Starting a new job soon and need help with my monthly plans

[AquamanDoesNotSuck]

Hi peoples, this is my first post on this forum and i will TRY to keep it short and sweet.

I'm starting a new career soon and i have found an apartment for $771 (this includes water and cable). This seemed a little expensive for me but, since the apartment is 2 minutes from work i felt that it was worth it to save on the life of my car and on the cost of gas.

I make ~$2000 every two weeks and roughly ~$2650/month of take home pay (could be more if i get overtime) and this is my money plan as of right now:

-$1000 in a savings account my goal here is to have $15k by the beginning of August 2014 which is when i plan to attend graduate school part-time. This makes it so i can't go out and buy all the nice things i want right away but, my gut is telling me this is the right thing to do.

-$771 for rent

-Not sure what power and internet will be but, i can control these I will guess ~$80?

-I'm guesstimating ~$125 for food and ~$50 for gas

-$325 on student loans (I don't have to send this much but, i plan on finishing them by the time August 2014 rolls around)

This leaves me with ~$270 left a month for general savings and stuff like movies, eating out every once in a while, etc.

I realize that is not a lot of extra "play" money but, i really feel that saving $1000/month will set me up for the future.

What do you guys think? Can you give me advice or maybe tell me some more realistic numbers for things like food, gas, power, and internet? If it helps at all i am going to be living very close to charlotte NC.

[Goldy]

Do you plan to take out student loans for grad school or just pay your way through it? Also, what is the rate on your current student loan?

Your food estimate seems low to me, I would budget more and if you spend less then good for you, that can go towards your fun money. I'd say 200-250 is more reasonable for a relativly healthy diet.

One problem with bare bones budgets is that they set you up for faliure because there isn't much wiggle room to account for the larger or unexpected items. Now, since you are putting the rest of the left over cash into a EF you will be able to weather the storm but dont count on the full 15k being there in August becasuse things will crop up.

I'd also factor in car insurance and renters insurance into your budget. It might also be good to start thinking about a retirement account like a 401k if your new employeer offers it.

I would highly recommend signing up for mint.com (its free). This program will calculate your historic spending averages so you can budget accordingly. It will also help you budget going forward and takes zero effort except to set it up.

[AquamanDoesNotSuck]

Do you plan to take out student loans for grad school or just pay your way through it? Also, what is the rate on your current student loan?

Your food estimate seems low to me, I would budget more and if you spend less then good for you, that can go towards your fun money. I'd say 200-250 is more reasonable for a relativly healthy diet.

One problem with bare bones budgets is that they set you up for faliure because there isn't much wiggle room to account for the larger or unexpected items. Now, since you are putting the rest of the left over cash into a EF you will be able to weather the storm but dont count on the full 15k being there in August becasuse things will crop up.

I'd also factor in car insurance and renters insurance into your budget. It might also be good to start thinking about a retirement account like a 401k if your new employeer offers it.

I would highly recommend signing up for mint.com (its free). This program will calculate your historic spending averages so you can budget accordingly. It will also help you budget going forward and takes zero effort except to set it up.

Thanks for your reply Goldy. I will be able to go to graduate school for free thanks to my company paying for it. I have paid my car insurance and renters insurance in full for the entire year. And i have already factored 401k, vision, dental, and HSA ACcount contribution into my numbers in my first post.

To be honest your post just made me feel a hell of a lot better because it makes me feel like i have covered all of my bases.

Thanks for that!

[Esozh]

Food budget seems low. It's possible with coupons, etc., but seems low in general.

You said your work pays for Grad School. I would look into that and talk to your benefits coordinator. I'm not saying you're wrong, but make damn certain you're right. It would suck to get to August 14 and find out they reimburse and not have the funds to pay up front.

Rather than just putting the $1,000 in a savings account, consider opening a savings account with a bank that's on the other side of town or otherwise highly inconvenient and having that $1,000 direct deposited into that account. Prevents you from spontaneously cracking open the piggy bank, while also not being so inconvenient as a CD.

[Slug]

Look into funding a Roth IRA with some of your extra.

[johntomba]

I like this plan. It is aggressive, but you've taken the first important step which is to calculate the numbers. Give it a try. If you don't have enough 'fun' money you can re-adjust. Good luck