Financial Woes - Sort Of.
I am putting money automatically into savings every month from my paycheck, and apparently it's a damned good thing I'm doing so. Even though my savings account is slowly growing, my checking account is stagnating and refuses to ever get above a certain dollar amount. This is very frustrating because I am putting a FAR LARGER portion into checking than into savings, and I had expected to be able to dump some large amount into savings eventually.
I can console myself with a few facts:
1. Allllll of my credit cards are now paid off every month, including the huge amount of credit card debt I had accrued during college.
2. I am paying my rent, credit cards, car payment, utilities, car insurance and student loans all out of checking.
3. Even when I do something like vacation, I take the money out of checking. I haven't withdrawn a single dime from savings since I opened the account.
4. I contribute 4% of my salary to my 401(k) and my company matches that, so I'm ahead of the game on retirement savings.
5. I furnished my entire apartment last year and now it's full and I can't keep buying furniture any more.
HOWEVER - I still feel like I suck. I am making plenty of money. Income isn't the problem. I am apparently just spending like a FIEND. I had plenty of people tell me upon graduation that it's a lot easier to spend money than you think, and that I would inevitably get used to making a lot of money very easily. I need to find a way to curb my spending, and FAST. So far what I have come up with is to spend a week writing down EVERYTHING I buy and seeing where I can cut back day-to-day. I guess.
Other suggestions would be appreciated. One big question: I know I splurge about once a month by ordering/buying a bunch of new clothes or shoes. Just enough to update my wardrobe for the season, I feel like. How much money do you guys spend on clothes every year? Where have you made cutbacks that really helped you?
Being a grownup sucks sometimes. :(
I can console myself with a few facts:
1. Allllll of my credit cards are now paid off every month, including the huge amount of credit card debt I had accrued during college.
2. I am paying my rent, credit cards, car payment, utilities, car insurance and student loans all out of checking.
3. Even when I do something like vacation, I take the money out of checking. I haven't withdrawn a single dime from savings since I opened the account.
4. I contribute 4% of my salary to my 401(k) and my company matches that, so I'm ahead of the game on retirement savings.
5. I furnished my entire apartment last year and now it's full and I can't keep buying furniture any more.
HOWEVER - I still feel like I suck. I am making plenty of money. Income isn't the problem. I am apparently just spending like a FIEND. I had plenty of people tell me upon graduation that it's a lot easier to spend money than you think, and that I would inevitably get used to making a lot of money very easily. I need to find a way to curb my spending, and FAST. So far what I have come up with is to spend a week writing down EVERYTHING I buy and seeing where I can cut back day-to-day. I guess.
Other suggestions would be appreciated. One big question: I know I splurge about once a month by ordering/buying a bunch of new clothes or shoes. Just enough to update my wardrobe for the season, I feel like. How much money do you guys spend on clothes every year? Where have you made cutbacks that really helped you?
Being a grownup sucks sometimes. :(