Given all of the spectacular budgets that have been shown on news outlets, I thought I’d share my actual one. Making 97.5k, as a single 26yo male living in a studio without splitting rent, my budget is the below:
Rent: $1,700
Renter’s Insurance: $10
Car Payment: $330
Car Insurance: $140
Phone Bill: $150
Utilities: $60 (water covered by landlord and climate doesn’t get too hot or too cold most of the year)
Internet: $70
Student Loans: $950
Subscriptions: $80
Food: $600 (groceries/eating out [which I don’t do often])
Gas: $120
Investment: $200
Entertainment: $250
Insurance: $100 (this is pre-tax and I pay for a dirt cheap insurance since I never go in. It will likely come back to haunt me given the medical system but oh well for now)
401k: $570 (pre-tax)
Gross Monthly Income: $8,150
Pre-Tax Deductions: $670
Net Monthly Paycheck: $5,220
Total Spending: $4,660 (Amounts out of net paycheck)
Remainder: $560 (Put into savings)
Since they wanted to create one, I wanted to give mine as an example. Everyone is obviously different and would choose to spend it differently, but at least it’s based on actual activity and not someone making up what they think it would be.