Help with budgeting!!

Question

i make about 1500/month and am saving 500/month. this leaves 1000/month to spend.

i spend 400 on rent and 300 on student loans. $75 goes to cell phone bill (family). this only leaves about 200 a month for everything else!! i have no transportation cost because my work pays for metro.

i need help on how to make the most out of this 200/month. i still need to buy food, miscellaneous items, incidentals. no cc bills.

anyone in similar situation? pls help!

i need hel

Answer 1

Well, I can't offer you any specific advice, though you could get professional advice from a fee only financial planner.

You might want to try the free excel budget template I created, you can input different things and play around with the amounts you spend in each actegory to see where you could spend more, or cut back.

You can fins the template here:http://www.btgnow.net/2008/07/btg-downlo...

Good luck!

Answer 2

hello - great that you are thinking about this and have already started to save.  good for you.  id think about coupons and about buying whats on sale at the grocery store.  once you get into the habit you will be fine.  good luck!

Answer 3

For help with food costs, you can visit a local food pantry.  Check your area churches or the Chamber of Commerce and they can help you find one close to you.  Find a favorite thrift store or use dollar stores for your incidentals.  

Answer 4

That leaves you 40 a week for everything else!  That's plenty!  

And normally it will be 50 a week.  I only spend 40 a week at the grocery store and I have a 6 year old.  I don't know who else you have to shop for but I would try to budget it like that.  It took some getting used to but I'm really good at it now.  If you stick to the 40 a week you also save that extra 40 in case something happens or you have to make a larger than normal purchase for the week.  

Answer 5

You are doing fine. $500 savings in your budget is great, but you may need to adjust it to take care of necessities. An option is to get a part time job until you get a raise.

Try Dave Ramsey for a budget template.

http://www.daveramsey.com/the_truth_abou...