account. Is this money that is readily accessible to you and does not require anyone elses permission to withdraw from? Is it in a fund of some kind that would require some forms and time to liquidate? If either is true, would using this pay for your schooling for at least one year? If so, that would be a tremendous help for you, especially if theres still some left over afterword.After you figure out what you can have left after that, then you can look to see whats out there at or below that price. I know its a lot to take in and figure out all at once, and youre juggling school and its bills on top of it. Its a tough situation. 