So, good things happened and I am now living alone. Thing is, I already know I am terribly immature in my relationship with money, and I'd like to not throw myself in the spiralling down debt hellpit literally before the year is over, but beyond keeping tabs of what i have in my account i have no idea how normal adult people manage to do most things with a limited budget. My mom is paying for the apartment fees, in which water and gas are included, and I have about $1k/month for phone, internet, power, food, prep school and bus fares, and stuff for the kittens. I'm thinking about making a spreadsheet to keep track of my expenses, but other than that I have no idea what to do. Any advice from people more financially competent?
Something I still struggle with: make a shopping list - don't just go. If you aren't sure what you need to make your food, you can look up recipes to check and see what you need. The first time shopping will be the most expensive if you're starting from nothing. Also (and this is the most important thing) STICK TO THE LIST. I suck at that, hence a huge chunk of my money-drain. If you pick up one or two things that aren't on the list, that's okay. But definitely don't just start grabbing stuff that looks good. Also, be prepared to cook the food with the most perishable ingredients first, that way you don't have to throw out a bunch of produce or dairy. Be careful to check the prices 9f things while you're shopping, too. Sometimes nane-brand stuff does taste better, but certain things might be worth giving the store brand a shot. You can always go back if it tastes too different!
spreadsheets are good- as long as you remember to update them when you get back to your computer! if you're someone with a smartphone who actually checks it, there are a lot of budgetting apps out there (i'm trying to decide on one for myself now) which can allow you to immediately put in any purchases you make while you're out and about. (my well-meaning attempts at spreadsheeting fell down because of the struggle of keeping track of what i'd spent while out in a day- not everywhere gives receipts you can hoard!) shopping lists are definitely a good idea, and if your local shop has an online shopping feature then you can use that to basically mock up what you want to buy, have a concrete idea of price, and have to do a minimal amount of wandering back and forth comparing items in the aisle (which for me at least is stress inducing). making meal plans at first will be a bit shakey, especially if you're not used to cooking for yourself, but give them a try- and make sure you account for snacks, if you're in danger of eating organised meals ahead of time! if you haven't got an internet provider sorted out already then make sure you shop around. i am in the process of getting internet set up at my new rental and i nearly ended up paying double in monthly and setup fees. if you have anyone who is tech-competent and who has recent experience being a student renter who can advise you on reliable companies then ask them for advice. the second part is important because i know my parents were no help because they can afford ridiculously expensive internet and appliances, so they aren't very thrifty or sensible in that respect. setting up automatic payments for what bills you do pay is a good idea, it's awful to realise you've forgotten to pay something and have to hurry to put it through. likewise, if you're trying to build up some savings, it could be worth looking into getting a second account primarily for that, one with no associated debit card (so you can only move the funds about online, or by going in to the bank). if you can do that make that an automatic payment either the day that you get income, or the day after. you DEFINITELY WANT SOME SAVINGS, it is not fun to have a sudden expense (especially if you have pets) which you're gonna be struggling to meet. um what else... look into if there is a bulk-ticket option for bus fares available to you. here in australia we have an opal card, which is like a travel-specific debit card you wave over a reader when you get on or off a bus. previously to that being implemented, you could buy a ten-trip card, which for me helped cut down on travel expenses. it's gonna be pretty specific to your location, however. (i'll try to think of some more but i got a cooking lesson i gotta dash off to for a couple hourssss)
Thank you!! Do you have any recs for these budgeting apps? I'm using the old fashioned pen-and-paper for that but I always end up forgetting to write down the smaller purchases. I'll definitely try to organize a shopping list, because the month my apartment wasn't connected to the building's cooking gas tubes I spent almost $500 on takeout and microwave meals, not even counting the times my boyfriend paid for food >.> I've done basic shopping while mom was there but it was mostly cleaning supplies and stocking spices, because of said issue with the stove, so all i have is about 1kg each of coofe, rice, beans, and some frozen chicken. I have trouble buying actual food instead of just snacks, especially fruits and vegetables so a list is... really going to be necessary............ I am super mad about internet providers because of the three we have in my region, only one actually... services? (is that the right word?) my actual address and only with crappy connection speeds, so I didn't have much choice -=-' I'm paying $70-80 for 15mb (the highest available) and and its. infuriating lmao i dont even have bargaining power. I am going to see if i can open a second account for savings and how to set up automatic payments, that's actually a really good idea. I'm not good at saving money myself so having the process out of my direct control is a lot more likely to work.
i'm gonna start looking into budgetting apps for the both of us now- what phone OS do you have? i've got android, so i can just share whatever i find if you're the same, but i'll look into what's available for apple phones if not rice and beans and frozen chicken are a pretty good start! something i found when i started actually cooking for myself is that one of the worst parts is trying to get those staples that everyone assumes people have in their pantries. what sort of foods do you like to eat? ohhhh man it sounds like you've got the same situation as me, i'm in a super limited area and everyone is basically just reselling the services (yes you have the right word) of The Big Main Company. i'm sorry you got stuck like that :c hopefully it's at least servicable/functional for your needs? talking to your bank about setting up online banking and a savings account should help sort that out, it's in their favour to have people having money in their accounts so if they don't help you then they're not doing their job correctly!
ok i've grabbed Dollarbird to give a test run myself, it's available on both iphone and android phones. otherwise, a friend recced this site to me, and i've linked their 'best apps of 2015' article there. i'm personally not comfortable with linking my bank account to an unknown app, and i'm dirt poor, so i'm gonna stick with free manual entry ones, but it's up to you whether you want to spend a bit on a worthy app, or make your accounting a bit easier. i have been told that having to manually make note of each purchase you make does make you more conscious of how much you spend, but i've never managed to put it in practice, so take from that what you will.
ooh i'll take a look! dollarbird sounds nice. I dont think i can link anything because my account is in a brazilian bank, so manual entry isnt a problem.
