With our wedding coming up in about two weeks and the job I just started last month, I've been thinking more about money and our budget. Since August we've been surviving on my fiance's elementary school teacher salary (in NC, so really not that much) and with my new job as a barista/server we can finally work on saving, paying down debt, and spending on the occasional brewing/soapmaking supplies (some of our hobbies).
Some more info: I'm 26, he's 27, we use YNAB, I like the All Your Worth method of spending categories as a general guideline (50% Needs, 30% Wants, 20% Savings) with the goal of increasing savings, I'm going to be starting school in the Fall for a degree in Massage Therapy, and we moved to a small and not very Mustachian town in NC last year to start his career as a school teacher (through NC Teachers Corps, which is sadly loosing it's funding).
Reader Case Study - Almost-Newlyweds Looking for CritiqueIncome:
Him: $2590/month
Her: ~$600/month (unsure about this, as I've only started working there and tips vary, but that's my unfortunate estimate)
Subtotal: $3190
Current expenses:
Rent: $640 (this will go down once we pay off the horrible pet fee)
Groceries: between $300-400
Utilities: ~$90-100 (we keep the thermostat low and conserve where we can, but we seem to only be able to get this so low)
Gas: $60-110 (varies because we occasionally need to make long trips for his work. He carpools with a co-worker and I walk/bike to work)
Cats Food & Litter for 3 cats: $60
Etsy Expenses: ~$20 (I sell soaps/body care products on Etsy and want to increase this category to further invest in it:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/oneeyedbuddhacat)
School Expenses: ~$50 (varies, as he sometimes has to buy books/supplies for his classroom, and also includes a membership to NCAE)
Health Insurance: $17 (thank you Obamacare!)
Dental Payments: ~$50 (varies, as we are slowly getting his teeth back in good shape after years of candy and not brushing, habits he has since given up. He is also getting Flex money in April to go towards this.)
Car Insurance: $72
Scooter Insurance: $22
Car Payment: $110
Scooter Payment: $138
Various spending: $300 (household goods, homebrewing supplies, entertainment, restaurants, etc.)
Subtotal: $2000
Debts:
Her Student Loans: $18000 (with my unemployment, this has been in deferment and ends in May. I hope to start paying it off again before then but I want to get a hold of how much I'm actually making before I do. It will be a little over $220/month) @ ~6%
His Student Loans: $52900 (Very big and very scary. We are hoping that after five years we can get a portion of this forgiven. Currently in deferment/income-based repayment) @ ~6%
Scooter Loan: $1590 (2010 Genuine Stella - used to be a main form of transportation but has only be used occasionally since we got the car) @ 4.9%
Car Loan: $3031 (2007 Scion xD, manual, awesome little car) @ 4.25%
Savings:
His Summer Savings: $2800 (Since he doesn't work in the summer, we opted for 10-month pay and have been putting away money each month in a savings account to earn interest, as opposed to having it spaced out over 12 months).
Massage School: $20 (You have to start somewhere...)
Her Emergency Savings: $360
Friend's Wedding Expenses: $250 (transportation, suit rental, etc)
So there it is. Anything that jumps out at anyone? What should we attack first? Focus on increasing savings or attack our looming debt? I realize that the best thing we could probably do is increase our income, and me having a job has definitely helped in that arena. I would like to start making an income (rather than breaking even) with my Etsy shop and have plans to allocate a certain amount each month to supplies to increase my inventory. We really want to be in good financial shape, and have struggled for years to get our footing after we both graduated. Help is greatly appreciated!