Cutting My Budget in Half | Trying To Live on Half My Income | $40K Per Year
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- February starts a new way to budget. This month and moving forward I’m going to try to live on half of my income. Review last month’s budget and review how money will be allocated in February
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When you get coffee for your colleagues, you pay for them? And when they get coffee for you, you have to pay yourself? Cut the coffe for them 😁👌
Thank you for being so open and vulnerable, especially with strangers across the internet. When critical comments come...I hope you do not get discouraged. What you're doing is bigger that keyboard Karens and you are helping countless people not feel alone in their financial journey. Can't wait to see your debt free video this year! It will be awesome...you're doing amazing❤🎉
Lol “Keyboard Karen’s” I love this comment. Thank you 💛
Totally agree!!
I think you can definitely quit paying for everyone else’s coffee and then you can still get yours. Either just get it without offering it to others, which isn’t rude at all, or ask them to Venmo for their part. I would never expect someone in my office to keep paying for my coffee. Maybe they think it’s being reimbursed by the office? Or maybe your Range Rover and luxury items give the impression that you are in a good financial position…Which is the whole reason for the channel. You’re doing better, but I think you’ve still got room for improvement in habits.
I completely agree, always room for improvement.
@@dbalemon I used to have the same issue with colleagues and coffee. I would offer to get coffees and people took me up on it but nobody returned the favour - apart from 1 person. So I stopped offering to everyone who was only taking advantage of it but never returned the gesture. I continued only with this 1 colleague and it works like a dream. Coffee expenses at work went right down. 😉 Nowadays, if anyone offers to get coffee I simply say that I'm fine and that I now bring in coffee from home.
Girl you are being so vulnerable and honest and these comments do not seem to want to encourage that. While your lifestyle may not reflect my needs/wants/aspirations, I recognize where you're coming from and above all else, it's so cool that you're willing to share your process. I personally don't use a budgeting app because I feel like this level of detail will drive me crazy, but I try to keep a pretty rigid spreadsheet spending tracker that I made myself. It lets me see what's in the accounts and what's coming in and out but feels less restrictive and punitive than "This is what you should have spent this month, this is what you failed at" I just try to make sure the money is going into savings and that I'm allotting for a list of goals I have while paying off loans and otherwise I try not to restrict myself. I too am a recovering shopaholic and if I tell myself I CAN'T shop, when I get stressed or depressed, I'm more likely to crave that as the solution and I'll start bargaining with myself that I can and then there's a shame spiral after. But also, life is hard and I made half of what you made last year and spent thousands of dollars on health emergencies. So ya know, we all do what we can. Still, it's great to see your process. Thanks for sharing.
From one shopaholic to another, I completely understand where you’re coming from. “We all do what we can” you’re so right. Also interesting to hear your opinion on budgeting apps, as long as your system works for you, that’s great.
@@dbalemon it's definitely working somewhat. I'm sure Dave Ramsey would say I could be doing so much more (I don't agree with a good bit of his financial advice for the record) but 5 years ago I was at zero dollars and looking down the barrel of nowhere to live. Now I have a house, two paid off vehicles, emergency savings, and working towards my goals. And the best part is I don't FEEL like I had to go without for the past 5 years. Ya know? So much of the hurdle, especially if you come from a position of having enjoyed luxuries is that we don't want to FEEL deprivation because it leads to scarcity mindset and in my case, hoarding tendencies and dysregulated impulsive spending. I wanna feel like I'm living comfortably. I hope your system also allows you that comfort that you're not depriving yourself to the point of those triggering mindsets. ❤
Your sister trips should be a monthly budget item of maybe $100 so it’s fully funded whenever you go.
Yep - I agree.
I learned a habit that I apply to household items, makeup, haircare, etc. from my parents. I don't wait until I'm almost out of something if it's an item I use regularly. When I open for example, a tube of mascara, I will immediately be on the lookout for it to go on sale in the coming weeks/months. Regardless if I need it when it's on sale, I pick it up to have ready as a replacement. If funds are short that week, then I wait until the next time it's on sale. I have an aversion to 1.paying full price and 2. running out of stuff. Thanks for sharing your journey.
I do the SAME thing. The older I get the less I like “running out” of a regular item
Thank you for being so vulnerable and sharing your journey. Personal finance is just that, personal to each of us! Wishing you all the best for Feb ❤
Thanks so much 💛💛
Something that helps me is making a "reimbursable" category where i put transactions that will be refunded either by work or returns or whatever - keeps those things from affecting the budget
You’ve inspired me to get control over my spending! First step, unfollowing influencers that are constantly promoting something to buy. Second step, turnoff sale notifications and unsubscribe from all the sales emails.
That’s amazing! I wish you the best, good luck!
Yes! I did that too when I was getting out of debt and it helped so much!
Been watching.. love your efforts.. you are so fortunate to not have too many household expenses.. heating, electricity, real estate taxes.. get everything paid off, so when you do, you’ll be ready
You are guessing a lot in your budget (“I don’t think I will do over”, “I will try very hard to stick to it”). It could be better to gradually decrease existing spending (not 50$ for coffee when you spent 86$, but maybe 75&?). I also agree that sister trip should be a sinking fund in a monthly budget.
And finally if you make 3400$ a month you can’t afford a lot of stuff really 😅 like it’s a low income and can’t include trips and restaurants and beauty products. You will go over for sure
I tried no buy January end up buying shoes for 40 euros at TK Maxx and denim skirt at Zara for 20 euros . Still my no buy attempt was a good idea i saved over 1 k in one month which is new for me .
That’s still a win. Best to try to pick right back up on that no buy. Do you by any chance follow Alexis and her channel “project no buy”?
@
Thank you,yes I will continue with no buy this month.
I will check her out I have never heard of project no buy.
Elle, couple things girl…my budget went over a bit in January too. It was a long month so i went over in my grocery category and a bit in gas. I see folks saying ‘why whole foods and stop paying for everyones coffee…’ where you are certain things are and aren’t available. While i get being mindful of spending does that mean we live without a few things that make us happy? If we are still keeping our eye on the prize and still making adjustments to do better does that mean we cant get groceries where we want? Youre cutting the nail line item. You’re doing SO well…let the girl shop at whole foods!! If the office culture is to buy coffee then right now do what you can manage. Appreciate you so much!!!
Love. love. love. this comment. Thank you!💛
I’ve been routing for you since day one and I’m here for February! Big changes but you can absolutely do this!!!!
Thanks so much!!💛
Have fun on your sister trip! 💛
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your process & experience! I am really enjoying the learn as you go process as you figure out what works for YOU 😊 and adjusting as you go.
Your boyfriend should be paying every time you eat out. $0 restaurant budget, stop shopping on Amazon, get rid of Rent The Runway. You’re not making enough sacrifices.
Thank you for the motivation ❤ now I am also determined to spend as little as I can in February 🎉😊
Awesome! Good luck, let me know how it goes 💛
You spent a lot of time on this, and it shows. Your diligence will definitely bring you success in the end!💪🏽
Does that app give you a pie chart option that breaks spending out by categories and percent $$ spent? I'd love to see that. Thanks so much for your total transparency ❤💰
Oh..btw...I hope that all the extra you're paying on your car is going to the principal only!!
Great breakdown! I respect your dedication to improving your relationship with money!
Thanks so much!
I was saying, cancel Rent the Runway for a month and then you're like, I'm not doing it. Haha I think you'll be fine!
Good job you! Have you considered that for one month you could take from your car overpayment since it is so high. I say this because while you want to pay it down, you also want to take an unplanned trip. I think you could take the extra from there so you stay within the buffer you are working to apply. I’m still tweaking even though I have been budgeting for a while now. My goal is to stop the Amazon bleed that happened in January 😅
Good idea. I did consider taking from my car fund but I just feel bad doing it. I’ve been on a roll with maintaining those payments. I’m going to try to keep trip expenses down, we’ll see how it goes. Thanks so much for the suggestions 💛
Girl, lolipops to suppress your appetite is a glaring example of your issues with food.
I would say this is probably very true.
I'm going to be brutally honest with you. Spending $400 on your boyfriend is insanity. If your boyfriend truly loved you he would love and appreciate something low-cost or free, especially knowing you are on a strict budget. I just wanted to point this out in case nobody else will. My husband and I have never spent that much on each other and we are each other's ride or die married 25 years. We have 7 figure plus net worth btw and focus on free cheap things to do for entertainment. Hugs to you!
My husband and I are trying to get out of debt - we usually just do a fun experience to save money versus buying gifts.
Thank you for sharing and kudos to you for priortizing sister time! Question - If you have funds in savings why are you not knocking out the medical bill? Good luck this month!
Great question. I feel very uneasy when savings is under $10K. I know it’s irrational but it almost feels like I have zero so I can’t bring myself to touch it. I did once to pay off my tax bill, which is why it’s lower than $10K. I’m not yet ready to do that again.
The fact that you’re calling it Amazon Fund and nothing more particular proves that these are just boredom buys that you don’t need. You’re probably set on TP - you got all the makeup you need this month and I’m sure you’ve got all the shampoo - if it’s empty there’s 3 more people in your house you can „steal“ from 😅. The only real emergency I can think of are tampons- but then again these wouldn’t be Amazon buys but a quick CVS run covered by your boyfriend.
Also my co-worker brings a big thermos of café au lait to work. I’m talking about the equivalent of two venti coffees. After she downed those (if she manages) it’ll come out of her ears and she will not feel like buying another boatload of coffee anywhere.
Also your hair looks very nice :)
Thank you for sharing your budget. Can you make a video on how you choose your rent the runway items?
The coffee thing, I get it.
It should stop but at the end of the day it's a habit and a lifestyle and it's going to take time and learning how to change your behavior. And that's fine because you've already progressed so incredibly far that it's only a matter of time before you succeeded dropping this habit.
Gas went over b/c Jan was a 5 week month and you budgeted for a 4 week month.
Good job on budgeting, you have made so much progress!
I hope DIY nails works for you! Mine are so much healthier since stopping gel. Annie Jaffrey has an at home manicure video on RUclips for keeping your nails healthy. Definitely check it out.
Will do, thanks so much for the tip.
I use Dazzle Dry and it lasts as long as gel. It really helped me spend less by doing my nails on my own.
I say decrease all the luxuries while you get out of debt faster. Then add in those few luxuries that you feel you must have, without going overboard, when you are out of debt again and can afford them. Right now you’re wasting too much in interest. Then it’s only temporary to be without some of the luxuries.
May I ask why you want to keep the car when that brand is known to have issues and are expensive to fix? Have you thought about maybe trading for a lexus? Have you thought about getting your most expensive items directly from the manufacturer instead of amazon? It might be worth researching to see if you can save some money.
As someone also addicted to coffee. I just have to make coffee using the keurig in the office break room. I try to limit buying coffee to on average 1-2 times a week.
About all the pricey things that all run out at the same time, you could just buy one item per month regardless of the need for it. So you'd always have a bottle of shampoo or whatever as a back up. And one item a month is easy to budget for. You wouldn't get a crazy month where you have to buy everything. Like January=shampoo, February=mascara etc...
Well good luck to you.
Why do you have to shop at Whole Foods? I understand there are certain things you must get at Whole Foods. However, do you have an Aldi or Trader Joe’s?
I tried Aldi and Trader Joe’s but I was always forced to make multiple trips. I’ve gotten my grocery bill down to $65-$95 per trip depending what I need. Generally I can keep the bill down even at Whole Foods if I pay attention to prices.
@@dbalemonsometimes you just have to shop smarter. My husband and I buy specific items from different stores because it is much cheaper. It also helps that the grocery stores are close by. $65-95/ trip is still a lot.
Keep going girl ❤
Have you thought of taking up a once a week bartending/waitressing gig? you can easily bring in an extra 12K a year!
Can’t you pay the zoom annual fee and the monthly chatgpt subscription from your youtube earnings since it is business related? Nice hair btw 💛
Plan for 0 you’ll hit it every time. If you’re actually going to cut down to 50% of income, please for the love of everything HAVE A PLAN for the other 50%
Thank you for the comment. I may have not made it clear but the extra funds will all go towards debt until it’s paid off.
january was a rough month with how cold and snowy it was . shopped too much
This was fun to watch. I'm super curious about your grocery budget bc that seems like an area of opportunity. Is it for one person - or does that line item include you and your boyfriend? If it is just for you, I think you can successfully lower it to $300 quite easily.
Do you thing!! You can do it!!
I’ve been watching your videos since the beginning, I really want to root for you but it is hard sometimes because I feel like you don’t want to make temporary sacrifices in order to succeed example is the Rent The Runway. One month of sacrifice is probably best than going over budget. Your miscellaneous expense for all the things that you forget is quite high because of the price of each item, you should build a sinking fund for that instead.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen your progress but you have to push yourself a little further. Even as simple as shopping around to get the best price. I live in the Bay Area and it is expensive here so we always shop smart, we have to otherwise it is so easy to fall into the trap of overspending.
I wish the best! I still want to see you succeed.
I lived on 27K last year and saved or invested the rest of my take home pay... 😃
I enjoyed your personal financial audit. If I may suggest- you need to make a plan for your coffee. I mean, make your own coffee drink at work when you are tempted by others. When you go to restaurants, drink water or buy the house wine. Sell the car. $1000 payment is out of your budget. You are overspending $2300 a month. Buy Dove soap instead of your fancy soap. You are doing a good job tracking but you are not making drastic changes because you can’t distinguish between a need and a want.
I would pay for the sister trip out of RUclips money.
Bring a thermos of coffee from home.
That's what I switched to, and love it. My coffee (to me!) is better than any I get out and about.
Would it make sense to use the 'hidden' income for the sister trip and not include it in the budget? It seems to be making it much harder for you to budget when it is an unusual expense and you do have the money.
And if you are finding it tough to stick to 50 dollars for coffee or things like that I wonder if a virtual cash envelope system would work for you. I had to do that. If I allocate say 50 dollars a month in a budget to beauty it felt more hypothetical, but having a separate little account for it that I had to transfer money in and out of made it easier to stick to the limit. I don't know why, it should make no differences but I felt spending the money and the limit much more that way.
You are doing well. ❤ i would encourage you to stop buying coffee and stop renting clothes. ❤
Why do you pay for their coffee but they don't pay for yours?
Good question. I’m always the one making the trip so it kind of falls on me. They probably would if they went out for it but most don’t.
@@dbalemonright? I think people are taking advantage. There’s wayyy too many ways to send cash these days. Either you use a business card or they Zelle, cash app, or Venmo their coffee orders.
@@dbalemon but you said the ones that come in late ask if you want coffee...and then you pay for it?
Oh, yes that’s true. I pay for mine not everyone.
@@dbalemon but why though if you pay for everyone's when you pick it up? besides obviously that you have a heart of gold. They are surely taking advantage of you
Hi do u suggest to open an Ira when I already have a 401k?
So easy to make your own coffee
When will you allow yourself to access the RUclips money? Annually?
Found my tribe. My number is 70k annually. #subscribed
You seem to like to play a lot of games with yourself and make things as complicated as possible. Insted of this, why would you not try zero based budget? You do exactly what you did but include ALL income and then assign everything over $40k to savings/debt repayment. Think about where does your unwillingness to do so come from. You're such a hard worker, but my God you love to spend.
Zero base budget is the only way.
I was thinking this too. Budget your reality. You’re over complicating this process and I think because you know you actually have more income than you budget, you feel ok in overspending.
I put all income at the top of my budget and allocate towards expenses, sinking funds, debt if applicable, and savings. Playing mind games with yourself I think is a mistake.
Best of luck 💛
It does seem very complicated when you switch from one category to another, Sephora seems to pop up a few times in different places (it also looks like you also bought more then one lipstick so it wasn’t really about running out?), the car has different categories… you say you’re budgeting 40k but immediately there is a “but” and you budget some more
some people tend to do it because that way they feel productive and like they making progress as Ramit Sethi says…
I also use a zero based budget. I use the Budget by Paycheck planner by the budget mom. I’ve paid off everything and saved so much time and money this way. It’s so easy to use. And we get paid weekly so I do use it every week.
I know you’re not ready yet but maybe in a year or so try not buying all this expensive cosmetic stuff you definitely don’t need and see how you look and feel for a month. You might be surprised. If it doesn’t work you can go back.
Say hi to Miss Peaches for me if you see her.
Please stop with Amazon. 😱
Boycott Amazon
Why does the title say $40k when you made 5 or 9?k this month?
That baffled me, too.
I just looked the L’Occitane soap on Amazon and it’s $60 . When did you buy it? Yikes! Did they cut it up in quarters and sell you one? LOL
This beautiful angel should never have to go without.
Big forehead
Great content. I have to ask. What's so wrong with having a reliance on your man? Let the ego rest... You dont have enough money to retire with dignity. I spend your restaurant budget in a single meal. $500 for groceries is 1.5 trips for me. A "sister" trip budget should be closer to $10,000. Fine food, fine wine, plush accommodations. You're suffering needlessly. Let your BF step up. You're a hottie. You can find a partner that makes life so much simpler. LIke the song by U2, "... you've got to give yourself away...with or without you...."
I see we've found a trad wife or stay at home girlfriend. What happens when your man dumps you? Women over 70 are the largest growing population in poverty.
She was financially reliant on her husband for a while and it caused her to develop the overspending problem by having no real relationship with money. I cannot speak for the creator and say if that's how she feels now though.
I’ve been watching your videos since the beginning, I really want to root for you but it is hard sometimes because I feel like you don’t want to make temporary sacrifices in order to succeed example is the Rent The Runway. One month of sacrifice is probably best than going over budget. Your miscellaneous expense for all the things that you forget is quite high because of the price of each item, you should build a sinking fund for that instead.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen your progress but you have to push yourself a little further. Even as simple as shopping around to get the best price. I live in the Bay Area and it is expensive here so we always shop smart, we have to otherwise it is so easy to fall into the trap of overspending.
I wish the best! I still want to see you succeed.