how much of my paycheck should I save each month? (to buy, organic)

[jad2k]

Originally Posted by pierrepont7731

I dunno... Yes I'm American, and I get it, but I guess having been exposed to the finer things in life at an early age, I don't make such a big deal about money. I'm not wealthy by any means, but I realize that I'm lucky to have done a lot of the things that I have at such an early age. I had a fine education, went to a private school in Europe, traveled extensively in my 20s, etc.

Now that you've explained your situation further I totally get it. I guess with me having lived in Europe for a while I have a different outlook when it comes to money. In America there's this constant need to make more and more and more money and it never ends, and given your situation and your social circle, money and status clearly matters. I don't live to impress others, so I just live life and enjoy it. In Europe, you don't disclose what you make as no one generally cares like they do here. Do I put away some money? Of course. I'd be a fool not to, but I also know I'm not looking to keep up with the Joneses. As I said earlier, I know what I want in my life when I retire. A pied-à-terre here in NYC, and a place in Italy. Split my year living in Europe and here, travel, eat good food and enjoy my life. That's good enough for me. Sometimes I wonder if people think I'm younger than I am because I think that when you enjoy life and don't live to make money, you live a lot longer and feel better.

Who said I’m trying to impress others? Im clearly not flaunting my excess by buying lavish items.

My boyfriend is European. I’m familiar with their mentality towards money. He’s pretty frugal and makes WAY more than I do.

[pierrepont7731]

Originally Posted by jad2k

Interesting. I can buy expensive clothing but don’t value that at all and shop at stores that I like becase I like them- for example Anthropogie. I have a $2K watch, which isn’t that expensive for those that are into watches, but just one watch. What in enjoy the freedom of doing is booking last minute vacations without having to “save” for it. For example I did two back to back trips in June. One to Europe the other a local “weekend get away” type of thing.

Your relationship with money is very different than mine. No judgment, it’s just interesting to hear your POV.

Well you got that right. I've also had the luxury of owning some expensive watches (in my 20s I bought a $1,600 U-Boat from Saks, one of my favorite watches... Italian made with Swiss automatic movement), but I agree $2k isn't that expensive. At a certain price point you should never pay full price for one. Anthropologie... Interesting place... Never got into it. More of a Crate & Barrel type. lol

With that said, putting your wealth aside, what do you think of the OPs budget? If you weren't wealthy and you were in their shoes what would you say? I admit that I'm looking at their budget as someone who is basically upper middle class, so my standards may be higher than someone who is on a tight budget, but even so, I think you know better than most how to budget and budget effectively. I personally think that the OP can save at least $400 a month just by reducing their food budget by $200, finding a cheaper place to rent and cutting down on a few other things.

[pierrepont7731]

Originally Posted by jad2k

Who said I’m trying to impress others? Im clearly not flaunting my excess by buying lavish items.

My boyfriend is European. I’m familiar with their mentality towards money. He’s pretty frugal and makes WAY more than I do.

You don't have to try, but the fact that you feel the need to invest everything and make such an issue of it to me says that money is important and we both know that money and status go together here in the US. You said it earlier that you go around and grew up with a circle of people where building wealth is important. I mean if it wasn't, you wouldn't care that you have excess in checking. You'd either spend it, leave it, maybe move some of it, but you wouldn't feel the need to assess that situation so thoroughly.

[safina1]

Originally Posted by pierrepont7731

Well you got that right. I've also had the luxury of owning some expensive watches (in my 20s I bought a $1,600 U-Boat from Saks, one of my favorite watches... Italian made with Swiss automatic movement), but I agree $2k isn't that expensive. At a certain price point you should never pay full price for one. Anthropologie... Interesting place... Never got into it. More of a Crate & Barrel type. lol

With that said, putting your wealth aside, what do you think of the OPs budget? If you weren't wealthy and you were in their shoes what would you say? I admit that I'm looking at their budget as someone who is basically upper middle class, so my standards may be higher than someone who is on a tight budget, but even so, I think you know better than most how to budget and budget effectively. I personally think that the OP can save at least $400 a month just by reducing their food budget by $200, finding a cheaper place to rent and cutting down on a few other things.

Now now you two have to stop. The OP can't even afford a freaking studio for $1600 a month and you two are talking about expensive watches and retiring in Italy and booking last minute vacations. Lol! ( I am joking by the way).

Pierrepont: why Italy of all places?
For sure, I can cut down on a few things but I am seriously considering this studio. I simply love the location and the fact that it is in a safe neighborhood.

[jad2k]

Originally Posted by pierrepont7731

Well you got that right. I've also had the luxury of owning some expensive watches (in my 20s I bought a $1,600 U-Boat from Saks, one of my favorite watches... Italian made with Swiss automatic movement), but I agree $2k isn't that expensive. At a certain price point you should never pay full price for one. Anthropologie... Interesting place... Never got into it. More of a Crate & Barrel type. lol

With that said, putting your wealth aside, what do you think of the OPs budget? If you weren't wealthy and you were in their shoes what would you say? I admit that I'm looking at their budget as someone who is basically upper middle class, so my standards may be higher than someone who is on a tight budget, but even so, I think you know better than most how to budget and budget effectively. I personally think that the OP can save at least $400 a month just by reducing their food budget by $200, finding a cheaper place to rent and cutting down on a few other things.

I am a woman. I shop Antro for clothing not for their home goods.

To answer your question, food budgeting by far is the best way to save money. People waste a lot of food. You can cook easy and healthy meals at home and freeze leftovers. Cooking dishes like stews and hearty soups requires few ingredients, allows one to make several portions at once and freeze the leftovers for later in the week. You can also save a lot on groceries by shopping for the weekly specials and stocking up on staples like pasta and dry and canned goods when they go on sale. People rarely do this or just throw out left overs or even worse, let the groceries they do buy go bad. A single, average-weight adult can realistically have a max
$50/week budget for groceries (yes really)- provided they cook most meals, including their lunches and aren’t wasteful with leftover portions. For example left over veggies that are nearing their expiration can be thrown into a soup or simply frozen. That said, a single person can comfortably -but not in a penny pincher way -have a grocery budget of $75/week.

Also setting aside a strict “entertainment” budget is important. It’s really easy to over spend on a night out. What I mentioned before about using a separate card for entertainment works even better if that card is a debit card with a set limit loaded on it each month. Once you max it out, that’s your fun for the month.

[jad2k]

Originally Posted by pierrepont7731

You don't have to try, but the fact that you feel the need to invest everything and make such an issue of it to me says that money is important and we both know that money and status go together here in the US. You said it earlier that you go around and grew up with a circle of people where building wealth is important. I mean if it wasn't, you wouldn't care that you have excess in checking. You'd either spend it, leave it, maybe move some of it, but you wouldn't feel the need to assess that situation so thoroughly.

Interesting comment coming from a poster who almost always weaves in comments about his expensive or high end tastes in clothing/food/etc in every single thread.

For clarity, the evaluation of redistributing my excess money and for that matter what I should/can do with my money is from the advice of my financial advisor.

We went down this rat hole of what I’m doing with my extra money only becase YOU pressed it.

[safina1]

Originally Posted by jad2k

I am a woman. I shop Antro for clothing not for their home goods.

To answer your question, food budgeting by far is the best way to save money. People waste a lot of food. You can cook easy and healthy meals at home and freeze leftovers. Cooking dishes like stews and hearty soups requires few ingredients, allows one to make several portions at once and freeze the leftovers for later in the week. You can also save a lot on groceries by shopping for the weekly specials and stocking up on staples like pasta and dry and canned goods when they go on sale. People rarely do this or just throw out left overs or even worse, let the groceries they do buy go bad. A single, average-weight adult can realistically have a max
$50/week budget for groceries (yes really)- provided they cook most meals, including their lunches and aren’t wasteful with leftover portions. For example left over veggies that are nearing their expiration can be thrown into a soup or simply frozen. That said, a single person can comfortably -but not in a penny pincher way -have a grocery budget of $75/week.

Also setting aside a strict “entertainment” budget is important. It’s really easy to over spend on a night out. What I mentioned before about using a separate card for entertainment works even better if that card is a debit card with a set limit loaded on it each month. Once you max it out, that’s your fun for the month.

While I agree with you that people should save on food and shopping for weekly specials, I don't think a $50 - $75 grocery budget per week for one person is possible.it can be done but most likely it is going to be an unhealthy diet.

[Kefir King]

^^^^^


Yeah, why save money when you can give it all away to Whole Foods. <Yep, tongue in cheek.>

[pierrepont7731]

Originally Posted by safina1

While I agree with you that people should save on food and shopping for weekly specials, I don't think a $50 - $75 grocery budget per week for one person is possible.it can be done but most likely it is going to be an unhealthy diet.

I think I have to agree. I think $150 per week is a more reasonable budget. I go to Whole Foods usually twice a week and spend about $75.00 - 100.00 per visit most of the time. Organic veggies are expensive as is meat, and I don't waste anything. I buy enough to last for three to four days and then I go again during the week for small things. I also do like to eat out on occasion, and I don't think you should deprive yourself of eating good food. You have to have some good pleasures in life.

Originally Posted by jad2k

Interesting comment coming from a poster who almost always weaves in comments about his expensive or high end tastes in clothing/food/etc in every single thread.

For clarity, the evaluation of redistributing my excess money and for that matter what I should/can do with my money is from the advice of my financial advisor.

We went down this rat hole of what I’m doing with my extra money only becase YOU pressed it.

I don't see it as a rat hole at all. Don't get angry at me for my comments. I simply voiced my opinion about you being young and not having to be obsessed with making money off of every penny you get. Then you explained your upbringing, etc., and I said that I understood. That said, quite frankly, I would NEVER hire a financial advisor to tell me how to spend my money. You should be more upset that you're blowing money on that, not what you leave leftover in your checking account. I watch several financial shows (e.g. Fast Money, Options Actions, The Closing Bell, etc.) and watch them religiously to see what's going on with the market and to study trends, but I don't need some advisor to tell me how to manage my money. I also don't trust anybody handling my money, especially with all of the Ponzi schemes out there. As far as I'm concerned, financial advisors have their own interests in mind, which is maximizing how much they can charge their clients to "manage" their money.

[pierrepont7731]

Originally Posted by safina1

While I agree with you that people should save on food and shopping for weekly specials, I don't think a $50 - $75 grocery budget per week for one person is possible.it can be done but most likely it is going to be an unhealthy diet.

Originally Posted by safina1

Now now you two have to stop. The OP can't even afford a freaking studio for $1600 a month and you two are talking about expensive watches and retiring in Italy and booking last minute vacations. Lol! ( I am joking by the way).

Pierrepont: why Italy of all places?
For sure, I can cut down on a few things but I am seriously considering this studio. I simply love the location and the fact that it is in a safe neighborhood.

Why not Italy? My family is from there and if you live outside of areas like Milan, Florence, Venice or Rome, you can really live well. I lived in Northern Italy, and I was astounded at how much cheaper things were in smaller towns or even in places like Bologna compared to say Milan. You don't have to worry so much about the food there because it's understood that high quality is a must and it is sold at good prices. Healthwise I ate like a pig (at least I thought I did) and didn't gain any weight because they don't put so much crap in the food like they do here.

As for you, I think you can certainly do $1600 if you just cut back on a few things. I enjoy doing the simple things. Taking a nice bath, relaxing in my place.... For the most part those things don't cost anything. I've also have forgotten about all of the free events that the City offers for entertainment. I have a colleague who lives on the UES and she's like jad2k... Very frugal with money. She does all sorts of events that are free.