Critique my new budget please

[Floriafi]

Take home after taxes is $2400
Bills 35% $840
Gas/car 20%. $480
Food 20%. $480
Savings10%. $240
Fun 10%. $240
Emergency 5%$120

Here are my goals
-To use all the money from my savings and emergency fund to save $7200 (3 months income) to have as my emergency fund (20month goal)
-Once my emergency fund goal is met I will continue to add the 5% each month until I have a 6 month emergency fund of $14,400 (80 month)
-my 10% saving will be split between investing for long term (Roth Ira) and saving for a house

I am 25, no kids and about $1,200 in zero interest debt (for another month or so)

Let me know if you have any additional questions and I look forward to hearing from all of you

-J

[bigdaddybus]

Do you have any medical/dental/disability/renters insurance plans? I assume your auto expenses inc insurance?

Does your employer offer a 401K or other retirement saving options?

That is ALOT of money for food for one! I spend 2x that for a family of 6.

[Floriafi]

Medical and dental is covered by my employer. I do not know if they offer a 401k (I start the job on Monday) I typically purchase organic/all natural foods so that is why my food budget is higher then normal. What would you suggest I spend monthly when it comes to food?

[moneymaker1008]

I agree that your food budget is very high. I live in NYC and I still spend less than $200 a month on food. I only buy organic if it's something that makes a difference in terms of how healthy it is. For example, only fruits and vegetables where you eat the skin need to be organic. So an organic banana isn't going to do much for you. Oh and "all-natural" is not a FDA regulated term and anyone can claim that their product is all-natural so it really doesn't mean anything other than you are paying more money. Do you eat out a lot or buy prepared foods? I would suggest cooking more if you can because it really cuts costs.

[snafu]

I suggest a menu plan to use food budget efficiently and make brown bag/lunch bag as easy as possible. I hope you'll check with employer/HR to learn specific details of any employer retirement program, specifically any employer contribution. You want to capture any free money available. As you've just started a new job, it's helpful to note all spending at the end of the day for two months. It's amazing how small expenses add up to whip you off your targets.

Wishing you well at your new job.

[dunnrobert700]

I think it might be too broad grained to really capture all of your spending, especially less frequent but sometimes bog ticket things. A category list would probably help you make sure nothing is left out. Try lining up your spending with this...


Apparel
Charitable Contributions
Child Care Services
Debt Payments
Eating Out
Education
Entertainment – Fees
Entertainment – Hobbies
Gifts
Groceries (Food and Housekeeping Supplies)
Healthcare (Insurance and Services)
Home Maintenance and Insurance
Household Furnishings and Equipment
Mortgage, Rent and Related Fees
Pets and Pet Care
Phone and Internet
Transportation Expenses
Television Services and AV Equipment
Utilities and Public Services
Vacations and Trips
Other

I got it here: http://finansavvy.com/personal-finan...g-your-budget/

[riverwed070707]

Take home after taxes is $2400
Bills 35% $840
Gas/car 20%. $480
Food 20%. $480
Savings10%. $240
Fun 10%. $240
Emergency 5%$120

Here are my goals
-To use all the money from my savings and emergency fund to save $7200 (3 months income) to have as my emergency fund (20month goal)
-Once my emergency fund goal is met I will continue to add the 5% each month until I have a 6 month emergency fund of $14,400 (80 month)
-my 10% saving will be split between investing for long term (Roth Ira) and saving for a house

I am 25, no kids and about $1,200 in zero interest debt (for another month or so)

Let me know if you have any additional questions and I look forward to hearing from all of you

-J

Your fun and food are crazy high. Being young and single, I could see your food being higher if you dine out quite a bit as part of your entertainment but for those two categories to be 30% of your take home is crazy to me.

How do you plan ot pay off the $1200 0% by next month? Will that be coming from your current savings? Do you have a car payment as part of the auto category or just gas/insurance? If a payment, what are your plans to pay that off? I would put any debt ahead of house savings.

Not all budgets are created equal but you might take a look at the 50/30/20 rule as a guideline for where to aim your spending. It basically states that 50% of your income should go to needs (food, shelter, insurance and other necessities), 30% to wants (entertainment, tv, phone, gym, pets, etc) and 20% to savings (which includes retirement contributions and debt payments if you have any until those are paid off and can be reallocated to savings). Looking at your numbers, you're spending more like 75% on needs (although I suspect some of the "bills" category probably fall into wants but can't tell without it being broken down). Additionally, while you're young and have disposable income is the best time to really ramp up the retirement savings. Make sure you're contributing 10-15% to retirement alone and definitely take advantage of any 401k match your employer might offer.

Its good you're working toward an efund but reigning in some of your spending might help you meet your goals quite a bit quicker.

[karenjcarlson]

Good work!

I like your budget. It would be helpful to see the breakdown under "bills." Good aggressive savings plan. Good luck!

[ESMonitor]

Looks good to me.

Put budget in excel spreadsheet and work daily.

Google Dave Ramsey + Baby Steps for more insight with your goals.