Goals
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: About Me, Saving, Shopping | Tags: Bills, Budget, Goals, Resolutions, Saving 2 CommentsI 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.
Carly's Blog 
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?