I am feeling this estimated budget for 2013 which is a nice $30,000 net. MY $30,000 NET PERSONAL BUDGET FOR 2013…Īs mentioned before, my previous ideal budget (before I wrote this post), was just about the same amount of money - $33,000 net spending instead of $30,000 net, but I’ve since changed and tweaked it a bit. It also has a few thousand more than my $30,000 budget, because I like having a cushion for spending.Īs a freelancer, I do have a few perks in terms of being able to write off some expenses related to my business (which is my brain), and this usually helps a little in terms of having more to spend. This does not include any tax breaks from charitable donations or fully funding my retirement funds, which lowers my taxable income as well. 😉įor thy viewing convenience, I’ve highlighted the only 2 provinces and territories I actually work in.

$40,000 gross looks like this after taxes in Canadia*: *misspelling as a joke for Americans. Spending that makes my impulse nerve twitch, then I want pretty things, and it snowballs into me crying in the corner, clutching my receipts and feeling overwhelming waves of guilt at spending. I like those numbers when I think of SAVING all of that, if I gave myself an ideal budget to follow.

I’d rather think of that as a bonus if I make that kind of money. In actuality, I can get a job at $90,000 – $130,000 gross working for a company, but I don’t like those kinds of numbers when I think of spending.

This is a very conservative assumption for me, and I plan on keeping it like that. SEE, I ASSUME I CAN ALWAYS GET A JOB FOR $40,000 GROSSĪs mentioned in my earlier post, I can always get $40,000 gross at the very minimum as a job enough to survive a year until I get something better.Īnd by survive, I mean pay for my current, comfortable lifestyle, but to save $0 for the year (not a viable long-term option). savings - that will be assumed as ‘all the rest of my income’ after spending.pinching pennies by making my own toilet paper - err.eating as cheaply as possible to save money - it is NOT my thing, y’all, I just can’t do it.refusing to travel or buy something shiny (within reason) because my heart desires it.wearing a neutral uniform of the same type of clothing to match all the other minimalists.living in a cheap cardboard box with paper thin walls with noisy & smelly neighbours.Therefore I now think of my budget as what I feel are reasonable expenses for my current situation and preference for living, which does not include: It never works out perfectly, but in general with the exception of last year *cough*2012*cough*……I have been spending less than ~$33,000 net per year or $40,000 gross, which isn’t so bad. (I also say net because it’s after any kind of taxes, give or take a few thousand ($3000 or so).)Įvery year, I seem to come up with a budget for the next year, based on how I’ve been spending in the last 2 years, and trying to account for what caused my outrageous spending in categories like Wardrobe or Fees in 2012 for example (think: lawyers of all kinds, in all shapes and sizes, who then send you holiday greeting cards and tell you how much they loved your business!!.). It’s easier than thinking of in gross dollars, and I spend in net dollars anyway. I had originally written the post: What is an ideal household budget? a while back (sometime in October I believe), and set it to $40,000, based on the fact that I grossed about $70,000 a year (2 years working, 3 were relaxing.).īetween October and now, I’ve decided that $30,000 net is my new budget for spending rather than around $33,000. I’ve just been giving myself an allowance each month! NO MATTER WHAT I MAKE, $30,000 NET WILL BE MY NEW BUDGET This makes more sense because my income is not monthly, and I’ve been ad hoc budgeting like this for a while now, without realizing it. The slight twist is that I now look at the yearly totals each month rather than monthly totals, which is something I’ve heard a few people mention. Now, I’d like to set a budget for living reasonably, disregarding what I actually make as an income, and then save all the rest of my income. My income as a freelancer, spikes and then drops to $0, as evidenced below in my net worth from 2006 until the end of 2012 with all of the spikes then slow drops. So if they make $2000 a month, they can spend about $700 on housing (35%).

Most people tend to look at their net income each month, set a budget based on that (rent, groceries, savings, debt repayment), and budget to have $0 left unaccounted for. So this year, I decided that I needed to start budgeting like a freelancer, rather than someone with a steady income. Budgeting like a freelancer: Set yearly amounts and save the rest

Sample budget for one person on 30000