This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

The budget breakdown of a 32-year-old, unemployed SWE living in New Haven, CTFeatured

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 😉).

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I got laid off in February 2024. This budget breakdown is for the month of May, because it represents a more average month of spending for me.

NOTE: Since I wrote this, my unemployment benefits have been exhausted and my income is $0/month. I’ve cut out a lot of these extraneous costs. I really feel for anyone else looking for a new job right now. By all accounts, the market is brutal for us. People who are smart, capable, good workers, and eager to work can’t land a job for months. I know I’m not the only one in this boat, but I am lucky to have some money saved up to keep me afloat for a little while.

💰 Income

Monthly unemployment payments: $2,508 ($627 per week)

🏡 Monthly Fixed Expenses

Mortgage: $1,455

Electricity: $137

Water: ~$30

Oil heat: $460 (didn’t need it, but they auto-refilled for next winter)

Internet: $105

Gas for car: $69

Car insurance: $80

Streaming services (Spotify, Netflix, etc): $47

Amazon Prime: $15

Alarm system monitoring: $21

Cell phone: $70

Medications: $0 on Medicaid, which is actually improved from employer health coverage!

🛒 Monthly Variable Expenses

Groceries: $252

Eating Out (Restaurants, Delivery, Fast Food): $336

Events/Fun stuff with friends: $71

Playstation+: $10

Clothing: $72 (new shoes)

💸 Monthly Savings and Investments

(Since being unemployed, this is $0)

🎁 Monthly miscellaneous

Patreon: $30 (supporting artists and podcasts I like)

Gifts: $139

Pet Care: $60 (food)

Job search efforts:

Public transportation: $51 (train to city and back for an interview)
LinkedIn Premium: $42
Courses/certificates: $25

⚖️ Final balance

Total income: $2,508

Total expenses: $3,579

Final balance: -$1,071

💭 Money Reflections

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

A lot lately. I tend to only track when in a pinch financially, like now while I’m living on unemployment. Realizing how much I spend on certain things makes every extra dollar I spend turn into a guilt trip.

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

Restaurants and takeout (I’m getting better at this month to month. $336 in May -> $146 in June).

Another big problem… gift buying and saying yes to plans with people. I feel like I have to overspend on gifts even when I don’t have the money. And it’s hard for me to use lack of money as an excuse not to do stuff with friends that will most likely cost money. Why?!

Also, gonna get rid of LinkedIn Premium. I’m coming to realize LI can only get me so far, and it’s overpriced.

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

The absolute least I could spend from the above (the necessities, with an estimated ~$300 for groceries) is around $2,400 (on a summer month with no oil bill). To lower that, I would have to start getting rid of stuff like alarm monitoring or internet or food. (Speaking of that, I did manage to lower my internet bill by half going forward!)

One note about Patreon. I’ve always found it really important to support indie artists you like, especially if it directly relates to them continuing content creation. It’s important to me! It might seem like frivolous spending, but it would probably be one of the last non-essential costs I’d cut.

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

Short-term: Keep lowering my monthly spend average. Spend less on restaurants and gifts/stuff with people.

Long-term: Don’t dip into savings. I’m lucky that I have a pretty big net of savings built up from my last job and I’m not in debt. I also did a huge chunk of freelance work when I got laid off, which was good for my checking account for the following months, but will bite me during tax season.

5. Are there any specific saving or investment strategies you follow?

A high-yield savings account can give you a pretty nice chunk of interest every month. Interest rates for those have gone up past 5%.

When employed, I put a few hundred bucks in that account with each paycheck. I also keep an emergency savings account of $5k that’s immediately accessible in case of emergency, but really it just acts as a buffer for my checking account. That is down to $2k now.

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

I was lower middle class growing up and my parents struggled with money, but we didn’t talk about money much directly.

When I got a higher-paying software job, it took years to adjust to the idea of making that much, and to be honest, I started to think nothing of spending money (I’m not one for huge purchases, but “little” things like food delivery build up). So losing that salary was a wake-up call, but luckily I had built up savings to land on.

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

Nope! I didn’t even realize until after college that you needed to use credit to build credit in order to do things like rent an apartment. I felt pretty on my own with that stuff. Everything else, including the entire home-buying process, I learned by doing and researching and asking people.

8. Do you feel well-versed in personal finance? What resources have you used to educate yourself?

Not as much as I’d like to be… I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface about things like retirement accounts, investment, etc. I don’t really want to have to think too hard about finance beyond savings and retirement and doing taxes. It feels like a lot to manage, even without “extra” investing.

💡 Ask the community

How do you go about applying for jobs that are not what you’ve crafted your resume/career to for years? For example, local part-time work or something in a different field that may have some transferable skills. I find it difficult to even approach these with a completely irrelevant resume.

How do I find someone reliable for financial advising or, more importantly, for doing my taxes next year? I’ll definitely need extra help.

Finally - what are some unique ways you cut costs and spend less?

Final thoughts

In a lot of ways, I’m VERY lucky! Having savings and really no debt besides a mortgage and a bit on my credit card is a huge privilege. I’m not in immediate danger of running out of money, losing my house, going hungry, etc. I’ll be okay, and I know I’ll get a job at some point, even if it’s not what I expect. I’m lucky to be able to dedicate my time to the job search for now, and not have to scramble to find something else immediately.

Anyone else struggling with unemployment and especially if you’re not as lucky as I am, or in a place with crappy benefits - I’m sorry and hang in there. You will find something!

Tamiko164·Aug 22

Thank you for sharing your budget breakdown with us. I'm sorry to hear about the layoff, but it seems that you are doing a great job managing your finances during this challenging time. I would just encourage you to be more open and okay about not buying expensive gifts when unemployed. Perhaps just a nice card that you could even make with a thoughtful sentiment instead. Personally, I would not want an unemployed friend to spend money on a gift for me. Also, I had a friend who was trying really hard to save money and pay off her debts, and she told us all in an email that she would be packing sandwiches for food to let us know, and also said clearly in her email that she didn't need help or pity, but that she just wanted to do this. And we were all happy for her to do this thing so that she could work toward clearing her debt. I realize that any time I eat out, it's so much more expensive than eating at home or packing something from home, and as you said, it really adds up. I would guess that your friend group would also be as understanding and supportive :)

Twyla46·Aug 22

I appreciate that. For some reason, it's my instinct to spend money on other people and say yes to plans; and I don't like when others spend money on me, really, so it makes no sense. I don't want to be a drag, either, but I know most of my friends understand my situation. Just something I need to practice.

Morgan·Aug 22

I would say either get rid of LI Premium (as you said, it's not very useful) orrr look around in Slack channels or private communities; People often give away 1 or even 6-month memberships.

Twyla46·Aug 22

I've gotten rid of LI Premium since writing this originally. I've also been someone who's offered free membership codes! It's nice to have but not for that much a month.

tiffanyyhchang·Aug 24

> How do you go about applying for jobs that are not what you’ve crafted your resume/career to for years? For example, local part-time work or something in a different field that may have some transferable skills. I find it difficult to even approach these with a completely irrelevant resume. If I were to do this, I'd start with using ChatGPT or Claude to identify revisions to your existing resume (you would have to copy-paste both the job description and your current resume). This way, you're not starting from scratch, which may help with feeling overwhelmed. > How do I find someone reliable for financial advising or, more importantly, for doing my taxes next year? I’ll definitely need extra help. I'd start by asking trusted friends or even neighbors if they have recommendations of financial advisors or CPAs they've worked with. > Finally - what are some unique ways you cut costs and spend less? Recently, I discovered the Kozukai method: https://www.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/ty15bb/how_i_reward_myself_with_good_habits_the_kozukai/ It's helped me to (1) reinforce habit formation, (2) be more mindful about how I spend my money, and (3) is extremely low-effort to track. When it comes to clothes, I follow the rule of thumb of not buying a new piece without giving a piece away. This helps me manage how much clothes I have. Also, I aim to buy pieces that can be styled in multiple ways (as opposed to buying what's trendy - having a mindset of not caring about what's in-style helps as well). When it comes to eating out, my rule of thumb is I don't order out what I can relatively easily recreate at home. An example that doesn't meet this guideline is sushi. Also, don't order beverages if/when you eat out (the mark-up on them is huge!)

Twyla46·Aug 24

Thank you for mentioning the Kozukai method! This might work perfectly for me right now, as someone who struggles to build new habits and is on a budget. This would give me real motivation and make me feel like I've earned those little rewards. It'd give me more awareness of my spending too, and help it feel more controlled. I don't spend much beyond necessities on clothes or items... it's always food or drink or treats and the like. (However, I like your concept of giving away a piece of clothing for each one you buy)Thank you for the rest of the advice as well, it's helpful!

Sheilla·Aug 25

Perhaps an unpopular take, I would recommend meal planning and cooking at home. I know how nice it is to dine out and not have to clean up after. However, since I started cooking at home, much like making coffee at home, I have found that I have a LOT more money. eat better and feel better knowing what's in my food. I have become better at my favorite dishes than any restaurant and am usually disappointed with "professional" cooking. We religiously make a meal plan for the week, making (and sticking to) a grocery list, using seasonal foods, what is on sale at the grocery, and making LARGE portions so we can freeze them for later dinners when we don't want to cook. Pop it in the oven or air fryer and breakfast, lunch and dinner is served. When we got together, my cooking repertoire consisted of Hamburger Helper and Kraft Mac & Cheese (no shade but there's easier and better out there). Now we are gourmet and doing food better than most restaurants. Food is one thing we have to do EVERY day and when you buy the best ingredients and cook them to your liking, there is nothing better. Even in scarcity (e.g., quarantine) we were able to make our own breads, desserts and food without having to worry about it being not available or tainted with whatever. We save money, we eat well and we know what and where our food comes from. Don't know how to cook? YouTube has hundreds/thousands of great chefs to teach you. Recommendations include: Foodwishes - Chef John is an OG YT chef and his videos are short and sweet; Brian Lagerstrom, Millennial Cook out of the Midwest, he makes simple and fantastic dishes and specializes in breads, great technique and fabulous personality; Joshua Weissman, high-end Cook who definitely goes EXTRA; Jason Farmer, a Gen Z cook who tests his recipes against the real thing and works to make it perfect. His Walmart Ramen and Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken are go-tos in my house; America's Test Kitchens, thoroughly tested recipes that are easy and better than you imagine; That Dude Can Cook - Sonny has some amazing recipes and cooks with fun and humor, Lidia Bastianich - Italian cook extraordinaire with a huge catalogue of recipes; Food Network (the website not the TV channel since they don't actually cook on there anymore) has a lot of great recipes; and lastly your family recipes (if you have them). My husband got all of his family recipes from his grandmother and mother as a wedding present to me and we have been making them all on a rotating basis. This was a priceless gift that I am forever grateful for and I have improved on most of the recipes with modern techniques and better ingredients. About your resume, look for common ground in the job postings. Where are your skills translatable into what they are looking for? Figure out what you want your next position to look like and go out and find it. Think WAY OUTSIDE the BOX. You might be surprised where your skills match.

marjorieaageeb·Aug 27

I do thesame!!

Twyla46·Aug 25

It's not an unpopular take! It's smart. I do try to cook more in bulk especially now, but I really don't like cooking. I love eating. But for the most part, if I really try to make a good meal, it feels like it takes an hour to make and 10 minutes to eat. I live alone, that takes some of the fun out of it. One of my main vices is restaurant food/takeout/fast food, as you can tell — feels like the only thing that feels like it gives me dopamine sometimes. Being low budget is forcing me to get over that for the most part, but I find most food I cook myself boring, or if it's not boring, so time-consuming to make and clean up after... I know there are happy mediums, and I'm learning/making them because I have to. I appreciate the advice and the resources though! I'll check them out for some inspiration.

Sheilla·Aug 30

I totally understand the time investment and how exhausting it can be. There are many prep steps you can do in bulk and then reuse for many other items. Example: Chopping many vegetables that you can freeze and use as needed - zucchini, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms (I usually cook mushrooms before freezing) - you get the picture. There are lots of meals that you can make in 30 mins or less and once you start prepping the staples, you can literally throw something together in just a few minutes. I've attached one of the shortcut recipes for reference. They all start with ONE Rotisserie chicken and you can get 5 or 6 different meals out of that one chicken. https://tinyurl.com/Chicken-4-ways