Opening Up The Books
Last Fall I came to the realization that I've been extremely irresponsible for the past 3 years or so that I've been working. Saving was never a priority. I would basically put money in my savings account whenever I felt like it, which was infrequent, and I never maintained any discipline so that I would easily spend whatever was in my savings whenever I felt I needed to.
That's a pretty long time to realize the value of saving, but I guess better late than never because I finally decided that the path I was on was no good. The first thing I did was break down all my monthly fixed expenses:
Breakfast - $80 (Based on a 4 week work month at $4 a meal)
Lunch - $180 (Same as above @ $9 a meal)
Metrocard - $89
Car Insurance - $145
Jiu-jitsu - $239
Phone Bill - $110 (Family plan)
School loans - $185
Rent - $400
Website domain - $15
End of month Dinner - $70 (Rough estimate of a dinner I have every month with a set group of guys)
This comes out to $1513. Is this a lot in terms of fixed costs? I'm curious how this compares with other people's fixed costs. At first I tried to cut down on the meals at work but I soon realized that I was not saving that much money by bringing my own lunch. Plus, the preparation time was just too much of a chore and I did not enjoy my meals as much. I ended up reverting back to buying my meals, but I now try to keep my breakfast and lunch budget as low as possible.
I put aside $1000 towards my savings every month. This leaves me with roughly $700 in spending cash. I'm not sure how other people feel, but being restricted to that amount has been pretty rough for me. Things come up here and there and I feel like I can't help but spend.
I am always aware of how much I have to spend though. I don't meticulously keep track of my expenditures like some of my friends do because it's too tedious for me. I'd rather work off of net income less fixed costs and savings and take it from there.
For the past year I've been working as a temporary consultant. I'm paid on an hourly basis, at a wage of $22/hr plus overtime. If I estimate my average weekly overtime to be 9 hours and being paid time and a half, that comes out to $61204 a year. I take home roughly $780 a week after taxes. I've never really put much thought into it, but that 34-35% chunk that Uncle Sam takes from my paycheck really fucking hurts.
Being an hourly employee is harsh because there are no benefits, plus you can't take days off and get paid for it. I have something in the works though, and if that pans out I should be in a better position very soon.
Typically, I am not comfortable talking about my salary unless there is proper context to it. If I make more than you, this is not meant as an act of flaunting.If I make less than you, teach me how I can make more! I have all this stuff in a spreadsheet I keep, but I felt like publicizing my expenditures, goals and earnings would force me to become even more focused on my savings goals. I make more than some people and less than some people.
I was inspired by my friend's blog over at Personal Finance Ninja. Check it out if you have a chance because there's some good stuff in there.
I have some more thoughts, but I'll post more when I have time . . .
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January 24th, 2010 - 13:04
“At first I tried to cut down on the meals at work but I soon realized that I was not saving that much money by bringing my own lunch. Plus, the preparation time was just too much of a chore and I did not enjoy my meals as much. I ended up reverting back to buying my meals, but I now try to keep my breakfast and lunch budget as low as possible.”
That’s a really good point. I think a lot of people don’t value their time and think of everything in dollars and cents. If you can save $10 every day by bringing your own lunch, but it tastes terrible and takes you 30 minutes to prepare every morning, is it worth it?
For me, no way.
By the way, it’s the one year anniversary of your blog. Haha. Keep it up, man.
January 25th, 2010 - 09:09
Eating out and drinking are two of the most expensive things people do in my opinion. It’s not like buying something where you can at least use it for an extended period of time, return it if you change your mind, or resell it. You eat – and whether you enjoyed it or not, poop it out regardless…no residual value. Lol.
As for bringing your own lunch – maybe try making an extra portion when you make dinner every night and have the leftovers for lunch? It would only take an additional 5 mins to pack. ^^
January 25th, 2010 - 12:42
My fixed are just as high, and all these one-time expenses alwayscome up — car insurance, taking parents out to eat, Valentine’s day, family birthday…It’s impossible to spend under $2000/month. Impossible!
January 25th, 2010 - 13:21
To be able to spend under 2k with fixed costs is pretty hard. For me, that would mean spending $500 on variable costs (dinners, drinks, whatever expenditures that are not included in my fixed).
That means my weekly budget for personal spending is $125. This is somewhat manageable because I”m single (let’s face it, having a gf requires maintenance & upkeep costs), but still extremely difficult. More realistically, I spend about $600 to $700 a month on non-fixed costs expenditures.