Sunday, December 11, 2005

Whew!

A few days ago, when I was looking at my net worth changes, I had a slight panic about my cash flow. Well, after looking at my monthly spending in more detail, I am feeling reassured.
From Jan-Nov 2005, I spent between $2,176-$3,682 per month, not counting taxes. Comparing this to my takehome pay, of approximately $3,600 a month, it worked out that I actually saved an average of $834 from each month's pay, not the $240 or so I had erroneously come up with the other day.
The $834 is a little misleading, as I haven't had to renew my gym membership during this period, and that is a hit of almost $1,000 (I pay for a full year in advance in order to get a free extra month or two). But even if I factor that in, I do seem to be saving over $700 a month on average, not counting what I contribute to my 401k through payroll deductions. That is about 20% of my takehome pay.
To celebrate my confirmed frugality, maybe I'll go to Gucci!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Good job! You're saving 20% of your take home paycheck on top of what you're saving for your retirement! Keep up the savings. Reward yourself but don't buy any $2,000 wallets! :)

Adventures In Money Making said...

holy cow, what gym do you go to???
i go to LA fitness. I paid $600 for 2 years but after that my renewal is $99/yr.

Anonymous said...

Great job on the $700 a month in savings - being able to save 20% of take home pay is a great accomplishment. Keep it going next year!

Anonymous said...

Have you moved into your new apartment? Is it in Manhattan? Brooklyn?

Please do tell us about the costs associated with setting up - you know, furniture, cleaning supplies etc.

I realize you probably have some stuff that you'll use, but in my experience people tend to make a clean break and buy alot from scratch when they move, often to upgrade, sometimes for aesthetic reasons, etc.

Just curious what the costs for that aspect of a new home for a single person in NY are.

Madame X said...

Anon- I haven't yet moved into my new (Brooklyn) apartment, but I promise I will post about closing costs, moving costs, furniture costs and all the rest as it happens!

Empty Spaces- my gym is a little pricey, but it's because they have a pool, and swimming is the only exercise I seem to be able to do regularly! In relation to some other clubs with pools, it's actually quite reasonable!