My Monthly Budget
Here's a breakdown of my typical monthly budget. You'll notice that it contains relatively few line items (Home, Food, Fun, Investment, and Income). This is the system I've been using for the past five years (since my sophomore year of college) and it's the system that works for me. While the categories rarely change, the amounts have varied drastically with lifestyle.
Home/Bills:$50
This category includes anything from toiletries and personal care items to rent, utilities, and copays. Due to some serious networking and good fortune, I have been able to live rent and utility free for the past four months (more on that later), keeping my expenses unfathomably low. When I was paying for rent, gas, electric, waster, and wifi like a normal person, this was my largest expense.
Food: $200
This category is pretty self explanatory. Depending on how lazy I am about going to the grocery store and cooking, the split between eating out and eating in shifts somewhat erratically, but I always stay around the $200 mark. I save on food costs by cooking as much fresh (not prepackaged or prepared food) as possible, limiting eating out to when I am with friends or family (I see it as a social event), and keeping a running tally in a Google doc on my phone. I actually keep the entire budget in the same Google doc, but this is the category that seems to need the most monitoring.
Fun: $100
This is by far the least consistent category. I lump everything from concerts, to new clothes, to cover charges at dance venues into this category. In a typical month, I'll spend closer to $60 going out social dancing, taking the occasional Uber, or picking up snacks for a gathering with friends. Notice all of these things fall under what I consider to be experiences, not things. The reason my expenses are so low is that I truly believe I have everything I need to live. Occasionally I will find some things that I want, but I buy those things thoughtfully and sparingly. I know this category is variable so I don't sweat it when I am considering spending a little more on a concert/event/date night. In that case, I evaluate the item or experience I'd like to purchase independently of the budget. If my favorite band comes through town and tickets are $29 (spoiler alert: this happened), I'm going no matter what I've already spent from my fun budget so far.
Investment: $100
Every month I contribute $100 to a friend from college who works for a nonprofit and raises his entire income plus fees. He is hands down one of the more caring and compassionate men I have ever met and I will likely support him until the day I die. One day I might expand this category to include random acts of kindness or other planned charitable giving.
Income: $400- $4,000
Income includes every single dollar that comes in. Most of it is from nannying, but some comes from selling old clothes or furniture I don't use, cashback rewards on my credit cards, gifts, etc. Ever since I left the corporate world and started nannying, I have seen my income fluctuate drastically. Some months, such as this one, when I am at home in New Jersey preparing for my travels and starting a ridiculously lucrative blog (lol), I'll make as little as $400. Others, I'll work 40 hours a week, my lease will end, and I'll sell all the furniture in my apartment for a grand total of $4,000. This category will all but disappear when I embark on my open-ended journey through Europe. Luckily I've been saving up for a long time.
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