<prompt> Human: Ive never had the opportunity in my life to live alone. The last few years Ive lived with a friend to pay down my undergrad student debt, and Ive accepted the offer to go to graduate school a couple states over. I have no debt, I purchased a vehicle with cash last year and it should last me through graduate school, and Ive built an EFund and maxed out my IRA for 2018.I will be receiving a stipend each month, guaranteed through my program, and I will not have to pay any tuition.The city Im moving to has an okay cost of living for basic expenses but does have a housing crisis thats resulted in higher than usual rent rates for the area. While the city has a bus system thats great for going downtown or to the university, its clunky if you want to go anywhere else.For the apartment Im looking at, the best prices Ive seen for 1 bedrooms is in the range of 850-1200. Anything else is either run down in buildings run by slum lords or in sketchy areas.With that said, here is what my budget breakdown would look like for a 1 bedroom Im interested in:Incomesavings: Income after taxes and healthdental insurance: 2100 Emergency Fund: 7000Monthly expenses: Rent includes heat and utilities except electric: 925 Electric: 35 Internet: 50 Phone: 50 Car insurance for full coverage: 75 Renters insurance: 12 Huluprimenetflix: 25 Gas for car: 30-40 Food includes groceries, cat stuff, toiletries: 250 Discretionary eating out, entertainment: 50-75 IRAsavings: 420This leaves me with about 200 extra a month as a cushion. I get a free bus pass through the university. The IRA is important to me because Im ineligible for a retirement plan through the university.Can I do it, or do I still need a roommate? I dont know anyone and Ive had bad experiences with random craigslist roommates, so I might consider one after the year is over and Ive met others in my program.Edit: formattingAssistant: What field are you going into?Ill give you an example of my advisors rationale on money as a PhD student, so you may decide if this makes sense for you without divulging your field of study if youre concerned.Im going into Comp Sci. I have a TA position for 3 years and get 30k a year from it, but I have to pay in-state tuition Texas Law doesnt allow state schools to do tuition waivers Edit: I may be wrong about this. So it comes in out to 22k a year.My advisor asked if I was saving, and suggested that I only save enough for about two months of income, and take student loans to pay my tuition. The reason being: the value of this money now is significantly higher to me than it will be to future me because my field is well compensated and secure. If I find myself spending less, then I can reduce taking loans after building up a sizable savings account.A Ph.D. is a marathon, and the most predictive factor for completion is resilience, assuming youve already been accepted. Additional stressors make the task that much more challenging, and taking loans and not going overboard on denying yourself can paradoxically make the process cheaper by freeing more time you can spend on research, thus allowing you to finish earlier.Of course, if you are in the humanities or and underpaying Ph.D., best of luck to you. I liked the idea of studying philosophy, but it isnt where my talent lies and I dont believe I could handle the impending financial stress. Also, I have a roommate because A it is so much cheaper, and B grad school can be very isolating. I tried the roommate-less life; it wasnt nearly as good as I dreamed it was. The solution for me was to get a roommate in a much bigger place so that I saved money, still had the interpersonal contact outside of school, and had enough space to not feel cramped.Human: Im going into biomedical sciences with the goal of going into industry biotech or pharma. With a bachelors in bio, options are kind of limited to us without the advanced degree.Thanks for the tips! Like I said, Im considering roommates more after my first year and I get to know a few people, but I want to see if I might be able to budget it for the first year--I can also look into studios too.  <response>: I want to second what this guy is saying - currently getting my PhD in an engineering field, and making the choice to live comfortably rather than maxing out my IRA. The more stress you add by denying yourself small comforts, the less likely you are to actually finish the degree, and the amount of money youll make in 5 years will likely dwarf your grad income. The counter-argument of course is that it is NEVER a good idea to rely heavily on future income. But if you invest in yourself for now, because youll likely be putting your salary into the 6 figure range in a few years. Youve done good by keeping an emergency fund and avoiding debt, try not to worry too much about money. 