It’s almost one year since I’ve become debt-free (kind of), and I have to say, I’m loving all the ways my budget has changed in just one year. I love that I get to put so much towards savings, that I have more room to spend on food and things, and that I’m investing consistently.
Things are definitely NOT how I thought they would be, though. If you were to tell me last year that I’d still be building up my emergency fund, I wouldn’t have believed you. I had the idea in my head, back then, that I would build up my EF almost as quickly as I got out of debt. Since then, I’ve struck a better balance with it. It just goes to show that changing your values is perfectly fine, and there’s no one right way to do money.
Anyway, here’s the overview of my March budget:
I love looking at everything at a glance like this. As always, you can get your own copy of this spreadsheet at teacherstalkmoney.com/budget. I also made a pen & paper version you can access at the same place.
Here’s the breakdown of my income & savings:
March is expected to be a pretty typical month, as you can see. My income is standard and all of my savings are where they should ideally be. This is due to not having any atypical expenses during this month (yet).
And finally, we have my fixed & variable costs, which are also the standard, ideal amounts for the month. I have to say, after having to adjust things and move money around the past few months, I’m happy to have a boring budget in March 🙂
Remember to get your own budget spreadsheet or pen & paper version by clicking the button below. See you next week!
Rachel
Teachers Talk Money 