Budget Critique

[auron]

Just looking for advice on biggest areas for improvement in your opinions? I have been using my surplus (including a bonus in Feb) to pay extra above what is listed for my SLs.

Total Income 3,804
Total Expenses 3,529

EF @ $7600
SL Balance @ $34,090 @ 6.8% (started at $46,200 in Dec )
No car loan
25 years old & single
Roth IRA ~$293 (Amount to receive maximum company match)

Salary (After tax/IRA/insurance) 3,250
Parents (Goes to student loan pmt) 554


Rent 799
Garbage 52
Electricity Bill 90
Comcast (TV/internet/Landline) 123
Groceries 250
Dog Expenses 75
Car Insurance 85
Student Loan (parent contrib.) 532
Student Loan (my contrib.) 605
Eating Out 150
Netflix 8
Dog Daycare 370
Cellphone 40
Gas (at the highest) 150
Discretionary 200

[elessar78]

What is "dog daycare" and why is it necessary? Not criticizing, just never heard of it before. Most people I know just leave the dog at home solo.

Could you survive on Netflix for most of your entertainment? You're probably under contract with Comcast anyway.

[NuggetBrain]

123 isn't too bad for cable, internet & landline, but I agree that almost 400 a month for doggy daycare is ridiculous.

[jpg7n16]

From what you listed, here are your largest expenses:

SLs: 1137 (high)
Rent: 799 (reasonable)
Food: 400 (reasonable to moderately high)
Doggy Daycare: 370 (high)
Discretionary: 200 (moderate to high)

Why are the SLs costing so much each month? Is that the required payment, or your voluntary payment?

IMO the path forward is pretty clear - work on SLs, reconsider the Dog Daycare, and reduce discretionary expenses and food expense.


For your assets, EF is a bit low at 2 months, but as you're accelerating payments on your SLs, I like it there. I'd build that up after you've paid off the higher rate loans.

[KiwiJo09]

Just looking for advice on biggest areas for improvement in your opinions? I have been using my surplus (including a bonus in Feb) to pay extra above what is listed for my SLs.

Total Income 3,804
Total Expenses 3,529

EF @ $7600
SL Balance @ $34,090 @ 6.8% (started at $46,200 in Dec )
No car loan
25 years old & single
Roth IRA ~$293 (Amount to receive maximum company match)

Salary (After tax/IRA/insurance) 3,250
Parents (Goes to student loan pmt) 554


Rent 799
Garbage 52
Electricity Bill 90
Comcast (TV/internet/Landline) 123
Groceries 250
Dog Expenses 75
Car Insurance 85
Student Loan (parent contrib.) 532
Student Loan (my contrib.) 605
Eating Out 150
Netflix 8
Dog Daycare 370
Cellphone 40
Gas (at the highest) 150
Discretionary 200

The dog can stay home by itself, IMO. You could get rid of Comcast. I use hulu every month and just live off that. And you don't really need a landline if you're using a cellphone. Discretionary can definitely be brought down. Eating out doesn't need $150/month. How much are you eating out? Hubby and I eat out once a week and we spend $160 a month on two people. Everything else seems pretty standard.

[auron]

The dog daycare is due to the fact I can't leave my dog at my apartment alone without crating her all day while I'm at work. It's a luxery, but one I want to pay.

My student loan payment is as high because my parents pay the minimum (532/mo) and I don't want to have that debt for the next 10 years for my parents sake and my own so I pay 532/mo also. The extra over those two pmts is due to a recent small raise I received. My goal is to retire this debt within the next 2 years.

I will have to get disciplined on the food budget and discretionary spending. I had been doing better, but the real account numbers in recent months don't lie .

Thanks for the input