I've been thinking...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

You know, while most people I talk to are impressed with my budget, I was talking to two different people this weekend about money and such, and they both stated the same thing:


You budget $200 a week for spending?! On what?!

And that make me stop. "On what?" What am I buying?! I felt guilt and angry all at the same time. $200 a week didn't seem that big to me, until I really think about it. I am budgeting $800 a month on 'stuff'. Yikes. Yes, that includes food. But right now, as I still live at home and have a wonderful mother that cooks and buys groceries, food is 'stuff' to me.

I also felt defensive when they said that, because really, I'm still saving over $1,400 a month. But, I could be saving more.

What do you think? Is $800 a month too excessive? Should I cut it down? Maybe by half? To $400? $200? I dunno.

Just so you have it, here's my monthly breakdown:

What do you think? When I break it down it doesn't seem that excessive to me, but when I do think about it, $800 is a crap-load of cash.

5 comments:

Mrs. Fish said...

Maybe you should keep track for 1-2 months of what you spend that $200/week on, and look at what "stuff" you purchased. That could give you a good idea of whether you are wasting money, or spending it on useful things. Say you spent $400/month on clothes - would you rather spend $400/month on clothes now, or save an extra $400/month for your trip? (Obviously the decision is up to you - maybe you would prefer the clothes, maybe you would prefer to save.)

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

WOW.. $800 a month is a lot of cash

Maybe $400 is more reasonable for you ? And maybe if you took the other $400 and stuck it into a fund like a "fun" fund to dip into in case something over $400 catches your eye..

But hey if you feel good about it and you can afford it, don't let them make you feel bad about it. You're still saving a lot

Laura said...

That is a lot to spend per week, but since you're still able to save quite a bit per month, I don't think you need to cut back too much. In your shoes I might try to cut back to $150 per week instead of $200, and save an extra $200 a month. Throw that in the fund for the pre-travel purchases :)

Anonymous said...

Honey....isn't that two hundred a month?

Anonymous said...

Not only that but look at your budget girl, you don't spend on anything.... Your budget kicks butt! Only change it if it works for you.