The average man, instead of focusing on his mission is a slave to debt and mindless consumerism. If you truly want out of the rat race you need to bank every dollar you have and live below your means. Knowing how to live on a budget is one of your most important adult skills, its what separates the men from the boys. If you want to get your life in order, you need to get on budget.
A basic list of monthly expenses is essential and easy to do, you need to develop a minimalist mindset. First get your rent and food bill as low you can, that means a bachelor aparment and a food bill of no more than $500 a month.
You should be aiming to save 30% of what you make, that means you won’t be going out a lot, or ever. That’s good, while your friends are drinking away their youth you’ll be focusing on your rich future. Here’s how to structure things:
Monthly Expenses
- Rent/Mortgage
- Phone
- Internet
- Food
- Haircut
- Membership Dues
- Entertainment
- Vitamins
- Household Items
- Transportation
- Savings
Automate Your Bills
- Setup automatic payments through your credit card on the following:
- Phone
- Internet
- Memberships
- Transportation
- Rent if you can
Using Your Credit Card
- Use your credit card for all other expenses except for entertainment, I’ve got a travel rewards card and will get a free trip every year
- This establishes good credit, will earn you points and won’t cost you fees as debit does
- Pay your credit card off at the end of every month using internet banking
- For some of you guys you’ll be able to pay your rent with your credit card, my building has that set up for $20 a month, I get more $ in points so it works out
Managing Entertainment Expenses
- When you go out take only the amount you are willing to spend that night
- This means you have cash on hand for cabs/tips/cover charge and makes sure you don’t overspend while you’re out
Google Keep
- Instead of using a tracking service I just have a budget note in Google Keep that I update every quarter
- My bills and rent are automated, I do my shopping in bulk every quarter for vitamins etc. off Amazon and groceries are the same every week so I don’t need a fancy tracking service
- There really aren’t many variables I need to track, that’s the key, having everything automated and pre planned like a well oiled machine