<prompt> Human: Recent college grad here whos starting a new job next week. Im subletting an apartment for the summer from a friend got a great deal for an amazing place, but now Im looking for an apartment to lease starting in August. I work outside Atlanta in a city called Alpharetta, so there are a ton of options in the area, both in terms of price and in terms of location.Ive been fortunate in that my parents have covered my rent while Im in college, but this has now left me in a position where Im a little unsure of what I should be paying for rent. My plan was to live frugally over the next few years so that I could quickly pay off a 26,000 loan I owe my parents for my last year of college. I made this plan with the understanding that it would likely necessitate a drop in living standard from what Ive had while my parents were supporting me.I was aiming to spend about 600 a month on rent 100 a month on utilities. Here is my full budget I made what I thought were conservative estimates, so some of the categories may be a little high:Income 2300 monthly after-taxExpenses 600 Rent 100 Utilities 200 Groceries 50 Restaurants 200 Auto Insurance 20 Highway Toll 200 Gas 215 Loan Payment 50 Entertainment 30 Haircut 25 Miscellaneous 8 Hulu PlusLeft Over 602Basically my plan was to take that extra 602 a month an throw it at my loan so that I could be done with it as soon as possible. I talked to my parents today though, and they said that I shouldnt constrict myself too much - that if I was able to find a better apartment in a better location I should consider spending an extra hundred or two a month; that I shouldnt kill myself to be too frugal. Keep in mind that my parents are the epitome of frugal - they have literally no debt, pay cash for their cars, coupon, etc.Now I will admit that there is a big difference between a 600 a month apartment in Atlanta and an 800 a month apartment. For 800 I could live in a gated community with a pool and tennis courts in a good location like the Virginia Highlands or Buckhead. For 600 a month Im going to have to look for something less fancy, in a less desirable and potentially less safe location.I was willing to make a little bit of a sacrifice in terms of my living accommodations in order to get my financial house in order, but now my parents have thrown me for a loop. What should I do?Assistant: If you spend more than 30 or about a third of your income on your rent and utilities you are what is called house poor. You should educate your parents on the topic. Based on your income then, you have about 766 a month to spend so you are doing it right. You also may be unlikely to be able to pay off the loan you are talking about in only 2 years, but you can certainly try. Human: At my current salary level I admit that it will require a lot of frugality on my part to pay off the loan in a 2 - 3 year time frame, but Im still going to try my best at it. Even if I fall a little short then at least I will have made a substantial dent on it.I agree with what youre saying in terms of being house poor, but I dont think my parents need a lesson - they live in a completely paid off house that was substantially less than what they could afford. Perhaps theyre giving me bad advice, but I think their heart is in the right place. I think they just dont want me to end up in a sketchy unsafe living situation, and in their eyes if things started going bad for me financially they could just step in and pay my rent.Assistant: they just dont want me to end up in a sketchy unsafe living situationIf you can afford to not live in a sketchyunsafe living situation - and there are a number of those in your city - then dont do so. My parents and I have both offered to subsidize my sister to ensure she doesnt ever need to do this thankfully, it turns out she wont have to, for other reasons.My advice a moment ago assumed that the less expensive place wasnt sketchy or otherwise unsafe.Human: There certainly are a fair amount of rough areas in Atlanta, and Im always amazed at how short a distance it sometimes takes for a really nice area to turn into a really bad one. To be fair though, Im fairly confident I could find a place in a safe area for about 600 a month - itd just be far out in the suburbs.  <response>: Careful with being penny wise and pound foolish then: if youre far out in the suburbs, your transportation costs to get to workentertainment may outweigh the savings in rent. 