But I wasn't brought up with the knowledge of how to grow one.
Hello! My name is Lisa, I live in good ol' Arkansas, and I have a dilemma. I want to become a Mustachian, and I have the natural tendency to be frugal, but I am financially dependent on my mother, and she is financially dependent on me. It's like one of those king rat horror stories. Basically, all of my savings (a whopping $4000) is the family emergency fund. Don't feel too bad for me though, because I know for a fact that I'm not innocent of the spending lifestyle. Before I was put on the AmeriCorps enforced poverty stipend, I was getting paid to go to school and I had two jobs, and I was still pretty broke (I blame coffee and eating out all the time. I no longer go out for coffee). But, since I have been forced to live on $409 biweekly, I've trimmed a lot of fat... And I've found that I really like it. So, I was wondering if you all had any tips for people just starting out? I have a personal finance textbook from college (and it's very useful!), but that only goes so far. I have a few courses in accounting/financial records under my belt, so you don't need to dumb it down too much for me.
Please keep in mind that I'm a beginner. Please don't laugh too hard?
EDITED TO INCLUDE MY CASE STUDY:
Topic Title: Reader Case Study - your question here
Life Situation: 23 years old, trying to save money to move out after service year ends (mid-August) with a decent start to an emergency fund and some sort of plan to start investing. Mother uses my savings as an emergency fund, where emergency is loosely defined. She does this with my younger brother and sister as well. I use my position as an AmeriCorps VISTA to take free courses in Volunteer Management and Grants/Fundraising. I have a degree in Human Environmental Science (Home Ec) - my major was Food, Human Nutrition, and Hospitality Innovations; concentration in Hospitality (i.e. Marketing, Financial Analysis, etc.). I plan on getting a masters in Public Policy/Administration - Will be paid for by fund left by my grandmother.
Gross Salary/Wages: $447.86 biweekly, $895.72/month
Pre-tax deductions: 401k, HSA, FSA, IRA, insurance, etc. - whatever you have
Other Ordinary Income: I babysit on occasion for $10/hour and find other "gigs" such as conference receptionist for special events. Neither of these incomes are on a regular basis, though. This seemed like the only category where this would fit, sorry!
Adjusted Gross Income: 819.12 biweekly
Taxes:
Current expenses:
I haven't been documenting my spending lately, so I can only provide general details. I pay $170 each month for cable (basically my rent so I can continue living with my mother), $25 for a gym membership (signed up for a year before my AmeriCorps service year started. I didn't realize how frivolous of an expense it was) , an average of $200 for my credit card (I was successful two months ago to getting this down to an $11 bill, but I ended up having more expenses this month. I'll be decreasing my credit card use back to that level in the next two months.), and most of my leftover money goes towards eating out because my mother insists on it. I'm trying to convince her that we should eat at home but she doesn't listen. I wouldn't mind living a spartan lifestyle after I got out of the house. I for one, hate cable TV and would be fine living on rice and beans and listening to the free Stuff You Should Know podcast for entertainment. The problem is getting enough capital to get out of that house. I can usually come into the next month with around $20.
Assets: I have $4,691 in my savings at .05% interest and $319 in checking - Total of $5,010
Liabilities: Credit Card: $191 (190 and some odd cents) - I pay the balance on my card each month, but it's still technically a liability.
Specific Question(s): Typing all of this information makes me realize how totally and completely screwed I am. I know y'all can't help instill a health respect for frugal living in a fifty year old woman, but is there anything I could do to save up money on the side without her knowing? It's like living with a leech. The only thing she doesn't attach herself to is my change jar.
Sorry if this was too much/not enough/irrelevant information! I don't know exactly what y'all need in order to figure my stuff out. And, like I said, I haven't been logging my purchases lately. I'm going to start doing that today!