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I started my 401k contributions back this month. I contribute 5% to get the maximum match. The Bank matches 100% up to 5% of my salary. I don't want to give away free money anymore so it just means I have to tighten my spending belt more. Since the beginning of the year, my take-home has gone from $5,700 to $5,000 with the roll back of tax cuts, change in pay frequency from once a month to bi-weekly and now my 401k contributions. Huge adjustments and changes.
4 comments:
This is a good document. You have some positives here: low housing costs relative to your income, good detail, and $2,000 going toward your loans.
One question: if you stick to the loan payoff amounts listed, will you pay off your debt in 5 years?
Comments: I would like to see more detail from your Personal ($400!!) and misc. ($200) line items. What goes into that? $600 is a lot of money - if you break out groceries and other necessities, it might be easier to see where you can cut costs. There are tons of personal finance blogs out there with ideas on how to be frugal in different categories.
I still think you can cut cable to broadcast only and watch a lot of things on Netflix and Hulu.
Finally, I think you need to be realistic about your car and start a fund to replace it, so that if/when it dies it doesn't bust your budget. You should be able to get a decent one for $3-5k. Don't worry about getting a new one, but start saving now.
Scooze
@ Scooze - I hope the next post will answer some of your questions. I refinanced by mortgage in March. The personal category is any necessity such as groceries, personal care items, etc. Miscellaneous is a work function, business function, car maintenance, etc. I will provide detail daily and weekly.
Good - you're thinking about these things. Your budget is tight, given the amount of debt you have. But you are still young (really!) and once you have the debt paid off, think of all the guilt-free fun you will have spending and saving that extra $2k+ every month! That is the prize you are going for - getting out from under this debt so that you can feel financially stable and have the ability to make choices that give you pleasure.
@ Scooze - Absolutely! Since my boyfriend is actually debt free, I can see how much better life is with that freedom. I want it for myself.
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