Thank you guys so much for all the info on these forums. A little background on me. Lived with my gracious pops until 22. I had a hard upbringing until he took over custody for me. He was never very hard on me at all. It gave me a very "fuck it" attitude" Did not have a full time job until 21.
I spent all my money from every paycheck like nothing. Until the time came where we had to sell the house and it was time for me to be out on my own. I did not save until that last MONTH before I had to be out. since then it has been a struggle financially. Late bills with my roommate, eating out to much and going to bars.
Any attempts at saving, usually squashed at the first mention of a concert or something fun to do with friends. 2 Roommates and a new apartment later. The trouble continues.
Since moving out I had to take a hard look at myself and my flaws. Been working on myself ever since. Lost 120+ pounds and still going Learned to cook and freeze tasty meals. Got myself a caring girlfriend who will try new (frugal) things with me and even pay for me when i really can not spend the money.
This year i found YNAB. Since February, I have Been sticking to the budgets overspending slightly (definitely a million times better than i use to be) I love the system and for the first time feel in control of my money. I finally had an emergency fund set up which helped with my cat at the vet. Just this month I paid my rent, had an emergency car repair $300 and loaned my mother $100 without breaking a sweat. This just solidified how much i trust the YNAB program.
I live in a very expensive area with rent taking 45-50% of my income monthly. I know this is a travesty my only option at the time as i was able to move in without paying a deposit and fully furnished. I actually found MMM because i was doing some research to see if having a longer commute would be worth the cheaper rent. (MMM slapped the shite out of me on that one)
A few saving goals i have now (makes it so much easier for me to know what I am saving up for) Emergency fund, Debt, Vacation, Replacement car for when mine craps out, Computer Replacement, New Apartment Lease/down/deposit
Life Situation: Single. Living in New Jersey. 26 Years Old.
Gross Salary/Wages: 42,000 (estimating now will check my W2)
Pre-tax deductions: Only deductions other than tax $31 Union Dues per month
Other Ordinary Income: In October I work in a haunted house. Usually bring in an extra $1200 this month (previously have just used this money to party or maybe cover a bill or 2)
Adjusted Gross Income: 32,000 (estimated)
Taxes: Not exactly sure what you guys want here. My paycheck is every 2 weeks. This is from the week we had holiday pay(slightly lower) 72 Hours, 38.5 Overtime, 8 hours holiday pay.
Gross: 1694.33
Fed Tax: -239.31.00
SS Tax: -105.05
Medicare Tax: -24.56
NJ Tax: -40.09
NJ SDI Tax: -11.96
Union Dues: -31.00
Net Pay: 1242.36
Current expenses: this is from last months YNAB.
IMMEDIATE OBLIGATIONS
Rent - $988.00
Gym - $32.05
electric - $40-50 goes up a bit in the summer, but i usually tough it out without AC to much
Groceries - $280 this includes cleaning supplies, cat food and liter, occasionally I'll put a 7-11 slurpee or Iced coffee here to.
this month was definitely a bit over budget I try to keep it to $60 a week.
Gas - $100
Car Insurance - $80.55 They just raised it to 87.88 :(
YNAB - $5 beyond worth it for me for the app, the ease that it slipped into my life and changed my finances.
Internet - Lucky to not have to pay at the moment
Cell Phone - $35
Spotify - $10.69 I need my gym music
Netflix - $8.99 could probably get rid of this.....
Other expenses
Vacation - $121.00 I was not planning on vacation this year, but my girl bought 2 festival tickets (900 bucks) so i have been slowly buying things we will need and Will definitely use again for other camping trips. bought a Tent, a Cot with a pad, tarp, mostly done here just putting some money away until June to have gas money/spending cash food money of the festival (expecting $500-600)
Auto Maintenance - $283.00 this actually came out of my emergency fund. Will start putting money here every paycheck
Misc - $100
gifts -$100 (a loan to my mother) This was stupid but it is hard to say no to your mother even though I do not live in the same state as her.
Bars - $21
Dining out - $51
Herbal Remedy - $150 (this will be cut down and needs to be)
I have $3000 In debt. It is all ready in collections. I paid off one. I figure my best course of action is to save the $3000 then pay it all off at once. I'm trying to make sure my emergency fund is $1000 before i start heavily saving into this category. Had it up to $600 before my car troubles and I did dip slightly into here to pay for some vacation things and the Loan to my mother.
I am actively trying to get myself a better job. (took the firefighters test) Trying to learn some programming.
Specific Question(s): Is my best course of action career advancement? I do get paid pretty shitty 12.30 an hour and i work 55 Hours a week. That overtime saves me though. I do have health benefits.
EDITS:
I do live by myself, 2 previous room mates really pissed me off with late payment (part of the reason I'm in debt. half of the collections is a pseg bill) Both were very messy mothers boy so I really was cleaning up after them a lot. At least now I only have to worry about myself. I did invite my younger brother to come live with me. (More opportunities in the city for him) Rent free until he gets on his feet. He already wants to contribute, I told him once we get him a job up here sure. So eventually we will probably get a better place we can afford. I do expect him to start chipping in on rent which will go directly to savings for me. He should be here in august.
I work at a trucking and warehouse company. I manage the inventory of equipment. Checking for damages sending them to our mechanic or a repair shop if needed. Also every container that comes in needs to be logged into our system. basically glorified data entry with a bit of yard dog to protect our equipment.
This company is notoriously low on paying people and raises. Though it is steady. I have come to my boss, the president and had meeting with both in the same room. Telling them this job is much to easy for me and I can do more. I told them to give me more access to our system and I can do more work while working the gate. They basically give me the run around, saying it is very busy at the time (it isn't now) they don't want to move around anyone while everything is working well.
There is an opening which is kind of tough to navigate. Good friend and a beloved coworker here has just passed recently. He was a dispatcher. So i could realistically shoot for this job. He just died last week I'm not sure how to go about this. Also the job would be a LOT more stressful, but i think i could manage.
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