My First Budget, please review

[BMEPhDinCO]

Regarding cooking: the best way is to just try it. Start simple - cut up veggies, throw them in a pan with some oil and spices. Then add another pan with more oil and put in some sliced up tofu and add spices. When they are all good (try a bit), then mix and eat. Rice is really simple if you follow the directions exactly - they should be on the bag of rice (ie, my rice is 1 cup rice + 1.5 cups water, put together in a pot, then put on heat and bring to simmer (ie just starting to bubble), turn to low and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes more. Then take off the lid, fluff, eat). There are TONS of blogs and recipes online to check out.

As a vegetarian, you should be able to eat well on $30 a week or $120-150 a month. Even in a high cost of living area. Get things on sale, freeze what you can't use (read up on how to freeze stuff - some veggies need to be steamed first), find basic recipes you like.

[sagremus]

Thanks for the tips. Some of my favorite pre-packaged foods are stir fry dishes that I think would be easy to replicate. When people think of vegetarians they think of tofu. Thankfully I enjoy tofu, but not all vegans or vegetarians do. Fried tofu, rice, broccoli, and bean sprouts sounds good right about now. Sometimes when I tried to cook it just doesn't come out right. I think we need to invest in a few quality pots and pans.

Also, I am not good at freezing foods either.

[sagremus]

I am just having a hard time believing I could live on $30 a week for groceries. Could someone give an example For example --

Apples might be $1.50/lb -- that means 4 apples could be $3 (my favorite food is an expensive type of apple that costs $4 a lb )
Bread -- 1 loaf for .99
Lentils -- Big bag for $3.99
Yogurts -- 0.99 ea/ so 6 for about $6 (have to buy a special type without gelatin)
Bananas -- $5 for about $1.50
Rice -- $3 for a big bag
Broccoli -- couple bucks here
Tofu -- $5
Noodles


etc etc etc. I am not a big eater. Rice cereal for breakfast, some type of stir-fry dish for lunch with a piece of fruit and/or yogurt, and usually share something with fiance for dinner such as noodles, vegetarian chili, potatos, etc (he adds his own meat).

[JBL]

Buy yogurt in quarts and break into a jar to carry to work.

At any rate, you should be able to lower your grocery bill by quite a lot if you do take some time to learn to cook. Simple dishes are really not difficult and cooking a good meal from scratch can be very satisfying! You can also cook in quantity on a day off and eat for several days. You can buy a lot of very ripe "reduced for quick sale" veggies and cook up a big soup, fridge some, freeze some, and have lots of meals off it. You can bake bread at home quite easily with flour, yeast, salt, a pinch of sugar, and some butter to grease the pan. Go on youtube and look at videos, should give you a good idea of what is involved. You should not need anything more than a decent knife, a measuring cup, a medium saucepan with lid, and a frying pan; at least to start. If you take a liking to cooking, you can add specialized/higher quality items later.

Your budget looks pretty good. Don't forget about cat litter, clothes (I never think about clothes, but they DO wear out and need replacement from time to time).

Good luck! Definitely try cooking. It won't come out perfectly at first but you'll get the hang of it. Cooking vegetables in some olive oil with some garlic is always good.

[sagremus]

Thanks! I just wanted to update! I have been able to reduce my grocery budget to $40-50 a week. This is saving me anywhere from $100-$150 a month. My fiance and I have been eating out less as well.

My fiance buys the cat litter, and I purchase their food. We "share" one cat, and the other cat is mine, so I think this arrangement is okay for now.

I did splurge on clothes recently, breaking last month's budget. This month's budget was broken by a trip to a bar that ended up costing huge amounts because I started a tab and my fiance went a bit crazy. Won't be doing that again! Next time I'm leaving the credit card at home!

[sagremus]

My NEW and improved budget!

GENERAL SAVINGS
$2,000

INCOME
Work - $2,800

EXPENSES:
HOUSING
Rent - $384.50
Renter's Insurance - $16.00

UTILITIES
Electric/Internet - $55.00 (rotated with my fiance)
Cell - $30.00 (family plan w/my parents, dumb phone)

CAR
Gas - $55.00 (hardly drive, work 8 minutes from home)
Parking - $21.80 (work parking lot)
Insurance - $85 (I was in an at-fault accident)

FOOD
Groceries - $200
Dining Out - $60

HEALTH
Medical/Dental - $0 (out of my paycheck)
Perscriptions - $22
Hygiene/Quarters for Laundry - $60

PETS
Cat Food - $60 (one cat on special diet)
Cat Meds - $18

ENTERTAINMENT
Fun Money - $50
Subscription - $6

SAVINGS FUNDS
Car Repairs - $50 (total now $75)
New Car - $100 (total now $150)
Medical/Dental - $50 (total now $75) (used for copays/deductibles)
Gifts - $50 (total now $75)
Cat's Vet Fund - $50 (total now $75)

DEBTS:
Private Loan payment: $400 (actual payments, they grouped my SL 1-3 together and put SL 4 seperate?)
Federal Loans payment: $300



TOTAL BILLS: $1955.80
NET: +844.20 (put $200/month into savings, rest towards loans)

[isaac]

Nice progress! What did you find out about your employers 401k, if they match your contribution or not? Free money is free money

[sagremus]

I don't know if they match or not (stupidly forgot to ask), but I started my 401k at 3%. I paid off my SL currently in repayment (approximately 4k), and I am almost done with the process to consolidate my federal student loans, reducing the payment to $150 a month.

So far so good!