But it’s not too late right?
After I bought my car, I felt like a huge financial burden had been lifted off my shoulders (because I had been saving for about two years) so when 2012 hit I went a little out of control with my spending. I don’t mean going into debt but I definitely was not spending within my means or have been putting money aside to save. Sheesh.
I knew that I had to do something about this so as a way to get into good habits, I’ve started:
1) cashing my money before spending them now so that I work out a way to get by with what’s in my wallet, rather than what’s in my bank account.
2) keeping my receipts when I pay for things and recording my spendings daily in a notebook.
3) thinking ahead – what I am likely to spend money on in a week and working out cheaper options in advance.
I want to keep this up so that I have money to spend when I go on holiday and also to take out my first term deposit ever by the end of 2012. 9 months ago
i’m not sure whether what i’ve been doing is a “plan for financial independence” but i have been keeping track of my accounts. this way, i know what i’ve been spending on and i can somehow devise a plan on how to be thrifty. so far though, i have been on a budget ever since college. i’m pretty much calculative on what i put out for. but now that i’m working, i want to focus on earning and saving money in the bank. earning interest and all that. i need to figure out all that. 19 months ago
How I did it: First, I worked out my basic, must-have expenses - rent, electricity, phone, transport. From there, I added savings that I'd like to have, plus "relief" money when I need a little leeway to buy something. I totalled them all up, worked out a yearly amount, and then calculated (including tax) how many hours I need to work at a basic office job to earn that much - it's a normal workweek.
Now, my current situation doesn't allow for work, because I'm studying full time, but as my expenses decrease and I pay things off I'll be moving closer to that plan for financial independence.
Read how I did it… 1 year ago
14 cheers . Comment
I realised that, with a minimalist but not spartan outlook, it’s really not that easy to be financially independent once I leave university. I’d only need a basic admin job paying $20/hour to support my needs – and since I’m planning to major in physics, I figure I’ll be earning much more than that.
I’ve calculated my finances to include “luxury” spending of $150 a fortnight, all housing expenses, food, plus $100 each per fortnight towards a house, travel and general savings. All this, and I can easily live for around $500 per week. If I earn more, that’ll all just go for savings.
Right now I’m at uni on a government allowance, and that won’t change until I graduate, so I’m on a very low income with higher expenses because I’m not yet formally sharing with my boyfriend. Soon things will evolve and I’ll have a little more money to save, which is great! 1 year ago
okay, taking into account rent and all other bills, plus food ($100/week), petrol, and savings, alone I would need an income of roughly $1,095 per fortnight to reach financial independence.
if I also wanted to put aside money for travel, this would become $1295, and I would have to work 4 days a week for 8 hours at $20/hour (minimum wage for a decent job after graduating).
if, however, my boyfriend and I shared joint costs, but I still wanted to save to travel, I would need to have an income of $970 per week, working 3 days a week under aforementioned circumstances.
if I did not want to save for travel but we still shared, my necessary income would drop to $770 per fortnight, and I would only need to work 2 and a half days a week under aforementioend circumstances. 1 year ago
well, a current budget shows that BEFORE food, I have $57 a fortnight left after all payments. hmm. this is a problem. that’s basically because I have to repayments to make (that will both be finished within two months), plus I’m repaying my stepdad money I owe him. he said only to pay if I can afford it, but even the $20 a fornight I’m paying him won’t help much financially.
$90 of that is money I put away for my car, so when insurance or registration dates come around I get the money straight from there. I might need to dip into that a little.
really, I should be able to get by with $30 a week for food, if I don’t buy anything from uni. I thought (I miscalculated one repayment) that I’d only have $21 a fortnight ($10 a week), so this is three times that amount.
before I reach financial independence I need to actually make ends meet. so we’ll see. 1 year ago
1. work out what my current income/expenditure looks like
2. work out how much I need to be comfortable
3. work out what sort of budget I need to put a little money aside
4. have the long-term goal of independence (off the pension within 2 years) 1 year ago
