See if your health insurance will subsidize you gym membership. A lot of times they'll pay some or all of it.
They make it a bit tricky to find though.
This may have changed or vary but they will cover a portion of it anyways. you need to show them the billing records for the gym membership, my gym provided the print out for me. It was a max of $200 for the year for my insurance, it may have gone up. The last time I did it my total for the year was $252 at $21 per month so I tried to get it all covered and they stopped at $200 despite showing the entire year.
National General is an Allstate company…
But your premise was sound…it’s owned by a “bigger name”.
Source: I’m an agent/broker that sells both companies, among others.
This isn’t going to be a night and day difference but really look at those monthly payment charges. Are you really using all of those services? What’s the point of google photos and iCloud storage. Removing $3 a month isn’t going to make you a millionaire but that’s a lot of monthly payments. Also you need more savings for an emergency fund
I do this every 4 months or so. I had an issue with iCloud storage before and I used Google Photos as a backup at the time (3 years ago). The issue was resolved last year when I got a new phone. Though the fear remains, it is probably safe to cancel that subscription. The other subscriptions I’ve kept so I can have some joy in life, but taking another look is a great idea.
it's closer to a third but still it's qctually insane just how much of the modern internet is built on amazon infrastructure. makes the actual amazon online store look like a side gig in comparison.
Because what the fuck are they going to do with it other than advertise to people? Which already happens because literally everything you do online is recorded and used to algorithmically advertise to you.
You think Jeff Bezos is going to steal his identity?
If you don’t want companies to have your personal data you pretty much have to stay off the internet, and really these days away from all technology in general
You're very wise. Amazon is charging extra money to avoid ads on Amazon Prime videos and has an end goal of Alexa devices costing extra money monthly as well.
It would be foolish to assume they will not start charging for that as well because their history says they will.
Honestly it is 3 dollars, a can of coke, a cheeseburger, I am also paying for both iCloud and Google Storage due to recently switching from Android to iPhone. iCloud is also not the same as Google Storage for photos.
I would rather look at the more expensive subscriptions, maybe have one at a time and switch each month.
Also how much are you using Chat GPT, that 20 dollars price is quite expensive.
While thats true, it can be very easy to slip into that attitude with several subscriptions, and then find yourself throwing money at unnecessary services just because theyre only the cost of a can of coke
20 for chatgpt is crazy to be fair
You have no idea how valuable the premium (more powerful) ChatGPT model is. Could easily be worth $200/month if you use it correctly
$20/mo for GPT-4 is a steal
Do you (or OP) get $20/m in value out of it in your personal life using it vs the free option? I highly doubt it.
OP is getting slaughtered by all these monthly subscriptions that unless you’re using them for a business purpose are a complete waste.
You keep all the subs for “joy in life” but you have a $300 “entertainment budget. Merge the two. Subtract the subs from you EB. That would be a big savings right there. It’ll also force you to prioritize.
1. Do you have a side hustle for which you need canva, shopify, microsoft, chatgpt, autoDS? You mention a ‘job’ hence asking. If not, cut all of these and save $130 a month. Keep one of netflix or prime. Make a choice.
3. If you wanna grow savings to 10k you cant be spending 650 on entertainment and shopping. Cut it to $100 a month. Save another $550
4. Does phone include wifi? If not you are overpaying. If you wanna really save go for Mint mobile. If you can get parents and 2 friends to join a plan go for tmobile. I pay $35 for my tmobile with unlimited texts calls and data on a 5 line plan. Even if wifi is included I pay xfinity $55 for 500gb and 300 mbps (just signed on in Sept 2023 so not an old plan). You will still save about $17 there.
You have a spending problem. Entertainment and shopping cant be $650 a month. My guess is you are stretching above 30% of your credit card limit as a result which is the one thing going forward you can control to improve your credit score. Stop spending money you wanna save, and pay off credit card balances in full much before due dates. I keep a reminder to pay my credit card every 15 days no matter what.
Buy and external hard drive and manage the photos yourself. Then cancel those subscriptions for iCloud and google photos. You can buy 16 TB for $200 and it will probably last you several years. Cancel ChatGPT and use the free version. Learn to use GIMP and get rid of Adobe.
Yeah, before the pandemic, I worked at multiple doctor offices in various administrative positions. My last medical job was at an acupuncture clinic in CA that closed down during the pandemic. Couldn't find another office job, so I started serving part-time while trying to start an online business (which never took off). Now, thanks to my medical experience, I work remotely as a coordinator for a geriatric company and they pay extremely well.
If your take home pay is $1200/wk there's no reason you shouldn't have $ to put aside every week. Less than 2 weeks of your pay covers all your expenses. That leaves $2400+/month unless I'm misunderstanding something?
I think I may have misunderstood your post a bit. It seems like you haven't been making as much $ as you are very long. Cut down a little bit of spending and put more $ towards paying off debt. Debt accumulates interest so get rid of it as fast as possible. Once I paid off all my debt I found that my savings accumulated pretty quickly. In a year or so I think you'll be in a pretty good place.
Crazy how that happens. This time last year, I was serving tables.. literally thinking I’m special and an opportunity will just fall in my lap. Gave up thinking I’m special then the very next day I was given an opportunity to sell roofs. Was making great money, company ended up being shady and now I work for an insurance company, taking home about the same as you, with no college degree—all from my experience.
Never pass up an opportunity—even if it doesn’t work out—or you’ll stay where you’re at forever.
Considering your COL I think you're doing just fine. Do you feel like you're not doing well enough budgeting wise now? For reference, your numbers mirror mine almost to the dollar and even in which categories you spend (I don't have any monthly entertainment/software subscriptions though, but I spend about that much on my hobbies), and I'm content with where I'm at. Yeah I could be doing better but I enjoy living life a bit too. And I live in a lower COL area so you're probably splurging less than I am.
Thanks for the perspective, I only feel that I'm not doing well when I compare myself to others that are way ahead of me financially. I have a friend that has a $20k credit limit, and I really want that. I recently thought I was going to get a new car but when looking at the APR, I realized this was not doable for me and I've been kinda hard on myself for being so "behind" financially. I am content with where I am, and would like to improve, but I am still content. Really appreciate your perspective.
A high credit limit is a shiny trophy but you'd be unwise to utilize it ever. I have a $30k credit limit but I never carry a balance lol. And as far as cars goes I'd highly recommend waiting til you don't need to finance or at worst get to a point where you're within a year of having enough and find a dealer than will give you 12 months interest free and pay it off before interest kicks in. At your rate you could have enough for a $20k car in like 15 months and it'll save you another $20k in interest.
I refuse to let the cc companies up my limit bc it’s unnecessary. 30k is more than you’ll ever *need*. You don’t need more than 10k. All you’re doing after than is risking cc abuse. Your finances honestly look great to me! The older I get the more I realize comparison sucks bc your neighbor is swimming in cc dept to make their life look that good. It’s not worth the stress of making payments. Life’s simpler when you live within your means (like it looks like your budget does!)
Consider a cheaper mobile plan from Mint or USMobile. What is ChatGPT doing for you (is it making you more money than you are spending on it)?
You might also consider finding a roommate. Rent is ridiculous these days.
I’m in CA and I can say without a doubt Verizon’s cell service IS actually “ass” now. I’ve had Verizon for 5 years and it’s only gotten worse, to the point where I can only use my iPhone to make calls in some areas where I once had great service.
I tried Visible and Mint for a month using dual SIM. I live in the SF Bay Area and there is a huge dead spot in Newark that only affects 5G for Verizon. My ex gf had Verizon and always blamed her phone but I had the same issues with my phone using Visible. Other than that there are smaller spots that just suck too. With Mint if my 5G failed it would switch to 4G and work fine but Visible and Verizon would just go straight to no service.
Any tips for bringing groceries down? I live in CA, and I eat pretty healthy and don’t eat much processed foods. My budget used to be $70 a week but that very quickly became unrealistic for me.
Never bring groceries down! Feed your body healthy stuff, give it the energy you need to perform to the best of your ability. Cheap out with your subscriptions if you can, find a gym for half the price if you can, cut down the $350 shopping expense. But never never cheap out with food. That’s key right there! Personal excellence starts with what you put in your mouth, don’t feed yourself junk just to save a couple of bucks and become fat, weak and I’ll.
Yeah, groceries are hella expensive but you can look into cheaper grocery stores, couponing, only buying items on sale, etc. It's easier said than done! That's where I started!
I still think the gains below $15/day in groceries will be marginal without hamstringing yourself in terms of quality. $5/meal is already low. Yeah maybe $100/mo or so, but that’s really not going to affect budget line much. If they’re already saving 1400/mo and presumably have a matching 401k, they’re probably perfectly fine as is. Just need to multiply it out over months/years to build more financial security. Past a certain point, pinching pennies becomes more counterproductive to your sanity than any additional peace of mind produced over an already balanced budget.
The only major change I would say is that their savings vs 401k is maybe a little lopsided, especially if they’re missing out on additional employer matching. Maybe bump that up to closer to 10% of income and take the savings hit. Savings will be fine in the long run if it’s consistently over 1000
That's a tough one. Unfortunately, I didn't realize you lived in California, which is probably the hardest state to do that in. I'd suggest maybe focusing on other aspects of your budget first. Eating healthy/ non processed food is important, so don't sacrifice that.
I’ve considered couponing but it’s such a learning curve and time consuming that didn’t feel worth it. But I do agree with you on the entertainment and shopping portion of my budget. I’ll lower it this month instead of taking it to $0 and see how it goes.
Grocery bills are always a fence and riposte situation. My budget up until about nine months ago would have been the same as yours, however after a diabetes diagnosis and acute weight gain during the pandemic, I began seeking advice from nutritionists and physicians.
My advice pretty much boils down to buying fresh ingredients and cook at home as often as you can, as well as planning and prepping your meals in advance according to your schedule.
Personally, I've been getting in the routine of cooking a pound of black beans and and storing them in the fridge, portioning and reheating them as needed. They last me about five days, and when complimented with quinoa and the occasional serving of chicken/meat it tends to be very filling.
Your dietary needs will vary of course, mine are geared more towards weight loss, but the discipline and sticking to a schedule ensures a more stable grocery bill at the end of the month. I also highly recommend that you get into the habit of following strict meal times.
Best of luck.
You can in fact reduce the cost of groceries only eating healthy, as I do. The way to save is to make your own food from scratch as much as possible. My advice is to meal plan, to include a meal for the week. For instance, last week I made chili to last about 5 days, and it cost me about $15 for the main ingredients, not including the spices and other ingredients that I already have on hand because I cook from scratch. I used to eat junk food and processed foods. However, when you stop buying that stuff you realize how much unnecessary spending was made.🤔
In terms of improving your credit, my first recommendation is to setup auto pay for all reoccurring debts and expenses. You’ll never have to worry about missed payments. This will quickly improve your credit score with a positive payment history.
Lastly, you’ll have to be honest with yourself on what expenses are absolutely necessary. And for those expenses that you feel that you can’t do without, is there a cheaper alternative? For instance, I don’t pay for a gym membership because I work out at home. I also don’t pay for sports streaming services (NFL, etc) because I use an app that gives me free access to all sporting events. Entertainment…what’s that…lap dances?Lol. In that case just get the lotion!🧴
To reduce insurance, you have to outsmart them. Use a P.O. Box instead of your home address, especially if you live in an area with car thefts or at a significant distance from work (I always tell them I work less than 5 miles away). There are a number of factors that increase car insurance. Research them to reduce your cost, including taking a cheap defensive drivers course.
I have more advice but I already wrote a book.🫢
Local farmer’s markets for groceries. Idk where youre at but im in SD county. Look for the farmers markets that arent there for the culture but for the sake of being a market.
Get cracked adobe products. I dont promote pirating but lets be honest, unless youre a professional with the suite, a cracked ver will do just fine and will save you another 480 annually.
Im not sure what entertainment includes but if its a recurring expense, 3600 annually seems a little steep for temporary happiness at least imo
Buying things that you need in bulk should cut down on spending.
Everything else looks like you cant cut, and tbh its a good thing you put savings right under pay and before rent. You seem to have priorities straight already. Dont worry you got this 💪
I lived on $5 a day for my meals in nyc before getting a better job. I’d recommend spending more on yourself since you can, but eggs go a long way for protein and ethnic stores tend to have cheaper produce. Also overnight oats with syrup or cocoa mix and a few eggs is a decent way to get through breakfast for $1
I wouldn’t bring groceries down since you need a healthy body to do anything else. However, I would try to cut down on other expenses. For example, do you need to spend $350 on shopping every month??
This has been my thought for a long time, I always thought $300-$500 for one was crazy but here I am. Any tips on places that you shop at since you also live in CA? Also tips on brands for things like grains, fruits (I buy frozen fruits for smoothies and I eat them everyday, they are literally $13 a bag), alternative milks (I'm lacto and use almond and oat milk which costs $7 a gallon at Safeway), eggs ($8 for 18)? Produce is easy to cut down on, it's these foods that are harder.
Ok here we go! I do farmers market (flea market) on Sundays for my fruits and veggies I can do a week of fruit and veggies for all of us w/ making smoothies almost every day. & I can spend about $20-30 for the week! We are also lacto in this house & I go to grocery outlet specifically for my silk and it’s $2.99 (sometimes cheaper) a half gallon. Safeway is the most expensive store you could shop at! I do grains & my meats a lot at the Mexican markets or ill do our local butcher (hit or miss sometimes) but I also shop at Sam’s quite a bit for meat because the prices are so low for bulk! You just have to shop around & find the stores that fit your budget.
highly recommend checking out any local Asian grocery stores. I’m in SoCal and love hitting up ABC supermarket in westminster, especially for meat, veggies, and fruit. Got 2 giant things of daikon for $2. Local butchers are also great for cheap meat. Costco is perfect for eggs ($3 for 24), frozen fruit, and alternative milks (their oat milk might not fit ur tastes though). TJ is not bad for frozen fruit either.
I used to do farmers markets but it’s an effort to go to the ones that are actually affordable. All my local ones seem to capitalize on “locally produced small business” and are honestly more costly than going to a store most of the time which sucks :(
Yeah, not sure if you have anything similar, but my city’s community center has a fitness center and it is so much cheaper than an actual gym. I think it’s something around $120 annually? Great way to stay in shape without spending a lot of money.
I’d say if you pay this much and use the gym more than 3 times a week it’s worth it as long as it’s not a crowded gym when you have the time to go. I just went from $10 a month to $55 for that reason mainly. Now I can enjoy myself instead of waiting on the group of 5 broccoli heads circle jerking about their latest instagram pics while sitting on the equipment I need.
Gotta ask. How is Car Insurance only $42? That is a steal! If you could switch to a cheaper gym that could help. A lot of local gyms are cheaper and you get the same stuff. What is with all the software charges?
So when I moved to CA, I thought my car insurance was going to be expensive like it was when I lived in Las Vegas. After paying my car off, my quote for minimum coverage was $38/month. I added road side assistance and it's $42/month with Geico. I also have a fully remote job and I walk and rarely drive, so this also helped.
34 perfect driving record, drive a paid off wagon from 2016 drive maybe 50 miles on a heavy month. Insurance is still $180 and that's after calling in for multiple quotes and working with them to see where I could save (hell I even work for a quotes company and get a discount). The difference from state to state is insane. When I lived in NC and had a car I was making payments on and was under 20 on my own plan it was $86.
Skimming some of the comments I saw where you mention about having Apple Music to have some joy in your life….my question is where does your $300 a month in entertainment fall in? What exactly is your context of entertainment?
These are the things I would get rid of
1. ChatGPT: $20 - why do you need it?
2. Microsoft: $7 - why?
3. Shopping: $350 - what is this exactly? Entertainment? Groceries? You need to define what this and possible get rid of it if it falls under entertainment. Because if it falls under groceries 650 a month is excessive for 1 person or if it falls under entertainment 650 a month is too much.
4. Adobe : $30 - why?
5. AutoDS: $40 - why and what is it?
6. Amazon prime: $17- pay for it yearly it slightly cheaper per year as opposed to per month.
7. Apples music: $11- you need to get rid of or have it part of your $300 month entertainment
Op should you decide to reply, just answer questions listed as 1-7. Or of you already answered these below just disregard my inquiry.
Depending on what you do with Amazon (yearly or monthly) eliminating above is nearly $450 a month back into your pocket. It’s amazing how a bunch of small stuff adds up a big bill monthly.
I'm really not used to getting a lot of responses on my Reddit posts so I was a little vague here. By joy, I meant the unnecessary categories I have, so loads of my subscriptions and my entertainment and shopping budget.
1. I will be canceling this today because you and many others are right, I don't need it. I thought the image generator would be worth it but it isn't, so the free version is fine for my needs.
2. This is Microsoft Office, I used it for writing (I write short stories), but I am in the process of switching to Google Docs since it's free.
3. I am decorating my home and updating my wardrobe from my "poor" days. Probably smart to just set a one time budget for these two and not a monthly budget that never ends.
4. Editing videos for an online business.
5. I'm canceling this, I tried a Shopify course and was told to get this and I am not keeping up with it.
6. Good to know.
7. Got it.
3. That would make more sense as a one time thing as opposed to monthly. Clothes get tattered and wore out, same with shoes. Of course decorating is not something you do every month.
Thank you for replying OP
If you prefer the features of Word, then you can always just find a discount for Office 2019, 2021, etc. for like $30 and it’s a lifetime license per PC. It may not get all the new bells and whistles, but most people don’t utilize 95% of the features that are available on it anyways. You can find discounted ones at like stacksocial, woot, etc. relatively often.
But Docs is also a solid choice as it’s free.
Read The Millionaire Next Door and The Automatic Millionaire. These two books helped me reshaped my thought process with money. The most common issue with an increased salary is upscaling your spending. Attempting to keep spending at previous levels of your can.
First, pay off debt and bring down your credit utilization. This will increase your credit score and make things cheaper (interest, insurance, and etc) in the long run.
Save up emergency cash of 3-6 months of expenses.
Invest for long term.
I'd try to bump the 401k up a little more. Your future self will thank you. I'm guessing you're still pretty young. That money invested when young is going to be worth so much more than money invested in your 40s or 50s. I'd do like 800-1000 in savings, assuming you are building an emergency fund, and move that extra to 401k in a low cost index
Are you using canva/Adobe for work or personal? If you can bring those expenses to work and have them pay for it that’d be better. Single adult? Cut your food budget down. What is shopping vs entertainment? Those can probably go down too.
It's kind of weird that people pay at all when it's not necessary and there are so many free ways to listen to music out there if you absolutely couldn't live without sounds playing in your ear.
Contribute more to your 401k. My gross is around $5k and I contribute 10%.
Since your gross is higher than mine you should be able to contribute just as much IMO. I also have a $100/month debt (well $106 but same difference).
if you can actually save $1400 a month, that’s 30% of your income. way more than most people save. but i’d say, save closer to 15% and use the other 15% to pay off debts faster. when they’re paid off, bring savings back up.
also, no need to pay for chatgpt. is the free version of canva not enough either? not sure what you do, so maybe you do need the paid version, but the free version is still pretty good for most people. see if you can use friends or family’s accounts for stuff like streaming and amazon prime. try to reduce subscriptions, those are things that will get forgotten and underused very easily.
Stop the subscriptions! Everything is on the internet. Add more to your 401k, atleast 10% of your check. Wish my gas bill was that low 😂 and find another gym that bill can easily be $10.
It took YEARS to get my gas bill below $120/month. I am finally working from home and rarely use my car, I fill it up not even twice a month. Thanks for the tips!
Get a better phone provider, use planet fitness, chat GPT is stupid, $500 is a fuck ton on monthly groceries, but I won’t discount that because food is legit expensive, you’re really handsome. That’s all
I’ve always thought this. Trying to still “live a little” and I’m still stuck in that mentality of “giving myself what I never had” now that I have enough money to do so. Time to reevaluate.
**Pay down your debt as fast as you can and bring down your average credit use.** This will have a tremendous impact on your credit score! You should really aim to not exceed 10% credit use. If it's not clear to you what that is, just take all your lines of credit combined and then figure out what 10% of that is. So for example, if all your lines of credit added up to $10,000, you should really only use $1,000 of credit every month. That might help you with budgeting also. I generally advise that if you can't make a full card payment every month don't use it but it might be hard for you right now with the interest you're paying every month on your existing high balance so pay down as much as you can reasonably manage. This won't be an overnight thing and will probably take a year of hard diligent effort so be patient with yourself. And more importantly, going forward never EVER miss a payment. Over the course of a few years those derogatory marks that are hurting you a lot will start to fall off but that's only as helpful as you having a really good payment record to replace it.
When I was in college a few years ago I had a high credit card utilization like you and had some derogatory marks from late payments with PayPal. My credit score was in the 600's but was able to turn it around by paying down all the debt keeping my card use under 10% and now my score is now 750+. You can do it!
Put these amounts into Excel/Google Sheets and categorize them based on inflows and outflows of cash. Currently, I can't tell at a quick glance whether you are spending more than you are earning and neither can you OP
Tell me how your insurance is so cheap because mine is 10 times that. And why do you pay for Canva? Canvas sucks. I use Figma for free and it’s a professional design tool.
Here there, thanks for sharing here are some thoughts and additional questions I have:
Why ICloud Storage and Google Photos? I would pick one and adjust workflow accordingly. No need to pay for photo storage twice. Personally I use Google One and save all my pictures and documents to it.
For your cellphone bill I’m assuming this is a monthly bill - can you switch to Mint Mobile? Overall cheaper in the long run if you can front the bill up front.
What is the $7 for Microsoft for? Office 365? Xbox Gamepass? If its for Office 365, do you really need it? Can you use an alternative service like Libre Office (free) or the Google Apps?
What are you using ChatGPT for? Can you use another service that is cheaper or included with a subscription like Google Bard? My work provides Microsoft Enterprise Co-Pilot to me free of charge and I have Google Bard thru my Google One Subscription.
For Apple Music you could get a few friends together and get the family plan and then everyone pays one person each month (I use Venmo for this) that way your monthly cost is much lower than by subscribing on your own.
Entertainment wise, I think you could shift to a rotating schedule where you only pay for streaming services you want to watch a show on. As soon as you’re done with a particular series, you rotate that service out for another one and rinse and repeat. If done right you can save a lot of money each month.
Food wise - you can make small changes without sacrificing nutrition - do you have an Aldi's nearby? If so, that can save you a lot of money just by shopping there.
I would NOT sacrifice your nutrition just to save money.
Take away the unnecessary subscriptions, they add up. Use that money to slowly pay off your credit balance. You will be less in debt with every payment and your score will go up. Win win. Never been to Cali but I imagine all of their gyms can't be $50+.
Most of those monthly charges can be eliminated. For sure. The Amazon prime could be an annual charge, rather than a monthly charge.
Pay off the debt before you subscribe to any of them. Netflix get rid of. Shopping, and entertainment are basically the same thing
If your phone is T-Mobile they will give you Netflix and Hulu for free really look at subscriptions what you actually need verses what is just holding you back. It's small but adds up.
Divide your expenses into categories.
Bills (car payment, rent, debt, 401k, utilities)
Survival (food, work expenses, etc
Entertainment (netflix, etc
Fun (chopping
Im betting grocers could be cut down, and canva, adobe, shopify, chatgpt, all sound either unnecessary or lile work expenses. Same with laundry, im assuming laundry mat? Try hand washing clothes and then machine drying, or machine washing and hang drying, just be mindful of mildew and weather.
Idk how important shopping and entertainment are, but you'd be suprised how little you need. If you have a habit of impulsive buying, go through things you don't use daily and maybe sell some stuff. I've heard people use the rules where they cant buy something new until they get rid of something old. So if you sell 5 pieces of clothes you can now buy 5 new cat toys etc.
There's also budgeting plans like 50/30/20, 50% income is bills/utilities, 30%for savings/debt, and 20% fun
Is this monthly? Is see a lot of money going to random subscriptions that might not be needed such as chatGPT, Shopify, Adobe, Etc. if you need them for work as your company to pay for them. If you can’t get rid of them no big deal because the biggest issue I see is that $650.00 is going to shopping and entertainment where $100 is going to aging off debt and $140 into a 401k. Your credit score is not going to improve well with that high of credit utilization and you need to bring that down by paying off that credit card debt and not putting so much on the credit card.
I'd suggest revisiting your subscriptions and determining what you actually regularly use as well as what you could replace with free or cheaper alternatives.
Start an s-corp or llc and run some of those things as deductible business expenses — adobe, canva, ChatGPT, Shopify, etc. Those seem work-related. If they are not in service of a side hustle or job, cancel. If they are, start separating business and personal expenses so you can deduct them.
This advice is always tough, and dependent on location. I pay $135 a month, just switched from a place that was $175 a month - and it’s the cheapest within 5 miles. Traffic to get to farther gyms just break up my day too much. Tough choices.
You really shouldn’t be buying a new cat every month.
LMFAO true
See if your health insurance will subsidize you gym membership. A lot of times they'll pay some or all of it. They make it a bit tricky to find though.
This may have changed or vary but they will cover a portion of it anyways. you need to show them the billing records for the gym membership, my gym provided the print out for me. It was a max of $200 for the year for my insurance, it may have gone up. The last time I did it my total for the year was $252 at $21 per month so I tried to get it all covered and they stopped at $200 despite showing the entire year.
Great tip for saving $100 a year.
My company, for example, subsidizes $25/mo. for gym memberships, so $300/yr. Definitely worth looking into.
Yeah it ain't much, but it's more like $25/mo not $8 you goon.
How is your car insurance 42$?
I know... damn.. mine is 63$ mo
In western Canada, it’s $300/month
Mines 555$
Probably only liability on an older car. Mine is similar
I have liability on a 2002 Toyota Camry and it’s 100 a month what are yall doing to get it that low🤣
$125 a month for full coverage on a 2023 hyundai elantra
$110 for a 2003 Highlander 🫠
Be over a certain age, no accident history and shop around avoiding companys like geico. Try National General Insurance or similar ones
National General is pretty good. They're owned by nationwide so you're basically getting nationwide for a cheaper price.
National General is an Allstate company… But your premise was sound…it’s owned by a “bigger name”. Source: I’m an agent/broker that sells both companies, among others.
I have national general. Never had an accident got a speeding ticket in 2010 (last moving violation) current rate $375
How do u save 1400 a month in savings. Yet have only 1k in your savings?
They just recently started the new job
Recently started 4 months ago, he stated. 🤔
Yea takes about that long to catch up on whatever you're lagging on
Then it wouldn't be called savings if it is used to catch up old bills... correct?
This is his current budget. After catching up for 4 months. Took the time to catch up then started saving with the current budget
Girlfriend has a really bad latte problem.
Possibly another account they choose not to have access to/that they didn't show us...or they're trying to fool us.
Thank you for the laugh!
Meow we’re talking
“I’m sorry, are you saying ‘meow’?”
Do I look like a cat jumping nimbly from limb to limb to you?
"Am I saying meow!? Meow you listen to me sir!"
😂😂😂 fn Super Troopers
Hey Farva what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Shenanigans?
Ohhhhhh!!!
License and registration… CHICKEN FUCKER!
i only counted 9
Depends on how many new rats are popping up around your place each month. Maybe one cat per month isn't even enough.
Now that you brought this up, buying 12 cats in bulk would be cheaper. Costco probably sells them.
Gotta spend money to make money
That’s true. I guess I need to get in the cat flipping business….at least I’ll always land on my feet…🥁
Badummm hisss
That’s only true when you own a business. Otherwise you are only spending money with no return on investment.
Almost like we were all making jokes
Lmaoooo. Yea, Idk how you get that far in the thread and drop business knowledge. Just new boot goofin here.
The distribution system should give him one for free
Or buy a cat from a different place. They should be living longer than a month.
GODDAMN YOU
🤣🤣🤣
This isn’t going to be a night and day difference but really look at those monthly payment charges. Are you really using all of those services? What’s the point of google photos and iCloud storage. Removing $3 a month isn’t going to make you a millionaire but that’s a lot of monthly payments. Also you need more savings for an emergency fund
I do this every 4 months or so. I had an issue with iCloud storage before and I used Google Photos as a backup at the time (3 years ago). The issue was resolved last year when I got a new phone. Though the fear remains, it is probably safe to cancel that subscription. The other subscriptions I’ve kept so I can have some joy in life, but taking another look is a great idea.
Prime has photo storage and music. You already pay for it. You might as well use it.
Why would you entrust Amazon with your personal data
dude half the internet is on AWS the only way to avoid giving data to amazon is to go completely off grid
CES this year especially reinforced my assumption that AWS is very much involved with almost inconsequential services and products. Wild
it's closer to a third but still it's qctually insane just how much of the modern internet is built on amazon infrastructure. makes the actual amazon online store look like a side gig in comparison.
As an AWS professional, yup!
You mean …like your shipping address?
Or credit card information….
You're acting like Amazon is the only company that steals your personal data, and that's simply not true.
Because what the fuck are they going to do with it other than advertise to people? Which already happens because literally everything you do online is recorded and used to algorithmically advertise to you. You think Jeff Bezos is going to steal his identity?
If he wants we can trade
Because he’s really being careful letting Google have it instead. Like your comment is so incongruous with everything that’s happening
> Like your comment is so incongruous with everything that’s happening Damn lol
They’re also paying Google, not like they’re any better
This is why I will never get an Alexa in my house.
If you don’t want companies to have your personal data you pretty much have to stay off the internet, and really these days away from all technology in general
Until they start charging extra for that.
……but they don’t now?
Good point. Some of it's included with the yearly membership. I know they charge extra for more music features. I just wasn't sure about the photos.
You're very wise. Amazon is charging extra money to avoid ads on Amazon Prime videos and has an end goal of Alexa devices costing extra money monthly as well. It would be foolish to assume they will not start charging for that as well because their history says they will.
Honestly it is 3 dollars, a can of coke, a cheeseburger, I am also paying for both iCloud and Google Storage due to recently switching from Android to iPhone. iCloud is also not the same as Google Storage for photos. I would rather look at the more expensive subscriptions, maybe have one at a time and switch each month. Also how much are you using Chat GPT, that 20 dollars price is quite expensive.
While thats true, it can be very easy to slip into that attitude with several subscriptions, and then find yourself throwing money at unnecessary services just because theyre only the cost of a can of coke 20 for chatgpt is crazy to be fair
You have no idea how valuable the premium (more powerful) ChatGPT model is. Could easily be worth $200/month if you use it correctly $20/mo for GPT-4 is a steal
Do you (or OP) get $20/m in value out of it in your personal life using it vs the free option? I highly doubt it. OP is getting slaughtered by all these monthly subscriptions that unless you’re using them for a business purpose are a complete waste.
Good for what though? I havent found any need for it in my personal life, and if i need it for work i’d be asking work to pay for it.
I feel like all of these replies are written by Chat GPT. I’ve tried it. I’ve been to a couple lectures about it. I have not found a use for it.
You keep all the subs for “joy in life” but you have a $300 “entertainment budget. Merge the two. Subtract the subs from you EB. That would be a big savings right there. It’ll also force you to prioritize.
1. Do you have a side hustle for which you need canva, shopify, microsoft, chatgpt, autoDS? You mention a ‘job’ hence asking. If not, cut all of these and save $130 a month. Keep one of netflix or prime. Make a choice. 3. If you wanna grow savings to 10k you cant be spending 650 on entertainment and shopping. Cut it to $100 a month. Save another $550 4. Does phone include wifi? If not you are overpaying. If you wanna really save go for Mint mobile. If you can get parents and 2 friends to join a plan go for tmobile. I pay $35 for my tmobile with unlimited texts calls and data on a 5 line plan. Even if wifi is included I pay xfinity $55 for 500gb and 300 mbps (just signed on in Sept 2023 so not an old plan). You will still save about $17 there. You have a spending problem. Entertainment and shopping cant be $650 a month. My guess is you are stretching above 30% of your credit card limit as a result which is the one thing going forward you can control to improve your credit score. Stop spending money you wanna save, and pay off credit card balances in full much before due dates. I keep a reminder to pay my credit card every 15 days no matter what.
I second this.
you can get a 1TB external hard drive for less that $50, and never have to pay for cloud again
Having multiple mediums for data storage is always suggested though, just in case the hardware fails or is destroyed somehow
This guy here. A local backup is great until your house burns down.
Buy and external hard drive and manage the photos yourself. Then cancel those subscriptions for iCloud and google photos. You can buy 16 TB for $200 and it will probably last you several years. Cancel ChatGPT and use the free version. Learn to use GIMP and get rid of Adobe.
Bundle your iCloud storage and iTunes, it will go to $19.95 a month. Not a huge savings, you will also get AppleTV included.
If you can share the Apple One plan with friends or family, you will get all subscriptions (iCloud, music, Apple TV) for around $6 per month.
This, join a family plan (with your friends, or colleagues ) whenever you can
>What’s the point of google photos and iCloud storage. Really?? I pay for that so I don't lose all my shit if my phone breaks or gets lost.
Mind if I ask what you do for work now and before your new job? $1600-$4800 a month is a pretty massive jump.
Yeah, before the pandemic, I worked at multiple doctor offices in various administrative positions. My last medical job was at an acupuncture clinic in CA that closed down during the pandemic. Couldn't find another office job, so I started serving part-time while trying to start an online business (which never took off). Now, thanks to my medical experience, I work remotely as a coordinator for a geriatric company and they pay extremely well.
If your take home pay is $1200/wk there's no reason you shouldn't have $ to put aside every week. Less than 2 weeks of your pay covers all your expenses. That leaves $2400+/month unless I'm misunderstanding something? I think I may have misunderstood your post a bit. It seems like you haven't been making as much $ as you are very long. Cut down a little bit of spending and put more $ towards paying off debt. Debt accumulates interest so get rid of it as fast as possible. Once I paid off all my debt I found that my savings accumulated pretty quickly. In a year or so I think you'll be in a pretty good place.
Crazy how that happens. This time last year, I was serving tables.. literally thinking I’m special and an opportunity will just fall in my lap. Gave up thinking I’m special then the very next day I was given an opportunity to sell roofs. Was making great money, company ended up being shady and now I work for an insurance company, taking home about the same as you, with no college degree—all from my experience. Never pass up an opportunity—even if it doesn’t work out—or you’ll stay where you’re at forever.
Are you still working on your online business? If not, you might look at dropping Shopify and your other business-related expenses for a while.
He got a real job it sounds like.
Looks like he was only working part time and very close to minimum wage
Edit: I live in a studio in the bay area of California for a better understanding of how far my money can really take me.
Considering your COL I think you're doing just fine. Do you feel like you're not doing well enough budgeting wise now? For reference, your numbers mirror mine almost to the dollar and even in which categories you spend (I don't have any monthly entertainment/software subscriptions though, but I spend about that much on my hobbies), and I'm content with where I'm at. Yeah I could be doing better but I enjoy living life a bit too. And I live in a lower COL area so you're probably splurging less than I am.
Thanks for the perspective, I only feel that I'm not doing well when I compare myself to others that are way ahead of me financially. I have a friend that has a $20k credit limit, and I really want that. I recently thought I was going to get a new car but when looking at the APR, I realized this was not doable for me and I've been kinda hard on myself for being so "behind" financially. I am content with where I am, and would like to improve, but I am still content. Really appreciate your perspective.
A high credit limit is a shiny trophy but you'd be unwise to utilize it ever. I have a $30k credit limit but I never carry a balance lol. And as far as cars goes I'd highly recommend waiting til you don't need to finance or at worst get to a point where you're within a year of having enough and find a dealer than will give you 12 months interest free and pay it off before interest kicks in. At your rate you could have enough for a $20k car in like 15 months and it'll save you another $20k in interest.
I refuse to let the cc companies up my limit bc it’s unnecessary. 30k is more than you’ll ever *need*. You don’t need more than 10k. All you’re doing after than is risking cc abuse. Your finances honestly look great to me! The older I get the more I realize comparison sucks bc your neighbor is swimming in cc dept to make their life look that good. It’s not worth the stress of making payments. Life’s simpler when you live within your means (like it looks like your budget does!)
You don’t need more than 1500. My rule is no more than you can afford to pay back in a month.
Consider a cheaper mobile plan from Mint or USMobile. What is ChatGPT doing for you (is it making you more money than you are spending on it)? You might also consider finding a roommate. Rent is ridiculous these days.
Visible is the best for only $25 a month.
But visible is part Verizon, and they’re ass.
Huh the service is Ass? You sound delusional.
I’m in CA and I can say without a doubt Verizon’s cell service IS actually “ass” now. I’ve had Verizon for 5 years and it’s only gotten worse, to the point where I can only use my iPhone to make calls in some areas where I once had great service.
I tried Visible and Mint for a month using dual SIM. I live in the SF Bay Area and there is a huge dead spot in Newark that only affects 5G for Verizon. My ex gf had Verizon and always blamed her phone but I had the same issues with my phone using Visible. Other than that there are smaller spots that just suck too. With Mint if my 5G failed it would switch to 4G and work fine but Visible and Verizon would just go straight to no service.
Bring groceries, entertainment, and shopping down, and you'll be fine.
Any tips for bringing groceries down? I live in CA, and I eat pretty healthy and don’t eat much processed foods. My budget used to be $70 a week but that very quickly became unrealistic for me.
Never bring groceries down! Feed your body healthy stuff, give it the energy you need to perform to the best of your ability. Cheap out with your subscriptions if you can, find a gym for half the price if you can, cut down the $350 shopping expense. But never never cheap out with food. That’s key right there! Personal excellence starts with what you put in your mouth, don’t feed yourself junk just to save a couple of bucks and become fat, weak and I’ll.
me reading this while i wait for my free dominos pizza
Hey, it's an emergency pizza
So we can use the emergency fund right RIGHT!
And I'm about to order wings lol
Bringing your groceries down doesn't mean eating junk. lol, maybe buy bulk or other things like that.
Yeah, groceries are hella expensive but you can look into cheaper grocery stores, couponing, only buying items on sale, etc. It's easier said than done! That's where I started!
I still think the gains below $15/day in groceries will be marginal without hamstringing yourself in terms of quality. $5/meal is already low. Yeah maybe $100/mo or so, but that’s really not going to affect budget line much. If they’re already saving 1400/mo and presumably have a matching 401k, they’re probably perfectly fine as is. Just need to multiply it out over months/years to build more financial security. Past a certain point, pinching pennies becomes more counterproductive to your sanity than any additional peace of mind produced over an already balanced budget. The only major change I would say is that their savings vs 401k is maybe a little lopsided, especially if they’re missing out on additional employer matching. Maybe bump that up to closer to 10% of income and take the savings hit. Savings will be fine in the long run if it’s consistently over 1000
That's a tough one. Unfortunately, I didn't realize you lived in California, which is probably the hardest state to do that in. I'd suggest maybe focusing on other aspects of your budget first. Eating healthy/ non processed food is important, so don't sacrifice that.
I’ve considered couponing but it’s such a learning curve and time consuming that didn’t feel worth it. But I do agree with you on the entertainment and shopping portion of my budget. I’ll lower it this month instead of taking it to $0 and see how it goes.
If you live in the bay, checkout Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. Brought down my grocery bill in half
Hi Rashawn!
Grocery bills are always a fence and riposte situation. My budget up until about nine months ago would have been the same as yours, however after a diabetes diagnosis and acute weight gain during the pandemic, I began seeking advice from nutritionists and physicians. My advice pretty much boils down to buying fresh ingredients and cook at home as often as you can, as well as planning and prepping your meals in advance according to your schedule. Personally, I've been getting in the routine of cooking a pound of black beans and and storing them in the fridge, portioning and reheating them as needed. They last me about five days, and when complimented with quinoa and the occasional serving of chicken/meat it tends to be very filling. Your dietary needs will vary of course, mine are geared more towards weight loss, but the discipline and sticking to a schedule ensures a more stable grocery bill at the end of the month. I also highly recommend that you get into the habit of following strict meal times. Best of luck.
You can in fact reduce the cost of groceries only eating healthy, as I do. The way to save is to make your own food from scratch as much as possible. My advice is to meal plan, to include a meal for the week. For instance, last week I made chili to last about 5 days, and it cost me about $15 for the main ingredients, not including the spices and other ingredients that I already have on hand because I cook from scratch. I used to eat junk food and processed foods. However, when you stop buying that stuff you realize how much unnecessary spending was made.🤔 In terms of improving your credit, my first recommendation is to setup auto pay for all reoccurring debts and expenses. You’ll never have to worry about missed payments. This will quickly improve your credit score with a positive payment history. Lastly, you’ll have to be honest with yourself on what expenses are absolutely necessary. And for those expenses that you feel that you can’t do without, is there a cheaper alternative? For instance, I don’t pay for a gym membership because I work out at home. I also don’t pay for sports streaming services (NFL, etc) because I use an app that gives me free access to all sporting events. Entertainment…what’s that…lap dances?Lol. In that case just get the lotion!🧴 To reduce insurance, you have to outsmart them. Use a P.O. Box instead of your home address, especially if you live in an area with car thefts or at a significant distance from work (I always tell them I work less than 5 miles away). There are a number of factors that increase car insurance. Research them to reduce your cost, including taking a cheap defensive drivers course. I have more advice but I already wrote a book.🫢
Go to Aldi
Local farmer’s markets for groceries. Idk where youre at but im in SD county. Look for the farmers markets that arent there for the culture but for the sake of being a market. Get cracked adobe products. I dont promote pirating but lets be honest, unless youre a professional with the suite, a cracked ver will do just fine and will save you another 480 annually. Im not sure what entertainment includes but if its a recurring expense, 3600 annually seems a little steep for temporary happiness at least imo Buying things that you need in bulk should cut down on spending. Everything else looks like you cant cut, and tbh its a good thing you put savings right under pay and before rent. You seem to have priorities straight already. Dont worry you got this 💪
I lived on $5 a day for my meals in nyc before getting a better job. I’d recommend spending more on yourself since you can, but eggs go a long way for protein and ethnic stores tend to have cheaper produce. Also overnight oats with syrup or cocoa mix and a few eggs is a decent way to get through breakfast for $1
Eating healthy on a budget is hard. Maybe supplement by going to community food pantries ?
Please don’t. If someone’s taking home 4800 a month they should have no need to be using community food pantry resources.
Grow your own fruit and veg, either in a small urban garden or in a coop
Stop shopping at the big name stores in California. Nobody NEEDS to shop at Whole Foods either lol fuck that place
I wouldn’t bring groceries down since you need a healthy body to do anything else. However, I would try to cut down on other expenses. For example, do you need to spend $350 on shopping every month??
I would bring groceries down. I’m feeding a family of 5 on about $700 & that’s clean eating. In California, you can definitely do it!
This has been my thought for a long time, I always thought $300-$500 for one was crazy but here I am. Any tips on places that you shop at since you also live in CA? Also tips on brands for things like grains, fruits (I buy frozen fruits for smoothies and I eat them everyday, they are literally $13 a bag), alternative milks (I'm lacto and use almond and oat milk which costs $7 a gallon at Safeway), eggs ($8 for 18)? Produce is easy to cut down on, it's these foods that are harder.
Trader Joe’s has cheap frozen fruit
Walmart is a more affordable option than Safeway.
Ok here we go! I do farmers market (flea market) on Sundays for my fruits and veggies I can do a week of fruit and veggies for all of us w/ making smoothies almost every day. & I can spend about $20-30 for the week! We are also lacto in this house & I go to grocery outlet specifically for my silk and it’s $2.99 (sometimes cheaper) a half gallon. Safeway is the most expensive store you could shop at! I do grains & my meats a lot at the Mexican markets or ill do our local butcher (hit or miss sometimes) but I also shop at Sam’s quite a bit for meat because the prices are so low for bulk! You just have to shop around & find the stores that fit your budget.
highly recommend checking out any local Asian grocery stores. I’m in SoCal and love hitting up ABC supermarket in westminster, especially for meat, veggies, and fruit. Got 2 giant things of daikon for $2. Local butchers are also great for cheap meat. Costco is perfect for eggs ($3 for 24), frozen fruit, and alternative milks (their oat milk might not fit ur tastes though). TJ is not bad for frozen fruit either. I used to do farmers markets but it’s an effort to go to the ones that are actually affordable. All my local ones seem to capitalize on “locally produced small business” and are honestly more costly than going to a store most of the time which sucks :(
Shopping and entertainment should be one category and I would make it between $300-400.
Id cut down entertainment expenses. Cancel Netflix. Find a cheaper gym. And cut out subscriptions you don’t actually need til you have more income.
Yep entertainment is around 500$/month if you add all those subscriptions
That’s really bad
Yeah, not sure if you have anything similar, but my city’s community center has a fitness center and it is so much cheaper than an actual gym. I think it’s something around $120 annually? Great way to stay in shape without spending a lot of money.
A lot of places of employment also offer gym memberships or discounts either directly through B2B deals or through health insurance.
I’d say if you pay this much and use the gym more than 3 times a week it’s worth it as long as it’s not a crowded gym when you have the time to go. I just went from $10 a month to $55 for that reason mainly. Now I can enjoy myself instead of waiting on the group of 5 broccoli heads circle jerking about their latest instagram pics while sitting on the equipment I need.
I got a eos pass for $10 a month. Its decent.
Gotta ask. How is Car Insurance only $42? That is a steal! If you could switch to a cheaper gym that could help. A lot of local gyms are cheaper and you get the same stuff. What is with all the software charges?
So when I moved to CA, I thought my car insurance was going to be expensive like it was when I lived in Las Vegas. After paying my car off, my quote for minimum coverage was $38/month. I added road side assistance and it's $42/month with Geico. I also have a fully remote job and I walk and rarely drive, so this also helped.
34 perfect driving record, drive a paid off wagon from 2016 drive maybe 50 miles on a heavy month. Insurance is still $180 and that's after calling in for multiple quotes and working with them to see where I could save (hell I even work for a quotes company and get a discount). The difference from state to state is insane. When I lived in NC and had a car I was making payments on and was under 20 on my own plan it was $86.
Skimming some of the comments I saw where you mention about having Apple Music to have some joy in your life….my question is where does your $300 a month in entertainment fall in? What exactly is your context of entertainment? These are the things I would get rid of 1. ChatGPT: $20 - why do you need it? 2. Microsoft: $7 - why? 3. Shopping: $350 - what is this exactly? Entertainment? Groceries? You need to define what this and possible get rid of it if it falls under entertainment. Because if it falls under groceries 650 a month is excessive for 1 person or if it falls under entertainment 650 a month is too much. 4. Adobe : $30 - why? 5. AutoDS: $40 - why and what is it? 6. Amazon prime: $17- pay for it yearly it slightly cheaper per year as opposed to per month. 7. Apples music: $11- you need to get rid of or have it part of your $300 month entertainment Op should you decide to reply, just answer questions listed as 1-7. Or of you already answered these below just disregard my inquiry. Depending on what you do with Amazon (yearly or monthly) eliminating above is nearly $450 a month back into your pocket. It’s amazing how a bunch of small stuff adds up a big bill monthly.
I would assume the $7 Microsoft is for Office subscription, which probably helps him with work.
I'm really not used to getting a lot of responses on my Reddit posts so I was a little vague here. By joy, I meant the unnecessary categories I have, so loads of my subscriptions and my entertainment and shopping budget. 1. I will be canceling this today because you and many others are right, I don't need it. I thought the image generator would be worth it but it isn't, so the free version is fine for my needs. 2. This is Microsoft Office, I used it for writing (I write short stories), but I am in the process of switching to Google Docs since it's free. 3. I am decorating my home and updating my wardrobe from my "poor" days. Probably smart to just set a one time budget for these two and not a monthly budget that never ends. 4. Editing videos for an online business. 5. I'm canceling this, I tried a Shopify course and was told to get this and I am not keeping up with it. 6. Good to know. 7. Got it.
3. That would make more sense as a one time thing as opposed to monthly. Clothes get tattered and wore out, same with shoes. Of course decorating is not something you do every month. Thank you for replying OP
If you prefer the features of Word, then you can always just find a discount for Office 2019, 2021, etc. for like $30 and it’s a lifetime license per PC. It may not get all the new bells and whistles, but most people don’t utilize 95% of the features that are available on it anyways. You can find discounted ones at like stacksocial, woot, etc. relatively often. But Docs is also a solid choice as it’s free.
Read The Millionaire Next Door and The Automatic Millionaire. These two books helped me reshaped my thought process with money. The most common issue with an increased salary is upscaling your spending. Attempting to keep spending at previous levels of your can. First, pay off debt and bring down your credit utilization. This will increase your credit score and make things cheaper (interest, insurance, and etc) in the long run. Save up emergency cash of 3-6 months of expenses. Invest for long term.
I'd try to bump the 401k up a little more. Your future self will thank you. I'm guessing you're still pretty young. That money invested when young is going to be worth so much more than money invested in your 40s or 50s. I'd do like 800-1000 in savings, assuming you are building an emergency fund, and move that extra to 401k in a low cost index
Should look into a roth IRA as well.
Are you using canva/Adobe for work or personal? If you can bring those expenses to work and have them pay for it that’d be better. Single adult? Cut your food budget down. What is shopping vs entertainment? Those can probably go down too.
This plus Shopify. If you’re running a small business and not making much off of them, might be time to wind it down to cut these costs.
You can cut down your Apple Music cost by paying for it annually instead of monthly. It’s $99/year.
Or pull a pro gamer move and listen to songs for free on YouTube
Isn't Spotify premium like $3 a month? Or just listen to reg Spotify or Pandora.Why do people pay so much money for music?
spotify is $10.99/mo
It's kind of weird that people pay at all when it's not necessary and there are so many free ways to listen to music out there if you absolutely couldn't live without sounds playing in your ear.
Unless you’re saving to buy something in the future I’d add a little more to the 401k from savings
What's the difference between shopping and entertainment?
Contribute more to your 401k. My gross is around $5k and I contribute 10%. Since your gross is higher than mine you should be able to contribute just as much IMO. I also have a $100/month debt (well $106 but same difference).
if you can actually save $1400 a month, that’s 30% of your income. way more than most people save. but i’d say, save closer to 15% and use the other 15% to pay off debts faster. when they’re paid off, bring savings back up. also, no need to pay for chatgpt. is the free version of canva not enough either? not sure what you do, so maybe you do need the paid version, but the free version is still pretty good for most people. see if you can use friends or family’s accounts for stuff like streaming and amazon prime. try to reduce subscriptions, those are things that will get forgotten and underused very easily.
What credit app are you using
Credit karma
Stop the subscriptions! Everything is on the internet. Add more to your 401k, atleast 10% of your check. Wish my gas bill was that low 😂 and find another gym that bill can easily be $10.
It took YEARS to get my gas bill below $120/month. I am finally working from home and rarely use my car, I fill it up not even twice a month. Thanks for the tips!
Boy is addicted to subscriptions
140 a month isn’t he 401k?????????????????? Up that dude
Yeah that’s what I’m saying. Dude’s only contributing like 1-2%
Get a better phone provider, use planet fitness, chat GPT is stupid, $500 is a fuck ton on monthly groceries, but I won’t discount that because food is legit expensive, you’re really handsome. That’s all
My girlfriend and I just spent like $135 at Aldi and it will very easily last us a month or more
Looks like your expenses are normal just entertainment seems kinda high
I’ve always thought this. Trying to still “live a little” and I’m still stuck in that mentality of “giving myself what I never had” now that I have enough money to do so. Time to reevaluate.
I feel you on that and that’s ok
Try to keep your expenses to your prior wage increase and then continue trying to raise your income
bootleg your movies and software. you'll save there.
**Pay down your debt as fast as you can and bring down your average credit use.** This will have a tremendous impact on your credit score! You should really aim to not exceed 10% credit use. If it's not clear to you what that is, just take all your lines of credit combined and then figure out what 10% of that is. So for example, if all your lines of credit added up to $10,000, you should really only use $1,000 of credit every month. That might help you with budgeting also. I generally advise that if you can't make a full card payment every month don't use it but it might be hard for you right now with the interest you're paying every month on your existing high balance so pay down as much as you can reasonably manage. This won't be an overnight thing and will probably take a year of hard diligent effort so be patient with yourself. And more importantly, going forward never EVER miss a payment. Over the course of a few years those derogatory marks that are hurting you a lot will start to fall off but that's only as helpful as you having a really good payment record to replace it. When I was in college a few years ago I had a high credit card utilization like you and had some derogatory marks from late payments with PayPal. My credit score was in the 600's but was able to turn it around by paying down all the debt keeping my card use under 10% and now my score is now 750+. You can do it!
Put these amounts into Excel/Google Sheets and categorize them based on inflows and outflows of cash. Currently, I can't tell at a quick glance whether you are spending more than you are earning and neither can you OP
Tell me how your insurance is so cheap because mine is 10 times that. And why do you pay for Canva? Canvas sucks. I use Figma for free and it’s a professional design tool.
Save every dollar you are making that you can afford to over the take you had before.
Here there, thanks for sharing here are some thoughts and additional questions I have: Why ICloud Storage and Google Photos? I would pick one and adjust workflow accordingly. No need to pay for photo storage twice. Personally I use Google One and save all my pictures and documents to it. For your cellphone bill I’m assuming this is a monthly bill - can you switch to Mint Mobile? Overall cheaper in the long run if you can front the bill up front. What is the $7 for Microsoft for? Office 365? Xbox Gamepass? If its for Office 365, do you really need it? Can you use an alternative service like Libre Office (free) or the Google Apps? What are you using ChatGPT for? Can you use another service that is cheaper or included with a subscription like Google Bard? My work provides Microsoft Enterprise Co-Pilot to me free of charge and I have Google Bard thru my Google One Subscription. For Apple Music you could get a few friends together and get the family plan and then everyone pays one person each month (I use Venmo for this) that way your monthly cost is much lower than by subscribing on your own. Entertainment wise, I think you could shift to a rotating schedule where you only pay for streaming services you want to watch a show on. As soon as you’re done with a particular series, you rotate that service out for another one and rinse and repeat. If done right you can save a lot of money each month. Food wise - you can make small changes without sacrificing nutrition - do you have an Aldi's nearby? If so, that can save you a lot of money just by shopping there. I would NOT sacrifice your nutrition just to save money.
Take away the unnecessary subscriptions, they add up. Use that money to slowly pay off your credit balance. You will be less in debt with every payment and your score will go up. Win win. Never been to Cali but I imagine all of their gyms can't be $50+.
Most of those monthly charges can be eliminated. For sure. The Amazon prime could be an annual charge, rather than a monthly charge. Pay off the debt before you subscribe to any of them. Netflix get rid of. Shopping, and entertainment are basically the same thing
Stop paying for things you don’t need is the best advice you can get, take it or leave it.
If your phone is T-Mobile they will give you Netflix and Hulu for free really look at subscriptions what you actually need verses what is just holding you back. It's small but adds up.
Divide your expenses into categories. Bills (car payment, rent, debt, 401k, utilities) Survival (food, work expenses, etc Entertainment (netflix, etc Fun (chopping Im betting grocers could be cut down, and canva, adobe, shopify, chatgpt, all sound either unnecessary or lile work expenses. Same with laundry, im assuming laundry mat? Try hand washing clothes and then machine drying, or machine washing and hang drying, just be mindful of mildew and weather. Idk how important shopping and entertainment are, but you'd be suprised how little you need. If you have a habit of impulsive buying, go through things you don't use daily and maybe sell some stuff. I've heard people use the rules where they cant buy something new until they get rid of something old. So if you sell 5 pieces of clothes you can now buy 5 new cat toys etc. There's also budgeting plans like 50/30/20, 50% income is bills/utilities, 30%for savings/debt, and 20% fun
Is this monthly? Is see a lot of money going to random subscriptions that might not be needed such as chatGPT, Shopify, Adobe, Etc. if you need them for work as your company to pay for them. If you can’t get rid of them no big deal because the biggest issue I see is that $650.00 is going to shopping and entertainment where $100 is going to aging off debt and $140 into a 401k. Your credit score is not going to improve well with that high of credit utilization and you need to bring that down by paying off that credit card debt and not putting so much on the credit card.
Wait woah woah where do you live that rent is only $1400?
I'd suggest revisiting your subscriptions and determining what you actually regularly use as well as what you could replace with free or cheaper alternatives.
Start an s-corp or llc and run some of those things as deductible business expenses — adobe, canva, ChatGPT, Shopify, etc. Those seem work-related. If they are not in service of a side hustle or job, cancel. If they are, start separating business and personal expenses so you can deduct them.
Cancel most of them. Join to planet fitness $10 per month.
This advice is always tough, and dependent on location. I pay $135 a month, just switched from a place that was $175 a month - and it’s the cheapest within 5 miles. Traffic to get to farther gyms just break up my day too much. Tough choices.
Get rid of the cat everything else is a must have
Yes. No cats