Happy Holidays fellow mustachians.
I've been following this blog for a little over a year and I started doing some changes in my life since then, like maxing 401K and IRA.
But today I'm seeking advice for my budgeting. It is the first time I am budgeting ever so I want to have all bases covered and get some feedback wether my budget is off or I am missing something.
I started this because since it's the end of the year, I went to my MINT and checked my expenses vs my income for 2018 and I saw that I spent 50K from 80K that I received in income.
Here is my 2018 summary:
Category | Spending |
Home | $13,252.77 |
Financial | $9,773.08 |
Food & Dining | $7,105.48 |
Auto & Transport | $5,986.19 |
Travel | $3,284.22 |
Shopping | $2,836.43 |
Bills & Utilities | $2,293.31 |
Health & Fitness | $1,859.63 |
Entertainment | $1,702.47 |
Pets | $628.22 |
Uncategorized | $601.25 |
Personal Care | $250.00 |
Gifts & Donations | $44.25 |
Fees & Charges | $40.67 |
Business Services | $9.82 |
Taxes | -$1,017.00 |
Total | $48,650.79 |
Note that 'financial' category is actually some transfers I made into my taxable investment account.
A little about myself:
I'm 31, not married, no kids. Have a dog. Work as a Software Engineer. Live in Chicago.
I find Mint categories a bit misleading. For example, all food expenses are in the same category, and I want to distinguish between groceries, fast food and restaurants.
So I did my own categories and my own budgeting for 2019:
Item Name | Category | Amount Month | Amount year |
Rent | Home | $1,200.00 | $14,400.00 |
Vehicle Insurance | Auto & Transport | $85.00 | $1,020.00 |
Gas | Auto & Transport | $100.00 | $1,200.00 |
Vehicle Registration | Auto & Transport | $12.00 | $144.00 |
Groceries | Groceries | $130.00 | $1,560.00 |
Electicity | Bills & Utilities | $30.00 | $360.00 |
Heat | Bills & Utilities | $100.00 | $1,200.00 |
Wifi | Bills & Utilities | $20.00 | $240.00 |
Phone | Bills & Utilities | $15.00 | $180.00 |
Clothing | Shopping | $25.00 | $300.00 |
Travel | Travel | $200.00 | $2,400.00 |
Cleaning Supplies | Cleaning supplies | $10.00 | $120.00 |
Shopping | Shopping | $10.00 | $120.00 |
Gifts | Gifts | $20.00 | $240.00 |
Personal Care | Personal Care | $10.00 | $120.00 |
Pets | Pets | $45.00 | $540.00 |
Sports | Health & Fitness | $30.00 | $360.00 |
Parking | Auto & Transport | $5.00 | $60.00 |
Tolls | Auto & Transport | $5.00 | $60.00 |
Service & Parts | Auto & Transport | $10.00 | $120.00 |
Bars | Food and Dining | $10.00 | $120.00 |
Restaurants | Food and Dining | $50.00 | $600.00 |
Entertainment | Entertainment | $5.00 | $60.00 |
TV (Hulu/Netflix) | Bills & Utilities | $1.25 | $15.00 |
Medical | Medical | $50.00 | $600.00 |
Total | | $2,178.25 | $26,139.00 |
My aim is to be around $30K which compared to 2018 is 10K less if we don't count the transfers I made towards an investing taxable account.
Every input is welcome.