This year, my gross annual income will be $160,000 plus bonuses. According to this website (http://www.adp.com/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-tools/payroll-calculators/salary-paycheck-calculator.aspx), that leaves me just over $99,000 after taxes. In other words, $99,000 will make its way in, and partially out, of my bank account this year. The goal of this blog is to keep as much as possible of it in there.
Our society demands a lot from us. On the one hand, we're encouraged to strive to become "great," to earn as much as we can, and to "succeed" by making tons of money. On the other, we are encouraged to spend that money in the loudest and grandest way possible. As Calvin and Hobbes author Bill Waterson put it, we live "in a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life." It's our FRIENDS who tell us to buy champagne and stick our heads out of limos. They tell us (really, they show us) to have expensive tastes, to abuse alcohol, and to bulldoze our way through the world.
I want to take a look at it. For the first time in my life, I'm going to keep close tabs on my budget. How much am I spending? Where can I spend less? What can I do to save more? How can I have fun without spending money? I'll still do things that make me feel good - because that is important - but I'll do it in a cost-conscious fashion. A final goal: if I'm spending money, it's to make other people happy; it isn't just for me.
As luck had it, I found a "cheap" apartment in San Francisco, at $1355 a month. My other options were $1800 a month plus $150 in utilities for a room in a 6000 square foot loft, $2000 for a fancy room in a new building, and $1500 for a nice place in a shitty location. I feel like I lucked out. I'm below budget already (though it isn't the $600 East Bay room I could have done) and I feel good about my place.
Next up: looking at my bank accounts to see where my greatest expenses come from.
Our society demands a lot from us. On the one hand, we're encouraged to strive to become "great," to earn as much as we can, and to "succeed" by making tons of money. On the other, we are encouraged to spend that money in the loudest and grandest way possible. As Calvin and Hobbes author Bill Waterson put it, we live "in a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life." It's our FRIENDS who tell us to buy champagne and stick our heads out of limos. They tell us (really, they show us) to have expensive tastes, to abuse alcohol, and to bulldoze our way through the world.
I want to take a look at it. For the first time in my life, I'm going to keep close tabs on my budget. How much am I spending? Where can I spend less? What can I do to save more? How can I have fun without spending money? I'll still do things that make me feel good - because that is important - but I'll do it in a cost-conscious fashion. A final goal: if I'm spending money, it's to make other people happy; it isn't just for me.
As luck had it, I found a "cheap" apartment in San Francisco, at $1355 a month. My other options were $1800 a month plus $150 in utilities for a room in a 6000 square foot loft, $2000 for a fancy room in a new building, and $1500 for a nice place in a shitty location. I feel like I lucked out. I'm below budget already (though it isn't the $600 East Bay room I could have done) and I feel good about my place.
Next up: looking at my bank accounts to see where my greatest expenses come from.
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