Goals
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: About Me, Saving, Shopping | Tags: Bills, Budget, Goals, Resolutions, Saving 2 Comments »I don’t normally make resolutions, but sometimes I set goals for myself and since the beginning of the year is probably the best time to do something like this my goal is to set up a budget and learn how to stick to it like an adult.
I started setting up my info using a finance program. It’s hard right now, because the program sees all my student loan money as my normal monthly income. I need to figure out a way to let it know this is bonus money. I also need to make myself understand that as well.
I’ve gotten a bunch of advice from friends that act like responsible adults. I’m really dreading having to save receipts and track every single thing I buy. But it’s something I need to do, especially if I ever want to actually pay back my student loans, or learn not to rely on the student loan money.
you can totally do this! income minus bills = what you can spend freely (after saving some). It’s a pain in the butt to figure it all out but once you do, you’re golden.
I know this sounds like I’m being a baby, but it’s the fluctuating income and expenses that throw me off. Right now I have a lot of extra income coming in from student loan money. I also have more random bills that I can’t plan for than the average person. As an example, sometimes my medical co-pays can be $200 or as low as $5. It’s kinda hard to plan for stuff like that, which I guess is where a nice “emergency savings” fund would come in handy
I’m going to start off the year, using just my normal paycheck as the “income” and noting out my normal expenses (mortgage, utilities, car payment and insurance), then I will estimate a budget for food, gasoline, and whatever other stuff people need to buy. Then I will see how much extra I have and allocate some to pay off debt, put into long term savings and discretionary savings.
Any other things I’m missing?