I live in a low cost of living area with my boyfriend. I don’t have a car or any student loans or any debt. I make $80k before taxes. I bring home $4500 after tax, 401k, and health insurance.
My expenses: Rent: $500/ month Utilities: not more than $200/month
Groceries: $350 /month ??? (Boyfriend and I split groceries)
Date nights/ Restaurants/ Eating Out/ fun activities: $1000/month (he’s still in school so I pay for both of us; this is an estimate since we have weekly date nights)
Personal Shopping: $350/month
Savings for Wedding/Car/House: I’m hoping to put in $1700 /month or more ???
Any advice on this? I genuinely have no idea how much food we eat or how much I need to be saving on top of my 401k savings which are already out of my paycheck. We do want to buy a house in 4-5 years and have a wedding coming up in 1-2 years.
You go shopping and spend entirely too much money on yourself. For $350, what are you receiving each month? Stay home and prepare meals for one or two more nights. Even when life is difficult, you may still have fun and add $250 to your monthly savings. Put it to use.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. There are five dates in a month. However, each date costs at least $60–70 per person, which adds up to a maximum of $700 for dining out, so perhaps my arithmetic was off. That means I have around $300 left over to save, I suppose.
I know $350 is a lot of money to spend on shopping, but come on, I just graduated and now that I have some money, what would be a reasonable monthly budget for personal shopping?
5 dates per month is a lot. I agree you could really scale this back especially if you are the only one paying. Consider doing 4 dates, 2 fun dinners and 2 cheaper/free dates (park, museum, hike, picnic, something inexpensive). As for shopping, remember that weddings and houses are EXPENSIVE!!! Coming from someone who has recently had to pay for both!! You will need to have A LOT saved for these. Ask yourself when you’re shopping, what is more important to you, that shiny new material item or a down payment on your future home? Delayed gratification is much more rewarding in the end. I wish I could go back in time and spend less on stupid crap that ended up in my garage or the back of my closet.
I think it depends on what you’re buying. I think $700 a month is a lot for date nights. But overall it looks like you’re living within your means. However, date nights and your shopping is 25% of your pay. If you’re wanting to save more, this is the easiest area to cut. I would look at cheaper date nights. Not all of them but maybe two out of the three. I would also just track your expenses. Realistically, people usually spend more than they think and you aren’t sure how much you spend on groceries or date nights.
Food for thought- if you save $1700/month, how long will it take you to pay for the wedding? Is your finance contributing as well or graduating soon? How much do you need for a down payment and emergency fund?