Need help with budgeting

Seeking Advice Forum
1

I calculated my take home pay which would be around $3488 a month after taxes, 401k, Roth, health insurance. My expenses are roughly $1963.32 a month. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Student loan: $51.82
  • Car note (adding additional principal to pay off sooner/gas): $1357.50
  • Car insurance: $125
  • Groceries (live with parents so I contribute food): $300
  • Spotify fam plan: $20
  • Gym: $10
  • Brokerage: $100

After that, I’m left with roughly $1525.14 a month.

I want to open a savings account and have an emergency fund, a wants fund, and set aside funds for a down-payment on a house. Can anyone give me guidance? I’ve heard about high-yield savings accounts but don’t know much about them. Where should I put funds for a down-payment?

2

A high yield savings account has a higher earnings rate than the average bank account. You might consider an account like or similar to Ally where you can create ‘buckets’ or categories to allocate the money in. It’s like a virtual envelope system.