Single woman just under 100k in Tysons...need budget advice!

[Anonymous]

Hey guys! I am a single, late 20s woman living in the Tysons/McLean Area. I recent just switched companys. While I love the environment, I took a slight paycut ($105k to 95ish K)

Monthly budget
Take Home- after taxes, healthcare, etc- about 4800
Rent- 1716
Tuition (grad school part time)- $580/month
Cell phone- 140 (w/AT&T)
Utilities + Internet- 100
Gas- 120
Groceries- 200
Grooming- 110 (brows, nails, feet)

Debt
No car and credit card debt
loans- about $35000k undergrad, no grad debt

Any suggestions on where to cut. My lease is up in April...not certain on renewing lease, though its close to work.
My parents live in the area as an option.

[Anonymous]

- Does your take home number also net out 401k contributions? If so, what are those?
- cell phone seems high for 1 person, but this will not result in a huge savings
- your budget items add up to 2966, leaving you about 1800/mo. left over. where is that going?
- (this may address art of the left over) how much are your student loan payments, and what is the interest rate on those loans?
- what are your savings? (401k, IRA, brokerage account, savings account, checking account, cash under mattress)
- what are your financial goals?

[Anonymous]

$200 / month to eat? That's pretty good.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

No 401k match yet. Im a contractor, I get that in 6 months
I save about 1k a month. Id love to save more though.

My month also goes towards entertainment...going out to eat, concerts, games occasionally.
I have deferred my loans for now cause Im in grad school paying tuition.

Savings are very minimal. I was unemployed for about 2 months. and had expenses rack up.
Savings- 4k
Checking- about 500
No 401k contribution yet, no cash under mattress, no investments.

I want to do better.

[Anonymous]

Rent seems to be high. Do you walk/bus/metro to work?

[Anonymous]

Do your own nails?

[Anonymous]

I think you're doing very well.

[Anonymous]

To supplement your income, recommend advertising for Sugar Daddy

[Anonymous]

Cricket wireless for cell phone -- for me it's better than Verizon. Service is as good, and the spam calls stopped the day I switched away from Verizon.

Do your own nails some of the time. Search the beauty forum on home manicures. IMHO mani 1x/month and pedi once every 2 months in the salon is plenty. (Way more than what I do.) You could also space out the brows and keep up on strays yourself.

[Anonymous]

OP again. My credit score is 686.
My goals, are to clear my student loan debt by 30 and to build emergency fund.
I am confident my income will go up next year (in IT/Cybersecurity, easy to gain skillset)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

No 401k match yet. Im a contractor, I get that in 6 months
I save about 1k a month. Id love to save more though.

My month also goes towards entertainment...going out to eat, concerts, games occasionally.
I have deferred my loans for now cause Im in grad school paying tuition.

Savings are very minimal. I was unemployed for about 2 months. and had expenses rack up.
Savings- 4k
Checking- about 500
No 401k contribution yet, no cash under mattress, no investments.

I want to do better.

- 401k match is different than 401k contribution. Are you saying you don't contribute any? If so, you should start ASAP.
- Without 401k contributions, your "take home" seems too low. Can you itemize from your most recent pay stub how you get from $8k gross to $4800 net?
- You still haven't answered where the remaining $1800 goes. You said you save $1k/mo, so where is the other $800 going?
- If you save $1k/mo. how is it that you only have 4500 in savings? Even if you were unemployed for 2 months, if you were really saving $1k/mo you'd have something to show for it.

I think you need to do a more honest/accurate assessment of where your money is going. I don't think you have a good grasp on what your spending really is.

[Anonymous]

Your rent is high.I had a roommate until I was in my 30s.

[Anonymous]

I would seriously consider moving in with my parents. I wished I had that in my 20s.

[Anonymous]

OP

OK, I can let go of nails for now.
Yeah food is cheap....my mother still sends me food. And I mix up Harris Teeter and walmart.
I bought phone in June. Not sure if I can cancel right now.
As for the apartment....yeah it is expensive. I have been looking into shared accommadations or living at home temporarily after April (lease will be up)

[Anonymous]

OP Again,

I have only been making my salary for about 8 months now, for a clearer picture.
When I signed my lease, I also spend money furnishing it on my own
So funds went to bedroom set, living room, dining room, and kitchen items