Money managment skills are a wonderful thing...

[MrMut]

Just a little happy story for some of you to read...

 

So, one year ago yesterday i arrived in Southern California from Long Island, NY for an amazing new job. It would be the first time i'm living out of my parents house (commuted to college). I was stressed beyond belief thinking about everything that needed to be done, leaving the fam/friends, going to a place i've barely been to before, etc etc... You get the point. Money was obviously a concern, and a high one. I created a budget in good ole excel a month prior to the move to get an idea of how much $$ i could potentially have left over and be placing into savings after all bills were paid each month. I overbudgeted on everything! Just for an example, i allocated $500/month for food! Even my accountant laughed at that...

 

So one year later, I looked back at that sheet to update it (i updated it at the 6 month mark also) and i am SO FREAKIN HAPPY that i overbudgeted as much as i did. Seriously, it has made my life so much easier knowing that i actually have more money (which equates to less worries) being placed into the bank than i thought. Living below your means > *. Everytime i read something about another person in crazy high debt, it's a great feelign to sit back and know you're 100% fine in that department. Talk about being stressfree on somethign that kills people

 

And i just wanted to thank this board for helping me out with a lot of that! Without many of the threads on here, i woudl not be anywhere near as educated as i am with money. It has made my life just that much better! I wish they woudl teach this stuff in HS or even make it a mandatory cours eat all colleges/univerisities.

[HawaiiArmyDude]

Just a little happy story for some of you to read...

 

So, one year ago yesterday i arrived in Southern California from Long Island, NY for an amazing new job. It would be the first time i'm living out of my parents house (commuted to college). I was stressed beyond belief thinking about everything that needed to be done, leaving the fam/friends, going to a place i've barely been to before, etc etc... You get the point. Money was obviously a concern, and a high one. I created a budget in good ole excel a month prior to the move to get an idea of how much $$ i could potentially have left over and be placing into savings after all bills were paid each month. I overbudgeted on everything! Just for an example, i allocated $500/month for food! Even my accountant laughed at that...

 

So one year later, I looked back at that sheet to update it (i updated it at the 6 month mark also) and i am SO FREAKIN HAPPY that i overbudgeted as much as i did. Seriously, it has made my life so much easier knowing that i actually have more money (which equates to less worries) being placed into the bank than i thought. Living below your means > *. Everytime i read something about another person in crazy high debt, it's a great feelign to sit back and know you're 100% fine in that department. Talk about being stressfree on somethign that kills people

 

And i just wanted to thank this board for helping me out with a lot of that! Without many of the threads on here, i woudl not be anywhere near as educated as i am with money. It has made my life just that much better! I wish they woudl teach this stuff in HS or even make it a mandatory cours eat all colleges/univerisities.

 

 

Congrats on a sucessful year and budget. Nothing feels better at night when you go to sleep and you know that you have things under control and working for you. I wish more people frequented this forum, so they could learn from stories like yours about the importance of a budget and living within your means.

Edited January 13, 2006 by HawaiiArmyDude