How to Easily Budget Your Monthly Salary

Everyone has trouble with money, whether you're 20 or 50. Some people are savers and some are spenders, but either way, it's an ongoing effort to budget correctly in each phase of your life. If you don't know how to save for that house, trip, or retirement that's always on your mind, I am about to give you the easiest, most effective way of doing so.

For those of you that don't know me well, here is a brief screenshot of my life at the moment. I have been working at a summer camp in New Hampshire for the last 4 summers. I will be returning for a fifth summer in June. In 2019, before camp began, I had spent the last 9 months living alone right outside Nashville, TN. While I had a great time there, and came across incredible opportunities (my wedding planning internship which led me to start this company and website, and later on, this blog), I did miss being close to my family, all of whom live in the northeast, and I became very financially unstable...to put it lightly. Living on my own and fully supporting myself was a huge lesson. I was young, and still am very young and naiive about saving, spending, and earning money. Through all of this, my mom was, and still is extremely supportive. I realize I am lucky that I have a mom who is willing to let me move back home to save money and figure it all out. I'm even more lucky that when I quit my job because it made me so unhappy, she was gracious enough to not only back my decision, but to "pause" my payments to her every month since I wasn't making enough money at the part time job I'm currently at. She has allowed me to do some serious self reflection about what I want to be doing right now and long term for a job. I have had to figure out what's important to me in a job rather than just what task it might be or what field. The environment, the people, the money, and the time are all things to value and ask about if interviewing somewhere.

I'm still trying to get my priorities in check while also finding happiness in whatever work or activites I may be doing. It is a hard balance when you are trying to find your path, your "dream" career, have friends, and still work enough to have enough to support yourself. And just to be clear, supporting yourself doesn't mean paying all your bills and that's it. It means putting enough money aside per paycheck for retirement, for emergencies, for fun! You can't afford the lifestyle you're living if you're living paycheck to paycheck. That means sacrificing some things in order to live a sustainable and stable life. Whether it means cancelling your Netflix subscription, having two jobs, or living in an apartment that isn't the most aesthetically pleasing, sometimes it has to happen.

When trying to figure out how much your life costs per month, and how much you should be making, I found the 50/30/20 rule extremely helpful. It's the only thing that has ever made sense to me in regards to saving money, budgets, and how much is "enough". All this means is that per month, you should spend 50% of your total income on necessities such as food, gas, rent, college loans, etc., 30% should be spent on discretionary items such as movies, dinner out, nails, and subscriptions, and 20% should be saved for retirement and emergencies (hospital, car, etc). With this set in place, after some time, you won't have to worry if you need to replace your tires, pay for an ER visit, or travel when you're 65. If you're saving up for a house, car, or wedding, you would take a percentage of savings for discretionary items, and save it in a different location long term for that big purchase. The 20% you save should not be touched unless absolutely necessary. That means if I have $1000 in necessary bills per month, I need to make at least $2000 a month at work. If my rent alone is $1000 and additional bills are another $1000, you need to make at least $4000 a month at work, unless you want to take money away from your discretionary spending money. That means sacrificing nights out with friends, family, or a significant other, or minimizing extra purchases for yourself for shopping, beauty upkeep, and more. Therefore, when looking for a job, you need to know what the minimum amount of money you need to make there is in order to support your lifestyle. If that job can't pay that much, then you need to find yourself a second job or make a sacrifice. But whichever you choose, it is important to know these things throughout every stage of your life.

I am still figuring this all out for myself but it is so helpful to now have a guide to go off of so I know what I can afford for an apartment in the future based on other bills I have and the money I can make at a job with the skills I currently have. It can be stressful to think about saving money if you don't have exact numbers to go off of. That is why I find this so useful, because it gives you that exactness that is so essential when budgeting and saving money.

I hope this was helpful and I made your day just a little.

Gabriella