I was just having a casual conversation with my roommate and money came up. I told her I was trying out the Mint app (it’s a budget app for those who don’t know) and I told her my total spending. She was appalled because I’m known for being the frugal one and claimed she only spends half the amount I do and asked me what I was buying. I gave her the overview and she said it all made sense after that.
But now I’m obsessing over the whole thing. It just felt kind of rude I guess? But I also think she’s lying about her spending amount. She has credit card debt (not sure how much) and student loan debt (she doesn’t have to pay it back since she’s still in school but it’s probably around 75k, long story for why it’s so high), she buys fast food all the time, is obsessed with and regularly buys kpop related stuff, has medical problems which cost money, and just bought some clothes and also ordered the TikTok hula hoop. I really don’t buy anything crazy so I don’t know how she could be spending half of what I do.
But now I’m overthinking everything. My anxiety is really getting to me on this and I’m worried now that maybe I am bad with money or something. The logical part of me knows I’m doing okay but my anxiety is telling me next month I need to live on 1 meal a day that’s just ramen.
I’m going to list out my savings and typical monthly expenses below and I’d love some reassurance (or polite honesty if I am doing things wrong!) also I am 24 and a teacher!
Emergency Savings/in case I get unemployed: $10k
Roth IRA: Roughly $9k
Other investment account: Roughly $24k
Monthly income: $2925
Rent: $300 (I’m in a super lucky situation, will go up to $600 in August)
Utilities: Roughly $90
Car Insurance: $80
Phone Bill: $40
Mental Health Services (cerebral): $105
Charity: $336. Okay, I know how insane this sounds to most people. It’s partially a religious thing (biblical stuff around giving 10% of your income) but also it is to help others and it also keeps me in touch with not giving into feelings of anxiety around spending and prevents me from going full blown Mr. Krabs because I’m definitely inclined that way naturally and stress a lot when I spend money haha.
Food: Roughly $225 groceries and eating out
Gas: Roughly $175. My job is a bit of a commute so I have to refill weekly and it’s about $50 (we love rising gas prices!)
Streaming Services: $20
Health Insurance: $0 (yay for still being on parents insurance!)
Gym: $0 (following a YouTube Pilates program at home is free!)
Anything Else: Roughly $150. There’s always some sort of random need that doesn’t happen every month - buying gifts, hair appointment, replacing makeup when I run out, new outfit for a special occasion like a wedding, etc. Sometimes I spend nothing, sometimes (like in December) it could be $300.
Whatever is left goes into my investment accounts -$100 in the Roth IRA (I’ll get a good retirement pension through PERA but I plan on maxing out contributions in the Roth by 30 when I save up for the future major wants with my other account) and the rest into the other account. The other account is what I will use to put a down payment on a house someday/replace my car in a few years/get a masters degree (but I’m hoping my school district will also help out.)
So on average, I am spending around $1500 a month.
Look, I know I’m an adult who can make my own choices regardless of what my roommate says or what this sub thinks but I’m stressing about this and needed to get this written down and out of my system to calm down. Thoughts anyone?
March 31, 2022 at 10:52PM
