So I recently graduated college and have a great job I'm starting in a few weeks. My income is going from $20k/yr to $60k/yr.
I've basically been broke since...well forever. I'm desperately in need of a few big quality of life upgrades. My wardrobe is in tatters, I've been sleeping on the same lumpy futon mattress for years, furniture is falling apart, I've never owned a car, I need a bunch of dental work done, and the list goes on. I think I'm in a good situation in terms of budgeting. I'm living with roommates with minimal debt, and after basic expenses, saving for an emergency fund, and contributing to my retirement account up to the employer match, I'm looking at around $1200/mo excess.
My concern is that I'm going to get such a boost in my lifestyle that it's going to be hard to be frugal with that extra cash after I've made most of my big ticket purchases. I can easily see myself justifying more luxury items, or just being bummed once all the novelty of shiny new things wears off. I'd like to increase my savings and potentially buy a home in the future, but I'm worried about that extra money simply turning into recurring expenses.
Any suggestions on how to mentally prepare myself to avoid this?
Edit:
So many great responses here! Bottom line seems to be that it's all a matter of budgeting, so I'm definitely going to spend some time and plan the larger purchases out over the next few months. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!
Submitted January 11, 2019 at 02:45PM by ManosLives http://bit.ly/2D4gwcW
