help me create a simple budget

[zixxer]

What I want to do, is add up my monthly expenses and figure out the best way to start some savings.


I was thinking about like $50 a week transferred into my ING savings account.

I make $400ish a week (after taxes)
so, $1600/month

bills are:
rent $400
elec $65
h20 $45
cabl $70
gas $40

totals bills: $620 (not including food)

That leaves me with $250 a week. So, $150 a week for food sound reasonable?
That leaves $100 a week...


I'm thinking put $50 a week into savings, and having $50 entertainment. (movies, etc)



All that look correct to anyone/everyone else?

 

[yobarman]

damn i've been so broke the past few months i've managed to live off of about 50 bucks a week for food.

 

[CPA]

10% of your gross monthly wages set aside into a savings/investment account is a good start and should be your first priority - pay yourself first. Then what is left should be divided amongst your bills. By the looks of it, you can easily pull it off.

BTW, I spend $130/week on groceries and that's for a family of 6. You should be able to easily afford a lot less in food costs.

 

[Ness]

We need more info.

Do you have a dependable car? Do you plan on moving any time soon? How old are you? Etc... etc.. anything that could affect your current financial situation.

Are you single, living independently? If so, if you need 150 a week for food, perhaps you should consider taking $50 of that for a nutritionist instead. Cut out junk food, fast food and single serving microwave meals and you will save a buttload of money.

Aside from that, ending up with only 2600 in the bank at the end of a year when you are making 400/ week seems a little crap. I would be more likely to go 25 for entertainment and 75 in the bank.. but if you deal with the food thing better, that could be AT LEAST 50 for ent. and 100 in the bank, which is WAAYY better than the original 50/50.

 

[TheGameIs21]

$150 a week for food is high unless you don't cook. If you can cook, you should look at not eating out so much.

In regards to the $50 a week into the ING Savings Account. You might want to look at a no load mutual fund and/or a ROTH IRA.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: ness1469
We need more info.

Do you have a dependable car? Do you plan on moving any time soon? How old are you? Etc... etc.. anything that could affect your current financial situation.

Are you single, living independently? If so, if you need 150 a week for food, perhaps you should consider taking $50 of that for a nutritionist instead. Cut out junk food, fast food and single serving microwave meals and you will save a buttload of money.

Aside from that, ending up with only 2600 in the bank at the end of a year when you are making 400/ week seems a little crap. I would be more likely to go 25 for entertainment and 75 in the bank.. but if you deal with the food thing better, that could be AT LEAST 50 for ent. and 100 in the bank, which is WAAYY better than the original 50/50.

I'm 19, (not married, but have a g/f who isn't a $$$ consuming whore like the last one) Starting school this fall,

I have a dependable car; and am very capable of fixing just about anything that might go wrong w/ it.



I eat out just about every meal. I'm working on eating at home more often. I'm renting a house with a roommate, and I don't expect my rent changing.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: se7enty7

I eat out just about every meal.

There's your biggest obstacle to saving right there.

 

[TheGameIs21]

Knowing that you are 19 and actually thinking about a "savings" account is great. Trust me in saying that if you start a Retirement account now with $50 a month and gradually build up the amount you put in... You will be VERY HAPPY come retirement. Compounding interest is something I wish I cared to understand about 15 years ago.

 

[Ausm]

Sunday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills
Monday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills
Tuesday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills
Wednsday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills
Thursday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills
Friday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills
Saturday- Have fun or pay bills?------>Pay Bills




On a more serious side, You are doing well for your age because your debt load is realtively low...which is good for saving

If I were you I would Put money away in a savings account i.e. Ingdirect and also if you have a Simple IRA or a 401 where you work contribute to that because you can deduct it up I believe 4500/year.


Sysadmin

 

[Garet Jax]

Something else to consider is that with your proposed budget, you are really spending $120 on entertainment since you have a $70 item for cable.

You also haven't mentioned insurance (life, car, rental, etc...).
You also haven't mentioned medical costs (co-pays, prescriptions, etc...)

Someone above mentioned car repairs. The best way to handle this is to figure how much you spend over a year, divide by 12 and include this in your monthly budget.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: se7enty7

Originally posted by: ness1469
We need more info.

Do you have a dependable car? Do you plan on moving any time soon? How old are you? Etc... etc.. anything that could affect your current financial situation.

Are you single, living independently? If so, if you need 150 a week for food, perhaps you should consider taking $50 of that for a nutritionist instead. Cut out junk food, fast food and single serving microwave meals and you will save a buttload of money.

Aside from that, ending up with only 2600 in the bank at the end of a year when you are making 400/ week seems a little crap. I would be more likely to go 25 for entertainment and 75 in the bank.. but if you deal with the food thing better, that could be AT LEAST 50 for ent. and 100 in the bank, which is WAAYY better than the original 50/50.

I'm 19, (not married, but have a g/f who isn't a $$$ consuming whore like the last one) Starting school this fall,

I have a dependable car; and am very capable of fixing just about anything that might go wrong w/ it.



I eat out just about every meal. I'm working on eating at home more often. I'm renting a house with a roommate, and I don't expect my rent changing.

You said you are starting school this fall... that is your biggest indication that you need to cut down on EVERYTHING POSSIBLE and jam all sorts of money into a savings account. A couple thousand would be a good start IMO. Books can do anywhere from $100-$500 damage each quarter. Selling them back usually only gets a return of 25-50%... if you are lucky. Then you have to prepare for all the surprises like a portion of your tuition being paid up front, parking passes... etc.


The best, yet hardest way to save money... is to show some control. I tackle this by depositing 100% of my paychecks into my savings account. If the need comes up that I need money fast, I go to the bank, transfer the EXACT amount I need to my checking account and work from there. It's a hassle going to my bank, so this really helps in doing something dumb like going to get money to rent a movie. Once a month I deposit my paycheck into my checking account (usually my first of the month). This is to cover the months expenses and whatever is left is mine to play with. This isn't exactly "proper" budgeting, but it works, and in one month my savings account jumped from $70 (after paying tuition out of pocket for two terms straight) to $2200. All my bills were paid in full, I had enough money for gas for the month and I still managed to go out and have fun. I funded my new computer parts purchases by selling stuff I had sitting around before I bought anything. Managed to clean my room up in the process

 

[Bryophyte]

$150 per week is unreasonably high for food. See what you can do to work on that, and you'll be able to at least double what you put into savings.

 

[minendo]

$150/week for food? Damn. The woman and I spend $150 per month on food.