I work a sales job that pays $11 per hour for forty seven hours per week plus a commission.
I have a used car bought from owner, so no monthly payments.
The image is a screen capture of a budget I came up with after living with my parents. Along with having to put away money for bills, I tracked how much I’d spend on food, toiletries, etc.
To explain a bit further:
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Housing isn’t high out here and I have my eyes on a 2 br apartment for $600 a month.
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For one frugal person living alone, I don’t imagine utilities being any higher than the average for one person living in a (nearly) studio apartment.
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I learned that if I bought the right kinds of food and avoided eating out, $150 was plenty. Oatmeal, eggs, rice, chicken in bulk, and canned vegetables. On first sight that might sound miserable, but I’m a damn good cook and I can pretty much make anything taste good, so I’ll be fine.
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Auto insurance is self-explanatory. It’s just liability. For full coverage I’d be paying almost $300 per month, which is just wrong.
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My phone bill is admittedly high. I have an iPhone and they’re expensive but I can’t deal with any other kind of phone.
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I tracked my gas back and forth from my commute. It cost me $30 to fill my tank, and my tank lasted about a week. I times’d $30 by four and then rounded up.
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I don’t use fancy skincare products, just a simple face wash, moisturizer, toothpaste, cologne. I usually buy this stuff every three months (except toothpaste obviously) and it lasts me that long.
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Gym is self-explanatory.
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The “business” cell is money I put toward my “music career.” Basically, I’m a singer/songwriter in the process of building a following for my music. I have taken business management classes and am using that knowledge to make some side money off streams and what not. I have time to do this in the morning before my shifts start and on weekends. Gear, recording, and advertising aren’t expensive if you’re smart, but they still cost.
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“Savings” is actually a credit builder account. So while I’m putting $25 away, I’m simultaneously building credit, although painfully slowly.
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Lastly spending money. I have it at $50, but given that my monthly pay is about 1,800, there’s gonna be more than that. But I’ve generally rounded up my expenses and rounded down my pocket money, to manage expectations and make sure I have some loose change to handle unexpected events like running out of toilet paper.
Submitted February 26, 2019 at 04:08AM by UpperRedSide https://ift.tt/2NrfwmM
