So if you are poking around this page that means you’re like me and you like knowing other people’s financial situations. I guess I really have no problem letting people ask questions about my money. Call me crazy, but if you are looking at this article than you have at least SOME interest also.
So here is how this little gem work…
- INCOME pretty self explanatory. This is my monthly pay from my current job. If you have read my other posts, than you know I also tutor to make some spare change. I decided I didn’t want to include this in the income section of my budget as that income fluctuates each month and I did not want to build my spending habits around inconsistent income. I include the tutoring income at the bottom of the spreadsheet and I underestimate it for each month. I’ve been averaging $1,000 a month, but I still don’t want to change it’s current $500 value…I know that makes my budget less accurate, but less accurate in a good way right 🙂
- INVESTMENTS, TAXES, and EXPENSES. Again, pretty straightforward so no real need to elaborate. I will mention, however, that I DO have health insurance, but since I am 23 I was able to stay on my parents plan (you know I’m gonna ride that out till I’m 25 and get kicked off their policy). I included a 5% increase section on my expenses because sometimes ‘ish happens (consider it like a mini-monthly emergency fund).
- GOALS, BILLS, and PRIORITIES. The top right section is where I set out my financial goals on January 1 of each year. It starts with what I had in my accounts on 12/31/08 and I make assumptions as to what my accounts will look like come 12/31/09. The section below this is where I keep a list of my fixed monthly expenses…otherwise I’d be forgetting to pay that darn cable bill. And lastly, below that is where I list of the priority of all of my expenses. I did this so if I’m ever in a situation where a ninja stole all my money and I was fired from my job, I would know exactly how to spend each precious dollar that I had. Basically I put the most important bills at the top.
So that’s my life in a spreadsheet form. Hopefully it makes sense to you all, but if it doesn’t feel free to shoot an email or comment and I’ll let you know how it works.
Enjoy,
