This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

The budget breakdown of a 23-year-old Freelance Writer on $1,200 a month in Kansas CityFeatured

Posted in:Advice Compensation Lifestyle Money

The Budget Breakdown aims to broaden the conversation on money and offer insights into various approaches to spending, saving, and investing.

✨ Want to share your monthly budget breakdown with us? Please fill out this form here and we will get back to you (can be posted anonymously like this one too 😉)

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💰 Income

Monthly Gross Income: $1,200 (from freelancing and part-time job)

🏡 Monthly Fixed Expenses

Rent: $200 (living with parents)

Transportation: $20 (fuel)

Car Insurance: $80

🛒 Monthly Variable Expenses

Eating Out (Restaurants, Bars): $20

Entertainment (Movies, Events, Hobbies): $20

Clothing: $20

Personal Care: $20

Travel: $20 (save this much every month to go towards one or two week-long vacations a year)

💸 Monthly Savings and Investments

Emergency Fund Contributions: anything leftover

⚖️ Final balance

Total income: $1,200

Total expenses: $380

Final balance: $820 (put into savings or use for unexpected expenses)

💭 Money Reflections

1. How much does tracking your personal finances influence your spending, saving, and investing habits?

Tracking my personal finances helps me know how much I’m making and spending each month so I can plan for my future. I’m living with my parents now and am saving up to buy my own house one day.

2. Is there anything you wish you would spend less money on?

I’m trying to spend less money on clothes and jewelry.

3. What do you consider important to spend money on?

I think it’s important to spend money on self-care and experiences.

4. Do you have any short-term or long-term financial goals?

My long-term financial goal is to save for a down payment on a house.

5. What is your approach to saving/investing? Are there any specific strategies you follow?

I budget as if I’m earning less than I am so that I always have extra to put into savings each month. I use a high-yield savings account from Discover so I earn interest on my savings.

6. What was your relationship with money like growing up? Did you talk about it with your parents/caregivers?

My parents are good at budgeting. They didn’t discuss it with me when I was really young, but I overheard them talking about it and now that I’ve graduated college we discuss expenses from time to time. I also took a financial literacy class offered by a local bank that taught me about money management and savings.

7. Did you receive any formal or informal financial education growing up? If yes, where did you learn to manage your personal finances?

I received informal financial education from my parents and went to one formal financial education course from Thrivent Financial.

Frida76·Jul 26

Brilliant, v sensible girl

Filomena21·Jul 27

I'm curious, have you actually tracked these numbers through your bank account and credit cards for the past few months? I noticed that you put $20 for most categories, and it seems like you just went with a round number. It could be interesting to actually look at the real numbers, even if it's just in the last 3 months. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you actually pay $0 in some of these categories.Also, do your parents charge you $200 a month in rent, or does that represent groceries or helping out around the house in some way?All that said, I absolutely agree with your thought process that income less living expenses is the final balance and that the entire final balance should go into savings or investments. I find it strange in many of these posts that people are putting a specific dollar amount into investments rather than 100% of what is leftover each month. This thought process will definitely help you make huge strides in your savings as your income grows over time.

Laurine185·Jul 29

The $20 is what I budget for those categories each month, but you're right; I should look at my spending and see what the average is month to month. If I'm spending less than that, I can budget for different things! My parents charge me $200 for rent, and it includes my share of things like groceries, utilities, and streaming services. I put the leftover income in a high-yield savings account. Since I'm a freelancer, I plan to use what I need to from that account to pay for taxes when tax season comes around.