my (flexible) budget

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

JANUARY

Wednesday

I'm not a big fan of making a detailed budget and strictly sticking to it. That's too much work and not flexible enough. I'd rather just know my fixed costs and how much that leaves me to spend on everything else. Here are my fixed monthly costs going into 2019 (note that these are just my own personal costs, so if they seem like half of what you'd expect it's because I split the bill with my wife):

• Rent: $425
• Tenants insurance: $5
• Electricity/heat: $30
• Internet: $20
• Mobile: $0 (Iols)
• Netflix: $5
• Total fixed costs per month: $485

So with the $1000/month challenge, that leaves $515 to spend on things that vary from month to month like groceries, bus tickets, travelling, restaurants, entertainment, clothes, and gifts. That's a bit lavish! Unless I waste a bunch of money of stuff I don't even want, I don't see any way I would even get close to spending all that. And so, I'm changing my challenge to...

Spend no more than $700 per month in 2019!!!

Once you've calculated your fixed expenses, feel free to adjust your challenge too :)