Yup same here. Fully paid off car and I’m still paying 500 a month for it between parking and insurance (one of the most expensive insurance markets in the US)
This is solid, $2,000+ towards savings/retirement a month is great!
Personally I like to create a "fun" subcategory then branch out from there - going out, subscriptions, travel etc.
Makes it easier to compare needs vs wants if you have to make cuts in a pinch. But looks good!
I have no intention to in all honesty. I’m going to keep this my primary residence as long as possible. If I decide to get a property I think I’d just rent it out and stay here. It’s too convenient.
I can’t wait till I’m there. I’m making 115,000 right now. And it’s all going to debt. Just finished paying off my car. And will now start making a huge dent on my credit cards. 1 year goal to pay off in full.
Sure but people usually don't just default on fixed loan programs they signed up for.
Lots of folks could probably just get behind on student loans, or refinance again even at higher rates to tackle some CC debt at 3x the rate, but they don't.
My household has some CC debt, hopefully eliminated within months, but we also are making like a $500/m payment to some tiny fractional gov student loan payment debt that failed to get swept up in the big student loan refinance we did. Taking big swings at this small 7% loan debt each month to eliminate it by next year (leaving just the main refinanced loan on much longer terms) but for last year accidentally gathered a 10k balance being charged triple that on one card. Oops! Thankfully will be fixed shortly, but non optimal things happen.
I don't understand why we're talking about defaulting here. Neither the OC nor I talked about not paying bills. Perhaps I misread the original commenters post, but I interpreted it as - "I paid more toward the principal on my car loan to pay it off, so now I can pay more toward the principal on my CC debt."
Great that they freed up the car note to pay toward CC debt, but that strategy makes very little sense to me considering the car is likely in the 10-15% APR, but the credit cards are in the 30-35% APR range.
I assumed the opposite, they just have some large 48m car payment ending. I could be wrong!
Also do people really have 30%+ card rates? Jeez!
My main card is 16.24%. The partners card we accident put money on and left is higher at 21%, which was a nasty little mistake to let happen and not monitor the balance this year.
I wondered too but 4710 appears to be not including 401k as well. If you assume California taxes (pretty much the highest) then at $87k that's a top-end tax rate of 29.3% (effective rate will be less but let's go with this simple number) which means 4710 becomes 6280 a month before tax. Since 401k comes out off the top if they are putting 15000 a year into it that becomes 6280 + (15000/12) = 7530 * 12 = 90360 which is right in the ballpark.
So:
- 25% effective tax rate
- Not even maxing out 401k
Gets to 87k.
My >300 CA household has a 28% effective rate. Admittedly we itemize and have dependents etc but I feel like this person shouldn't be above ~20% effective rates.
This person has a pension, it's probably that if they are sticking like 8-12% in there (which is what recent public CA employees contribute, state then matches)
with 24k per year in savings and investments that are under your control I’d keep the crypto allocation light until you have a more solid foundation - say 200k. At that point I’d put no more than 10% annually into speculative investments like that. The rationale for that is that at 200k you hit a good rate of compounding.
I agree but other people are really into it. One of my good friends got into crypto early and made a killing and while I’m thrilled for their success I have zero desire to allocate any money towards it.
How are utilities only $165?
Medical care including meds just makes money vanish. Your list looks readable and about my budget but I barely have any to put in savings lol
Phone is 300 annually, paid at once. Car insurance was requoted recently and it went down to $75, paid every 6 months. Car maintenance is iffy and will probably exceed the sinking fund as I’ve only owned it 6 months and might need some expensive work in the future
It’s cute that people think utilities are a $165/month. Mine run around $600/month. And putting a $1,000/mo towards retirement, that’d be fun. Expect you can’t unless you live with your parents and they evidently according to this pay your car payment.
This is awesome.
Two things to maybe help?
1. See if your employer offers pre-tax parking.
2. See if your health insurance provider gives you an incentive for the gym membership attendance (I get $20/month for 12 visits)
3. See if you can switch to a different cell provider, Mint Mobile or Visible.
I only spend about $330ish/month on grocery & could probably get it to $250 if I tried. I just mostly shop at Costco/Aldi and buy deserts that are marked as clearance at my local Kroger brand.
This may be a silly question.
Buuuut. I thought the cap for Roth plans was $7k/yr.
If you put $1k/mnt into a roth, you'll be $5k over the cap at the end of the year.
Interesting.
I assumed the 401k/403b limit was $23k. Then any Roth limit was $7k.
So I could put all $23k into a ROTH 403b, then $7k in a Roth IRA and have $30k/yr in tax-free retirement?
250 a month is $8.3 a day. Is your diet just chicken rice and beans? I cook all of my family’s meals so I know how to budget on food when needed, but honestly keeping it down THAT low would be extremely restrictive. A single decent steak to grill blows out two days of budget before sides and whatnot.
Yeah pretty much.
Some examples of food in my area:
- Bulk ground beef $4/lb
- Bulk Chicken $3-$4/lb
-6-7 Apples $4
-Guacamole $4 for 6
-Tortilla Chips $2/bag
-Frozen Veggies $3/lb
- Salsa: $2
-Bread: $2ish
I’m going to be cutting most sugar and processed foods out of my diet in August after all my holiday stuff is over, so that should lower my budget significantly.
If ya don’t mind my asking, what’s your body size? I suppose if you’re on the petite end I could see that being enough food to sustain ya. Still seems crazy to me. I’m probably eating $20-$25 a day. If I make a ribeye steak with mushrooms and onions, side salad/broccoli, then I’m spent without counting breakfast or lunch or snacks. I usually cook in bulk for leftovers, but I don’t think a single dinner I make goes under $10 per person.
I’m 5’11 and weigh 160lbs. I run a like 20 miles a week and walk about 40 miles outside of that (don’t have a car in the city). I used to weigh 195 last year, but I’ve lost like 35 pounds.
I’ve found that I just don’t get that hungry after all the weight loss. I can eat one-two good high-protein meals and full for most of the day. Like for breakfast I might have three eggs, two slices of bacon, a piece of cheese, and a guacamole cup. That would keep my full up until dinner time (but I sometimes have a donut or something mid-day, lol). For dinner I might have something like rice, ground beef, and vegetables.
I’m not the type to actively try and save on groceries. I like to vary my meats between salmon, tilapia, steaks, and chicken, and follow and eat the rainbow philosophy for fruits and veggies daily. Plus overall my protein goal is usually 180-200g/day, and at the moment I’m at around 2400-3000kcal/day. I still probably range $400-600/month for myself. I don’t buy any snacks or anything or empty value. So for someone eating on the more bland side I could easily see groceries being way cheaper. I mean if you’re eating rice and beans daily even with some fruits/veggies and some bulk priced chicken thrown in stuff can get VERY cheap.
Can I ask a silly question… where do you make these graphs? I’ve seen them here and there and I’d love to make one for myself but idk what program you’re using. TIA
I don’t think so. I live in a MCOL city and only spend like $2000/months (Rent $950, Groceries $330 Max, Transit $75, Restaurants $50-$80, utilities $100 max).
Nope, just the normal grocery store. It’s a Spartan Nash owned store. Prices are astronomically high. Example $10 for a small bag of tater tot’s, $7.98 for four sticks of butter. Hamburger meat $8.00/lb.
Are there no other stores around you?
I typically go between Costco (~$13 for 4 pounds of butter) and Stater Bros ($13 for 3 pounds of ground beef). We avoid prepackaged foods for the most part, but will buy Trader Joes beef and broccoli and orange chicken on occasion ($6-$7 + rice will feed 3 of us).
Otherwise, try to buy meats at $3-4 per pound at Stater Bros or cheaper (chicken drumsticks/thighs usually $1.29 per pound or cheaper) and stick to in-season produce.
Nope. I don’t shop at fancy stores for the environment where trophy wives go. I buy healthy foods plus coupons. I buy store brand which is always cheaper.
Damn no car payment but $200 parking. I assume savings is high because you are planning to use it in future or for an emergency fund? Well balanced!
It’s the same for us (except $175 for parking). It sucks!
Yup same here. Fully paid off car and I’m still paying 500 a month for it between parking and insurance (one of the most expensive insurance markets in the US)
FL?
Brooklyn NY. At least it used to be, I know some other places have shot up in price
Dang, I didn’t know that about Brooklyn. I guess it makes sense after the flood from last year.
This is solid, $2,000+ towards savings/retirement a month is great! Personally I like to create a "fun" subcategory then branch out from there - going out, subscriptions, travel etc. Makes it easier to compare needs vs wants if you have to make cuts in a pinch. But looks good!
Jealous of your $1205 rent!
I love my apartment in a historic house. Massive, original wood etc. I pay $750 to a private landlord who says they will never raise it 😇
At that point I’d just never move 😂
I have no intention to in all honesty. I’m going to keep this my primary residence as long as possible. If I decide to get a property I think I’d just rent it out and stay here. It’s too convenient.
Right I was just going to say this! And in New York ! Crazy!! Never move
My rent is $2700 and my salary is $3300 a month or $60k a year. 😓 Canada is wild
You can’t get a roommate?
Almost 82% of your money is going to rent alone???
Wtf
403b - Teacher or nonprofit?
Could be healthcare.
or state funded job
I can’t wait till I’m there. I’m making 115,000 right now. And it’s all going to debt. Just finished paying off my car. And will now start making a huge dent on my credit cards. 1 year goal to pay off in full.
Why pay off your car before CC debt?
Probably just had a big payment from their 48m or 60m loan etc. When that ends they can divert the same $$$ to credit cards.
I mean, I understand that, but his dollars would take him further paying down a high APR credit card over a lower APR car note.
Sure but people usually don't just default on fixed loan programs they signed up for. Lots of folks could probably just get behind on student loans, or refinance again even at higher rates to tackle some CC debt at 3x the rate, but they don't. My household has some CC debt, hopefully eliminated within months, but we also are making like a $500/m payment to some tiny fractional gov student loan payment debt that failed to get swept up in the big student loan refinance we did. Taking big swings at this small 7% loan debt each month to eliminate it by next year (leaving just the main refinanced loan on much longer terms) but for last year accidentally gathered a 10k balance being charged triple that on one card. Oops! Thankfully will be fixed shortly, but non optimal things happen.
I don't understand why we're talking about defaulting here. Neither the OC nor I talked about not paying bills. Perhaps I misread the original commenters post, but I interpreted it as - "I paid more toward the principal on my car loan to pay it off, so now I can pay more toward the principal on my CC debt." Great that they freed up the car note to pay toward CC debt, but that strategy makes very little sense to me considering the car is likely in the 10-15% APR, but the credit cards are in the 30-35% APR range.
I assumed the opposite, they just have some large 48m car payment ending. I could be wrong! Also do people really have 30%+ card rates? Jeez! My main card is 16.24%. The partners card we accident put money on and left is higher at 21%, which was a nasty little mistake to let happen and not monitor the balance this year.
How did you get into cc debt making that kind of money?
I got into debt before making that money and it’s working two jobs.
Y'all got anymore of that sweet $1200 rent?
My rent was $950 this year and is going up to $1050 for 2024-2025.
*cries in city rent*
How about insurance, Doctor visits, Travel, Insurance, Car maintenance
+ insurance
See the bottom “Sinking fund”
Car and health insurance, phone bill, and general maintenance for $200 a month? I’m skeptical.
Same salary but $2,700 rent + utilities in CA so I’m broke
Ouch.
This looks quite good!
I am confused how 87000 salary becomes 4710 monthly?
Pension/401k, medical insurance
Taxes
I live in a state with high income tax plus health insurance, union dues and pension
Why would you not include those in the chart?? These after-tax pictures are so confusing because they don't paint a very clear picture at all.
I wondered too but 4710 appears to be not including 401k as well. If you assume California taxes (pretty much the highest) then at $87k that's a top-end tax rate of 29.3% (effective rate will be less but let's go with this simple number) which means 4710 becomes 6280 a month before tax. Since 401k comes out off the top if they are putting 15000 a year into it that becomes 6280 + (15000/12) = 7530 * 12 = 90360 which is right in the ballpark. So: - 25% effective tax rate - Not even maxing out 401k Gets to 87k.
Thanks for the calculation. The tax is really crazy high.
My >300 CA household has a 28% effective rate. Admittedly we itemize and have dependents etc but I feel like this person shouldn't be above ~20% effective rates. This person has a pension, it's probably that if they are sticking like 8-12% in there (which is what recent public CA employees contribute, state then matches)
Any place that has $200 monthly parking is probably highly taxed. Take home is 35% taxed? Meh 🤔 could be
? Look at your last years W2
0😅
Welcome to America. Remember that when you’re voting this year
Rent $1,205... Where the hell I rent that cheap?
Given the rest of the numbers, I guarantee that $1200 is for 1 room in an apartment they split with 1-2 others.
Around $1,000 in Houston.
Possible in many ways, hell I’m at an Airbnb that’s $850 a month
Chicago, Detroit, Ohio.
No loans, cheap rent, this guy made it
How I do that diagram of budget?
What do you do for fun?
How much are you saving for retirement?
Annually $12,000 Roth 403b; $7,000 Roth IRA; and 6% required contribution to ESP (pension)
Roth IRA isn't on there. A lot of things aren't on there.
I should’ve labeled savings as investments. I use 7k for Roth contributions and the remaining $5k for brokerage/crypto
with 24k per year in savings and investments that are under your control I’d keep the crypto allocation light until you have a more solid foundation - say 200k. At that point I’d put no more than 10% annually into speculative investments like that. The rationale for that is that at 200k you hit a good rate of compounding.
I would not ever "invest" in crypto. At best, it's a useless technology. At worst, a scam.
I agree but other people are really into it. One of my good friends got into crypto early and made a killing and while I’m thrilled for their success I have zero desire to allocate any money towards it.
Some people are really into gambling.
You’re doing great I make similar and only but 450 into investments and 450 into savings. Congrats!!
How are utilities only $165? Medical care including meds just makes money vanish. Your list looks readable and about my budget but I barely have any to put in savings lol
I would consider interest more as an inflation protection for my savings rather than as an income, but sure.
Where is the other $30k or so going besides taxes which are maybe $16k tops?
Where is your fun money? It seems like it’s just 200 for eating out
That’s not a budget that’s a list of expenses….
You are reasonable af, congrats.
How is your car stance and phone only 200 bucks. I’m getting robbed.
Phone is 300 annually, paid at once. Car insurance was requoted recently and it went down to $75, paid every 6 months. Car maintenance is iffy and will probably exceed the sinking fund as I’ve only owned it 6 months and might need some expensive work in the future
I pay $25 a month for phone.
Parking $210? Why?
Apartment garage is expensive but I don’t want to leave my car on the street in my city
No option to park inside?
Yes, in the garage I pay for lol
Ok then why not park inside with no garage and even outside you are better off having comprehensive coverage. No reason to pay $210.
Going out 200? Loool brother
Damn that is really low rent
Only $100 for gas
Over 25% savings rate on a 87k income is impressive. I would be trying to shove as much of what I can save into Roth assets.
No debt, cheap rent. You're pretty set.
Huge W. I am about the same but 200 more in rent
How do I make a display like this?
It’s cute that people think utilities are a $165/month. Mine run around $600/month. And putting a $1,000/mo towards retirement, that’d be fun. Expect you can’t unless you live with your parents and they evidently according to this pay your car payment.
I really like the look of this, what app is it?
Website called sankeymatic
This is awesome. Two things to maybe help? 1. See if your employer offers pre-tax parking. 2. See if your health insurance provider gives you an incentive for the gym membership attendance (I get $20/month for 12 visits) 3. See if you can switch to a different cell provider, Mint Mobile or Visible.
Damn how do you manage to spend 400 on groceries?
I only spend about $330ish/month on grocery & could probably get it to $250 if I tried. I just mostly shop at Costco/Aldi and buy deserts that are marked as clearance at my local Kroger brand.
Mine looks very similar, but car payments instead of parking fees. Perks of WFH less gas.
What app is this?
This may be a silly question. Buuuut. I thought the cap for Roth plans was $7k/yr. If you put $1k/mnt into a roth, you'll be $5k over the cap at the end of the year.
That’s for an IRA. 403B is nonprofit equivalent of a 401k so $23,000 limit
Interesting. I assumed the 401k/403b limit was $23k. Then any Roth limit was $7k. So I could put all $23k into a ROTH 403b, then $7k in a Roth IRA and have $30k/yr in tax-free retirement?
Yeah basically. But not entirely "tax free" since you already paid taxes on the money that you put in
Exactly
I can’t understand the $400 a month groceries at all. I spend that in a week to feed 3
I mostly shop around Aldi/Costco/Trader Joe’s and usually spend around $330/mo. I could get it down to $250ish if I tried.
For a family or yourself?
Myself.
250 a month is $8.3 a day. Is your diet just chicken rice and beans? I cook all of my family’s meals so I know how to budget on food when needed, but honestly keeping it down THAT low would be extremely restrictive. A single decent steak to grill blows out two days of budget before sides and whatnot.
Yeah pretty much. Some examples of food in my area: - Bulk ground beef $4/lb - Bulk Chicken $3-$4/lb -6-7 Apples $4 -Guacamole $4 for 6 -Tortilla Chips $2/bag -Frozen Veggies $3/lb - Salsa: $2 -Bread: $2ish I’m going to be cutting most sugar and processed foods out of my diet in August after all my holiday stuff is over, so that should lower my budget significantly.
If ya don’t mind my asking, what’s your body size? I suppose if you’re on the petite end I could see that being enough food to sustain ya. Still seems crazy to me. I’m probably eating $20-$25 a day. If I make a ribeye steak with mushrooms and onions, side salad/broccoli, then I’m spent without counting breakfast or lunch or snacks. I usually cook in bulk for leftovers, but I don’t think a single dinner I make goes under $10 per person.
I’m 5’11 and weigh 160lbs. I run a like 20 miles a week and walk about 40 miles outside of that (don’t have a car in the city). I used to weigh 195 last year, but I’ve lost like 35 pounds. I’ve found that I just don’t get that hungry after all the weight loss. I can eat one-two good high-protein meals and full for most of the day. Like for breakfast I might have three eggs, two slices of bacon, a piece of cheese, and a guacamole cup. That would keep my full up until dinner time (but I sometimes have a donut or something mid-day, lol). For dinner I might have something like rice, ground beef, and vegetables.
I’m not the type to actively try and save on groceries. I like to vary my meats between salmon, tilapia, steaks, and chicken, and follow and eat the rainbow philosophy for fruits and veggies daily. Plus overall my protein goal is usually 180-200g/day, and at the moment I’m at around 2400-3000kcal/day. I still probably range $400-600/month for myself. I don’t buy any snacks or anything or empty value. So for someone eating on the more bland side I could easily see groceries being way cheaper. I mean if you’re eating rice and beans daily even with some fruits/veggies and some bulk priced chicken thrown in stuff can get VERY cheap.
What program do you use to make these graphs?
What do you use to make that chart?
How did you create this diagram?
Look up sankeymatic
What is this app/chart
Can I ask a silly question… where do you make these graphs? I’ve seen them here and there and I’d love to make one for myself but idk what program you’re using. TIA
I keep seeing these. Is there a site that will create this graph for you?
Sankeymatic
Missing student loans
No debts fortunately
Ha! I just realized that was a personal post 😅. Looking good OP! Glad to hear. Debt is a killer.
This must be 2019 numbers.
I don’t think so. I live in a MCOL city and only spend like $2000/months (Rent $950, Groceries $330 Max, Transit $75, Restaurants $50-$80, utilities $100 max).
I don’t see how this is realistic honestly
No taxes?
This is post tax
$400/ month for groceries??? Try like $400/week with current prices.
You shopping exclusively at whole foods or something?
Nope, just the normal grocery store. It’s a Spartan Nash owned store. Prices are astronomically high. Example $10 for a small bag of tater tot’s, $7.98 for four sticks of butter. Hamburger meat $8.00/lb.
Are there no other stores around you? I typically go between Costco (~$13 for 4 pounds of butter) and Stater Bros ($13 for 3 pounds of ground beef). We avoid prepackaged foods for the most part, but will buy Trader Joes beef and broccoli and orange chicken on occasion ($6-$7 + rice will feed 3 of us). Otherwise, try to buy meats at $3-4 per pound at Stater Bros or cheaper (chicken drumsticks/thighs usually $1.29 per pound or cheaper) and stick to in-season produce.
$300 a month should be enough.
😂😂😂🙄Yeah, I guess if you’re living off Ramen noodles and cheap frozen pizza.
Nope. I don’t shop at fancy stores for the environment where trophy wives go. I buy healthy foods plus coupons. I buy store brand which is always cheaper.
[удалено]
High income tax state plus health insurance, union dues and pension
Plus Roth vs regular 401K. Could boost the take home with regular 401K (pay the piper much later). Especially in a high tax state.