Goal: To share my debt-free journey with hopes that it sparks honest conversations surrounding finances and financial freedom amongst twenty-somethings. I currently have two credit card balances (paid off), a car loan (35% paid off), and student loan debt that I want to payoff by my 25th birthday which is roughly a year and a half away.
This month, I changed my budget up a little bit. Normally, I allocate a specific amount of money towards my car’s principal balance in order to have my car paid off by August. Well, I was blessed enough to reach my May money goal in April thanks to the stimulus check.
So instead of allocating money to that fund, I have decided to start a sinking fund for my car property tax and upcoming moving expenses. By starting these sinking funds it allows me the ability to intentionally set aside money for these infrequent, but known expenses, so I don’t have to scramble last minute to come up with the money.
Now let’s jump into my budget.
PSA: I have decided not to share my actual income and the amount of my bills. Instead, I am sharing what percentage of my income goes where.
Monthly Goals
- Set aside $… towards paying off car
- Set aside $… for PPT
- Stay within my budget for discretionary spending
Income
100%
Monthly Budget Overview
Essentials
- Rent (40.57%)
- Renters Insurance (.57%)
- Car Payment (11.09%)
- Car Insurance (4.9%)
- Groceries (7.09%)
- Personal Care (1.77%)
- Gas (.71%)
- Internet (1.77%)
- Boost Mobile (1.24%)
- … (9.23%)
Total: 79%
Savings and Debt Repayment
- PPT Sinking Fund (3.54%)
- Travel Sinking Fund (1.96%)
- Moving Expenses Sinking Fund (8.86%)
- Car Debt Repayment (1.35%)
- Life After Corona sinking fund (1.74)
Total: 17.45%
Discretionary fund
- Discretionary Fund (3.54%)
Total: 3.54%
This budget was slightly more challenging to make. I ended up having a little bit more money to play around with this month since I did not need to set aside money to pay extra towards my car. With the extra money I had, I started a few sinking funds and created this whole post about how I am incorporating them into my budget. And on top of that, I was able to set a little bit of money to pay extra towards my car.
What were some of the things that you recognized when creating your monthly budget?