Keep track of ALL of your expenses for a couple of months.
Take a good hard look at where your money is going, and where it is "excessive" relative to the amount of money you can afford to spend.
Eg, if 75% of your money after rent+utilities is going towards eating out, then maybe you should stop eating out as much.
Taking other people's budgets usually doesn't work very well. You need to figure out what works for you.
For me, $200/month on food (including eating out, which I rarely do) is reasonable. I also spend $20/month for fancy drinks from Second Cup/Starbucks, $15/month on food+litter for my cat, $350/month in living expenses, $50/month on personal items (shampoo, conditioner, face wash, etc), $30/month on household items (dish soap, lightbulbs, toilet paper, paper towels, etc).
|