As I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to add monthly contributions to my emergency fund and a travel fund into my budget. I also forgot to add my monthly payment on my TV into my budget, so that needs to be worked in, also. Here’s what I’m thinking:
Net Monthly Take-Home: $2600
Rent – $959
Car Payment – $249
Car Insurance – $63
Federal Student Loan – $219
Private Student Loan – $75
Cable/Internet – $85
Cell Phone – $60
TV Payment – $50
Netflix – $9
Groceries – $250
Gas – $120
Incidental Fund – $50
Down-Payment Fund – $100
Roth IRA – $100
Travel Fund – $50
E-Fund – $50
“Fun” Money – $210
I think this looks pretty solid and manageable. If I keep paying $50 per month on the TV, I will pay it off well before it begins collecting interest, which was my original goal. Also, I decided that my Roth IRA does belong on my savings sidebar. It’s probably the most important savings I have! My goal for 2009 is only $600 because I just opened it in July, but my 2010 goal will be $2500.
In my last post, I also discussed not knowing exactly what to do with the extra income I’ll be earning this year, and I’m still not quite sure. For the next few months I’m pretty certain that I’ll be throwing it into my incidental fund for Christmas gifts. After that, I think my goal will be to funnel it into my emergency fund. I guess, ultimately, it doesn’t matter which fund I put it into. The important thing is that I will be saving it rather than frittering it away on clothes and shoes 🙂
Let me know what you think!
