Baby's First Budget

[samster]

Who's up for helping a 356 month old baby figure out how to manage her money?

I'm trying to put together my first real budget and having a little bit of trouble figuring out where my money should go. My biggest problem is that I know I want to ditch my current job in 2015, but I'm not sure what I want to do next. Stay in the same field? Take a couple of months off to travel before finding a new job? Move somewhere interesting and hope for the best? No idea at this point.

First draft:
Gross income - $59,000 a year
Deductions from paycheck: 5% for retirement to get match; health/vision/dental; $916 to HSA (only for 3 months; will be using it to pay for a dental procedure); transportation pass

Monthly (net) - $2500

Rent - $960
Student Loan - $150 (balance is about $14,000 at 5.25% interest)
Groceries - $200
Gas/Electricity - $125 (that's for the winter months; at other times it's about 75)
Fios Internet - $85
Household - $50 (toiletries, paper goods, cleaning supplies, etc.)
Cats - $50 (food, litter)
Fun Money - $50
Cell - $30 (prepaid plan)
Laundry - $20
Netflix - $16
Spotify - $10

That leaves about $750/month for Jan. - Mar. After March I'll have maxed out my portion of the HSA so I'll have more money in my paycheck. According to Paycheck City, I'll have something like $1250/month after paying the expenses listed above. So, $13,500 un-budgeted so far for the year. Assuming my math's correct.

Current plan for the "leftover" money:
- $5500 to a Roth IRA
- $3500 to pay for the following throughout the year: clothes, pet wellness, renter's ins., annual water/trash bill, Amazon prime membership, gifts, etc.
- $4500 to savings

The $3500 for costs throughout the year is actually about $1,000 higher than I'll likely need, but I'd rather overestimate in case I'm forgetting any expenses.

I'd like to have about $15,000 in savings by the time I'm ready to skedaddle in 2015. I'd really like even more than that, but I want to contribute to retirement. I'm 29 and only have $30,000 in a 403b so far. Hence, the Roth contributions.

If you've read this far and have any thoughts, I'd be glad to hear them! I know it would be helpful to have a plan for what happens in 2015, but I don't. So help me hedge my bets.

Thanks!

[snafu]

Your post leaves me puzzled. I accept your desire to ditch current employment but you need to examine how your skill sets fit other career choices. Start now polishing your resume for jobs you see on LinkedIn or similar valid e-sites.

It's crucial to continue retirement deduction for employer match, it's free money! If you were to accelerate student loan pay-off you would be giving yourself a guaranteed 5.25%. Have you considered working while traveling? Your work may be transferable or you may need to wait tables or take menial jobs but you'll get an insiders view of other countries. Get a TOEFEL certificate and teach English in Thailand for example.

If you want to move to another state, start researching to see what job shortfalls exists in your preferred locations. Start upgrading credentials to gain entry level requirements. If you have no career aspirations try a few of those free, on-line career tests for ideas. It truly feels wonderful to go to work each day with a smile to work you genuinely enjoy.

[samster]

Thanks for replying, snafu!

Definitely working on the "what's next" piece as far as work goes. My dream job is the foreign service. The acceptance rate is low, though, so I need to come up with other options for if 2015 comes along and I've gone through the Foreign Service application process multiple times and haven't gotten in.

I paid off several thousand dollars on my student loan last year. I'm sticking with the minimum payment for now because I have no savings. If I get into the Foreign Service or find some other great opportunity before 2015, I want to be able to move without adding too much more debt. And if I don't have to use my savings to pursue the new opportunity, then I'll use it to pay down/off the student loan. It seems like paying it off now means I can't be as flexible.

Yes, I've definitely considered working while traveling! I'm looking into teaching English and working holiday visas that allow you to work for up to a year while visiting the country so long as you're within a certain age range. I'm at the upper end of that limit, but New Zealand goes up to 35 so there's one option for 2015.