How Much Is Too Much? – The Fun Funds Chronicles
May 28, 2010 5 Comments
Money talks. Does yours keep saying goodbye?
How much money do you make per month? Okay. Take that number, multiply it by 10%. Take that number and divide it by four. If you are the average young person, in the opinion of most personal finance blogs and books, that is the healthy amount of “fun” money you’re spending each week if you’re:
a) saving properly
b) paying off student loans or other debt
c) accomplishing your retirement goals
It kind of blew my mind. The final number I came up with was more of an estimate for what I was blowing every two days. As if that wasn’t horrific enough, I‘ve been living like this since I finished college in 2007.
Like that dress in the window? Buy it. Medium froyo with four toppings after work? Sure, buy it. Happy hour with the girls? Buy it, four times a week. Dinner out with the boyfriend on a random weekday? Buy it. Bottle of vinho verde for a friend? Buy it. You know what? Buy one for me too for later. Don’t even get me started about trips to Target. Whoever does their store layouts is a certified retail genius. Purses –> Clothes —> Shoes –> No, must get to the register and leave! –> Jewelry. Everyone laughs when I tell them I black out in there but it’s the truth. I go in there to buy just shampoo and resurface two hours later and $100 shorter. Ashley once took a photo of me on a day at Target when I refused to use a shopping cart. My intentions were good but it didn’t help. I still looked like the winner of Supermarket Sweep, just minus the cart. In reality, I’m being the loser.
Long story short? I always end up with more month left than money. I can feel a personal finance love affair coming on and I would love to hash out all the messy details.
Turning over another new leaf:
For the month of June I will be taking my own weekly allowance out in cash. Seeing that beautiful green paper leave my fingertips is somehow far more painful than letting every cashier in Boulder swipe my debit card for ridiculous splurges. When the “fun funds” for the week are depleted, that’s it. No more fun spending. To sweeten this little game, I’ll withdraw the money on Fridays. (Everyone loves Fridays.)
How do you struggle with saving? What are your favorite things to buy? What do you think of the allowance plan?
I am so proud of you Clare! It’s tough, and this month I was getting dangerously close to more month than money. I had to dip into savings because even though I’m paying bills and paying off credit card debt, I haven’t been saving the way I should. Not having an emergency fund is terrible, and I didn’t think about it that much until, well, Peanut’s emergency. *hugs* You can do this!!
i think it’s amazing how many people make it out of high school without learning ANYTHING about money management. we’re expected to go off into college and just know better than to put our lives on credit cards, and debit cards. i have been able to dig myself out of a small but significant credit card hole. i have no debt right now other than student loans, but that in itself is liberating. i tend to spend my money on random purchases, soda at the gas station, renting movies even though i have a netflix account. new underwear. it’s never really anything BIG, but it adds up. *hugs* love you and good luck!
Such a good post Clare, and one I feel I could have written myself! Especially the Target part. DO let me know how the Friday allowance thing goes; I may just have to start implementing that for myself.
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