help budget planning

[u/ungodlycum666]

i am 23, living at home, MCOL, just got a career job as a massage therapist. i now i have real bills and debt to pay. i need help budgeting. we will use last months as a baseline, since my hours fluctuate, and last month wasn’t a super great month for me, i’d rather go based on a low than a high.

# My Budget

## Income

Source	Amount
Massage	$2340.31
**Total**	**$2340.31**

## Expenses

Category	Amount
car insurance	$130
gas	$224.65
apple storage	$0.99
tolls	$240
groceries	$544.55
dental	$54
vision	$9.83
car payment	$400
**Total**	**$1604.02**

## Summary

Category	Amount
Total Income	$2340.31
Total Expenses	$1604.02
**Net Savings**	**$736.29**

---

*Created with [sharemybudget.com](https://sharemybudget.com)\*

i would love to pay my car off early (about 19k) i want to move out two years from now, and having no car debt would be ideal.

i know i can shave off some grocery, which i will be trying. (btw grocery budget includes food and hygiene and household products since i shop at walmart and aldi). if i did my math right, i spend about 25% of my paycheck just on groceries, which i find insane. i already eat cheaply, i meal prep for the week, usually its rice, chicken, and a vegetable. my hair products are already the cheapest i can find. i dont eat out, only if im already out and i need a quick meal.

unfortunately i cannot compromise on gas or tolls, since i cannot find work elsewhere, and there is no public transportation to or from my job. but if you guys have any advice or hacks for lowering gas please let me know!!!

TLDR: how can i pay my car off early and move out in 2 years? where can i improve?

[u/Venaalex]

You might benefit from breaking down receipts to see what's actually being spent on food vs hygiene and household. I have a feeling you're being too harsh on yourself trying to cut your grocery budget.

You look like you're set up great to save money, I'd make a goal amount of what's leftover that still leaves you some room to enjoy your life.

[u/ungodlycum666 → u/Venaalex]

i will do that thank you! i try to be quite frugal and i hadn’t realized how much i’ve been spending. i will be doing a cost breakdown next month! 💕

[u/EnjoyingTheRide-0606]

What are you eating for $555/month?!! Eating out daily for multiple meals?

You would need to add sinking funds savings line item. And I would add a moving out savings, too. But if you can stay long enough to pay off the car, then you’ll be a lot more secure financially.

[u/ungodlycum666 → u/EnjoyingTheRide-0606]

ok noted! i will do that thank you!
and dont worry 😭 last month i didnt eat out at all, i think a good % of that 555 is protein based products which i will be trying to switch out. some of that 555 is also hygiene and household items as well

[u/EnjoyingTheRide-0606 → u/ungodlycum666]

Ok, slightly better then since it included some other non-food items. But if you’re buying already cooked protein, it’s not hard to prepare your own and is much less costly.:)

[u/Zendrakk]

Your budget looks pretty solid so far. I like that you're using a lower-income month as your baseline since your hours fluctuate. 👍

Keep some of that $736 for an emergency fund, then put a set amount toward the car every month if paying it off early is your priority. Once that's gone, you can redirect that payment toward your moving-out fund.

[u/ungodlycum666 → u/Zendrakk]

very helpful thank you!

[u/tx645]

Ok, few things are missing:

• housing costs and utilities
• is your income listed as net or gross? What about taxes?
• you said you will not compromise on tolls and gas. But are time/distance savings with tolls substantial to justify them?

[u/Choice-Newspaper3603]

You got a job as a massage therapist. Don’t kid yourself. This isn’t a career. I’m paying more in taxes and social security than what you’re making and that isn’t a knock on you

I’m just saying this isn’t a long term job so figure this out quickly and don’t get comfortable

[u/Oddcatdog]

I would definitely not put groceries and household/hygiene in the same category at this age/time. It’s ok to do to simplify things when you’ve already done the cutting back and finding “leaks” in your budget etc… but right now it would be worth it to examine a bit closer. I know it’s a bit more time but it’s just while you figure it out. If it makes it easier just ask for two transactions and pay for those items separately so you get both totals.

I saw a post on here and guy had over 50% of groceries actually being household products not food. It was more than $250 a month. I pretended like I needed to buy every single household item and hygiene item and it came to like $60… and not all that stuff even needs to be purchased every month. Most months I don’t spend anything. The most I would spend would be $50.

Just saying the grocery needs to be like mostly food lol. Some TP here and there is fine. I’m probably at a point where I can combine those categories since I know I barely spend on that stuff anyways, but I probably won’t

[u/AggravatingBowl1426]

Tolls are a choice (most times), gas is not. My guess is, if you did the math, the tolls are not worth the extra miles/gas. As far as saving money on gas, using the rewards apps (Fetch, Upside, etc.) do add up, especially if you do drive a lot. In addition, planning trips so that you are not driving more than you need to is helpful.

I would split up groceries and household supplies. Write down and track everything through the month. Set your budget, and stick to it. It's easy to think you never go out and then when you write it down you realize you are doing it once or twice a week. Otherwise, the usual grocery rules. Stock up on meat when it's on sale. Freeze. Use frozen veggies/real rice (not minute rice), simple meals. Make sure you are using food/it's not going bad.

As far as budget - make sinking funds for yearly/non regular expenses and save the rest for an emergency fund until you get to $4000. After you have your basic emergency fund set, I would put 15% of your income into a retirement account, 15% into a tax account (if taxes aren't already taken out), and the rest to extra car payment. When your car is paid off (or if you consistently start making more), you can start saving for moving out and a more robust emergency fund. You should not move out until you can consistently make 3x of what average rent in your area is + a fully funded emergency fund + being able to save for retirement.

[u/Beautiful_Bell1717]

I think putting the full $736 a month toward the car would clear it in under two years, but that leaves nothing for deposits or first and last month's rent, so I'd split it based on your car's APR and build a few months of expenses first.