hopelesslyarminian
New member
Hi friends, I (30F) just separated from the Air Force and am nervous to be on my own for the first time with less job security. Just moved to Raleigh, NC, accepted a job offer for 60K, and signed a 15 month lease on an apartment that was at the top of my budget range.
I’ve definitely made some poor decisions in the past, and I’m ready to get serious about my finances. My goal for the next year or two is to beef up my emergency fund and pay down my debts, while not being so constricting that I don’t adhere to the budget. I would love to hear your thoughts on what I should prioritize; details of my past sins are below.
Assets
3,000 - Emergency fund in HYSA (APY 4.35%), only a month of expenses. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
2,500 - Checking account with sinking funds (vacation next month, new phone next year)
6,000 - Roth 401K, retirement fund with the military
Part of my lease is a two month’s free rent special, so I will not have to pay rent in April and May (total of 2,530 savings). Thinking of putting 1,500 to car loan, 530 to emergency fund, and 500 to furniture as I only have a bed and desk right now.
Debts
9,000 - Credit card debt at 6% APR (thank you sweet, sweet SCRA, not sure how long I will have that military APR so I will be doing a balance transfer to 0% card if/when it shoots back up to 25-30% APR)
11,500 - Car loan (235 monthly payment at 8.64% for 73 months) that I’m upside down in; got approved to refinance it (118 monthly payment at 5.24% for 63 months) if I can pay it down to 10,000. I plan to refinance it as soon as I have the extra 1,500 to throw at it, and I have 80 days to do so.
6,500 - Student loans at 4 - 6% which are deferred because I’m taking online classes. Seems lowest priority to me.
My proposed monthly budget:
60K salary - 3900 monthly take home pay
Lifestyle - 15% (585)
200 - Eating Out
200 - Shopping
100 - Entertainment
50 - Gifts
35 - Subscriptions
Savings & Debt - 30% (1185)
100 - 2% Retirement contribution (after 1 year company will match up to 5% and I will bump it up)
300 - Emergency fund
75 - Car maintenance
235 - Car payment (will keep paying 235 even if it goes down 118 to throw more money at it)
150 - Credit card minimum payment
325 - Credit card extra payment
Needs - 55% (2130)
1395 - Rent + Wifi + Parking + Amenities fee
200 - Utilities
300 - Groceries
105 - Car Insurance
60 - Gas
50 - Health Insurance
35 - Cell phone
I’ve definitely made some poor decisions in the past, and I’m ready to get serious about my finances. My goal for the next year or two is to beef up my emergency fund and pay down my debts, while not being so constricting that I don’t adhere to the budget. I would love to hear your thoughts on what I should prioritize; details of my past sins are below.
Assets
3,000 - Emergency fund in HYSA (APY 4.35%), only a month of expenses. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
2,500 - Checking account with sinking funds (vacation next month, new phone next year)
6,000 - Roth 401K, retirement fund with the military
Part of my lease is a two month’s free rent special, so I will not have to pay rent in April and May (total of 2,530 savings). Thinking of putting 1,500 to car loan, 530 to emergency fund, and 500 to furniture as I only have a bed and desk right now.
Debts
9,000 - Credit card debt at 6% APR (thank you sweet, sweet SCRA, not sure how long I will have that military APR so I will be doing a balance transfer to 0% card if/when it shoots back up to 25-30% APR)
11,500 - Car loan (235 monthly payment at 8.64% for 73 months) that I’m upside down in; got approved to refinance it (118 monthly payment at 5.24% for 63 months) if I can pay it down to 10,000. I plan to refinance it as soon as I have the extra 1,500 to throw at it, and I have 80 days to do so.
6,500 - Student loans at 4 - 6% which are deferred because I’m taking online classes. Seems lowest priority to me.
My proposed monthly budget:
60K salary - 3900 monthly take home pay
Lifestyle - 15% (585)
200 - Eating Out
200 - Shopping
100 - Entertainment
50 - Gifts
35 - Subscriptions
Savings & Debt - 30% (1185)
100 - 2% Retirement contribution (after 1 year company will match up to 5% and I will bump it up)
300 - Emergency fund
75 - Car maintenance
235 - Car payment (will keep paying 235 even if it goes down 118 to throw more money at it)
150 - Credit card minimum payment
325 - Credit card extra payment
Needs - 55% (2130)
1395 - Rent + Wifi + Parking + Amenities fee
200 - Utilities
300 - Groceries
105 - Car Insurance
60 - Gas
50 - Health Insurance
35 - Cell phone