Hey there, Ladies! I don’t know about you but this holiday season DESTROYED my budget. Not to mention, my job doesn’t pay me for holiday’s so I’m pretty strapped for cash at the moment. So I decided that now would be a great time to re-evaluate my finances and put together a budget for January. I broke down my income and expenses below. I’ll try to explain my thought process as I go.

Current Pay: $20.50/hr

As of right now, I work a temp-to-hire position, so I make $20.50 an hour. I hope to get hired on as a permanent employee within the next couple of months and will definitely be asking for a raise. Until then, I work with what I have.

Monthly Gross (before tax) Income: $3,116

I typically earn about $3,280 a month before taxes. Unfortunately, since I don’t get paid for New Year’s day, I’ll only be earning $3,116 this month. I do, however, have some Christmas money and gift cards that’ll help take some of the burden off!

Taxes: 25% or $779

Guys. Taxes in Illinois suck. Every month I pay about 25% in income taxes which equals about $820 in a normal month. This month I’ll be paying around $779 (since I’ll be making less).

Net (after tax) Income: $2,337

After deducting taxes, I’ll be left with $2,337.

Rent: $1,639

My rent is pretty high and you can definitely find cheaper places in Chicago. The reason my rent is so high is that 1) I live alone, 2) my place came furnished, 3) its right next to public transportation, and 4) all utilities, internet, and cable are included. I chose this place, despite the rent, because it was the perfect place for me to live on my own and was in the middle of work and where I hope to get my MBA.

However, my boyfriend and I are considering getting a place together, which will definitely save me some money!

Utilities: N/A

Internet: N/A

Phone Bill: N/A

My parents are franchise owners, so our phone bills are covered under the business

Loans: N/A

I’m EXTREMELY lucky that my parents had a college fund for me and my brother. I’m blessed to not have any loans to repay. If I did, I definitely couldn’t afford my apartment.

Transportation: $80

I used to walk to work every day, but now that it’s winter in Chicago, I take public transit a lot more. This usually costs me about $80.

Spotify: $10

I don’t care what anyone says, this is a necessity.

Groceries: $200

I budget about $200 for groceries each month. My boyfriend and I usually split the grocery bill so I end up coming in under budget most months.

Also, I’ve become a coupon lady.

Savings: $248
After I budget everything out, this is what I have left over to save. It’s not much, but it’s something.

Fun money: $160

I started using Cash App to give myself an ‘allowance’ each week. I love this because I can set up recurring deposits that I can also turn off at any time. You can even order a debit card that links to your account. I use only this card for my ‘fun’ purchases. Here is my typical breakdown of how I use my fun money:

• $40/week
• 2 coffees x $5 = $10
• 1 snack x $5 = $5
• 1 meal out / new stuff / drinks x $25 = $25

The way I plan my spending is a little strict and I’m not saying you have to do this at all. But I’m a planner. I have to have a plan to stick to, so I try to work out all the details to make sticking to my goals easier.

Of course, things happen and you can’t always stick to your plan. But it’s nice having one anyway.

January Exceptions: Because of the holiday’s I was lucky enough to come into some extra money:

• $150 American Express gift card
• $75 Amazon Gift Card
• $50 Best Buy Gift Card
• $40 from Grandma
• $100 from my aunt and uncle

TOTAL: $415 (!!!)

What will I do with this money?

I considered taking myself on a little shopping spree but after taking a look at my finances, here’s what I decided:

• I’m going to do a No-Spend January: no fun purchases, only necessities
• I will use the holiday money for my fun purchases for February and March, and part of April ($415 / $160 a month = 2 ½ months of fun!)

What does this mean? I’ll be saving January, February, and March’s fun money which adds up to $480! I’ll probably put that money into my savings account.

Well, that’s pretty much it for January’s budget! Have you ladies done yours yet? If you have, break it down in the comments below. The more examples the better!

If you have budgeting questions or don’t know where to start, send me a message and I’m happy to help!

Thanks for reading! If you want to keep up with the latest happenings, you can subscribe or contact me if you’d like to talk personally.

XOXO

Nikita Barry

Your life. Simplified.