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Salary is 66k, I'm not sure what that figure is like after taxes.
So from what I have decided, I'm going to aim for:
25% rent
10% car payment
Thanks for sharing everyone.
Plan on bringing home about $40K after taxes, insurance deductions, and a generous 401K contribution. You could end up with more, but better to budget on the slim side.
Ok a couple things first off: most people on this message board seem to eat cat food, a lot of their budget recommendations are being unrealistic, you don't want to live in a crappy studio with no heat for 15 years just so you can have a "great retirement." As long as your health care is covered when you retire, your expenses will be drastically lower, unless you want to give tons of money to people and go on boring old people cruises and planned tours. Furthermore, I would look into getting a nice 2-3 bedroom apartment with a roommate. You should be able to snag something for $800 a month per person in that area. You are going to want to enjoy yourself, and living in a trailer or a drafty efficiency is no way to live life for a college graduate. Lastly, getting married if you are not going to have kids is not normal and kind of pointless.
My mortgages are appox 15% of my take home annually. I enjoy cars so I have a couple. All are paid for but upgrades and mods do cost money. Last year I spent close to 10% of my take home on these things.
I can't really offer you advise on your budget but I will tell you this. From the time I got my first job my goal has been to put a minimum of 50% of my take home pay into savings. This has served me very well over the years. I will be honest. There were months where soup and grilled cheeses were all I ate just so I could stick to my goal.
Ok a couple things first off: most people on this message board seem to eat cat food, a lot of their budget recommendations are being unrealistic, you don't want to live in a crappy studio with no heat for 15 years just so you can have a "great retirement." As long as your health care is covered when you retire, your expenses will be drastically lower, unless you want to give tons of money to people and go on boring old people cruises and planned tours. Furthermore, I would look into getting a nice 2-3 bedroom apartment with a roommate. You should be able to snag something for $800 a month per person in that area. You are going to want to enjoy yourself, and living in a trailer or a drafty efficiency is no way to live life for a college graduate. Lastly, getting married if you are not going to have kids is not normal and kind of pointless.
Umm, who exactly gets to dictate how we deserve to live, or how we should live if we have the means? I save a lot of my money so I don't have to worry so much about the future, because I saw how your thinking screwed a lot of people these past few years. Moving back home with your parents at 35 is far worse than living slightly below your means for a decade or so while you save a nice cushion. Besides, having more money opens doors in the future. If ya don't feel like playing "yes sir" till your old and gray, you can always start a business or something. Seems we got a lot of people looking for jobs these days, wouldn't hurt if we had a few more willing and able to create those jobs.
And hat exactly is wrong with trailer living, studio apartments, or committing to a relationship? If these things are all it takes to make someone happy, than nobody has a right to fault them for it. Sounds like these are just personal tastes and opinions of yours, and shouldn't be taken as anything more. I believe we are approaching an age of downsizing. Resources may become a bit tight. Might hit folks with high expectations a bit harder than most.
Hello everyone! I finally received a job offer after 7 months of post-graduation unemployment. Being brand new to the "real world", I'm trying to plan my budget and finances. I'm lucky enough to have $0 student debt thanks to an amazing scholarship.
I'm currently looking for a place to rent in the Northern Virginia area and the rent to me is absurd (I come from Wisconsin!). Just out of curiosity, how much of your monthly income goes towards rent & car payment? With those percentages, how are you managing?
I was told that rent can be up to 30% of your monthly income and a car payment can be up to 10% of your monthly income to still live well with money leftover. What is it like for you?
Sorry if this is in the wrong board, didn't know where else to put it. Thanks everyone
This is for California:
My take home pay: ~$2700/mo.
Rent (my share of it): $608/mo (22.5%)
Car Expenses: $150/mo (5.5%)
Gas: $100/mo
Maintenance (ammortized monthly): $50/mo.
My suggestion (may be too conservative but it's better to be safe than sorry):
Make a very minimal budget with just the essentials (food, rent, car/gas, etc.) and live on that. Save the rest of your paychecks. Continue to do this until you have enough saved up to live on this minimal lifestyle for 2 years.
Example: you determine you need at least $1000/mo to cover the essentials. So you live on your $1000/mo budget until you have at least $24,000 saved up, then you can increase your budget.
We have no kids, and make considerably more than that. We are taxed considerably higher than two non-married individuals with the same incomes. Considerably.
why would you be taxed higher ...the brackets move up slower for joint filers?
Last edited by mdwfa2001; 05-20-2012 at 10:22 PM..
I'm currently out of town on vacation, so these figures may not be exact. Based on my NET income...
Mortgage is about 12%
Car payment is about 9%...I drive a nicer late-model car...I knew it wasn't a "smart" decision, but I'm still living well within my means. I intend to have it paid off in about 2 years and this will be the last time I finance a car.
Utilities (elec, gas, water...also throw in TV and Internet) are about 6%
Cell phone is about 1%
Gas is about 3%
Being single and (more importantly) without kids makes a huge difference. Likewise with living in a low C.O.L. area. Some of my purchasing decisions would have been different otherwise.
I also contribute to savings and a 401k, and plan to do more investing soon.
If I were to lose my job then I have more than enough saved in an emergency fund to last awhile.
rent/utilities are about 29%
gas for cars is about 7%
Student loan payments about 13%
Food is probably about 10%
Phone/Car Insurance/Renter Insurance about 6%
Car repairs and Maintenance comes out to about 4%
Coins for the laundry mat due to lack of hook ups in apt comes to about 1%
Storage unit comes to about 1%
Altogether, 71% of net income is spent, and I try to save about 20%, so that leaves a 9% cushion for whatever life throws.
We have no car payments, nor health/dental/vision, which is the only reason why we can save so much. Ive been laid off twice in 8 years, and my wife has been laid off once in 3 years, so, saving just about every penny not directly spent on neccessities is an absolute priority. I believe its imperative to just pretty much plan on being laid off at some point, and to have enough money to get through that.
Seriously, you are complaining about that? That has nothing to do with being married(that has to do with having children just so you know), if a couple were married and had NO children, they would be taxed more heavily than a single person.
This is not true. It depends on the incomes of the spouses involved.
My wife and I would pay more taxes filing single then filing married.
If you have a car that drives, the best decision you can make is to not get another one until it has major problems. Put that forgone payment into an account each month & you can buy your future car with cash, drive it till it dies, & repeat.
This world would save more money if they got over their need for a new car every 3-5 years. Especially, well made European cars that can go 200k miles without big problems. I know so many people that pay off their car & think it's time to go get a new one. Good luck with that rat race! ;o)
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