Well, I'm interested in trying to live the mustachian life style and save for early retirement (or try to get some side projects going and pursue my dreams of becomming a reality TV star), but I'm having trouble saving money. I posted here before, but it's very old, so I guess I will post my dillemma again.
I make a pretty decent salary of about 30K per year, around 2.5K per month. Out of this 2.5K, my expenses are estimated as follows:
Rent $500
Phone and Internet: $70 ($35 for phone and $35 for internet)
Car insurance: $80
Car repairs: $50 (it's a rebuilt vehicle, so it's in far from perfect condition)
Gas: $100
Miscellaneous: $200
Food: $40
Total Remaining: $1460 (I never see this amount, though. I must be spending more somewhere else than my budget describes.)
What can I do to (A) cut my expenses, (B) find out why I have less left over each month than my budget describes, (C) start generating additional income?
Here are some of my ideas:
Transportation:
Start taking the bus. That's $40 per month on a bus pass vs. $250 per month. I could come out quite a bit cheaper. I would still have to pay car insurance if I planned to drive at all, though, and since my second job requires I have a car to get home, I would still have to drive, but if I were frugal with it, it would mean that I would be driving about half as much. I would opt to just ride a bike, but it's dangerous on busy roads. Around here, they don't look out for cyclers. Plus, my initial investment would be about $250 for a good bicycle, so I wouldn't be coming out ahead at first. Here is my total estimated cost of taking the bus to work and keeping the car for my second job and days and times the bus is not running--$170 ($80 for car insurance, $40 for the bus ticket, $50 for gas) I wish I could ride a bike on these busy roads, but it must be very dangerous. I see very few cyclers around here, and they usually ride on a very narrow bike path on the side of the road; it looks dangerous.
Housing:
I could possibly move somewhere cheaper, but this place is rather convenient; two bus stops are very close, and I don't have to worry about cable or utilities. My other option would be to get a roommate. I've tried it before. I really need to develop better habits so that my roommates want to stay. My last one thought I was too messy. Then, there's the issue of not having compatible personalities and making each other miserable. Plus, the people I've had have been mostly college students, a little young, bossy, and immature.
Internet and phone:
I really don't need these. I live close enough to Wi-Fi hotspots that I could probably cancel the internet or cell phone without really hurting myself. I may need the phone for emergenies, though, and I may need the internet just for convenience or rare occassions when it would be inconvenient to use public Wi-Fi.
Miscellaneous Expenses:
I sometimes need to pay co-pays to see the doctor; unexpected expenses come up that I didn't plan for. Co-workers or friends buy me lunch or do small favors for me that I need to repay. I may find a book series that I want for my classroom.