Blog #4: Budgeting

• The total of my future expenses each year are $67,000.   I know this is logical because my primary sources for information are http://www.valuepenguin.com/average-cost-of-health-insurance and I made a spreadsheet with the costs:
• These costs are a bit on the high side. I am taking into account what my costs will be if I go to Cornell (my most expensive option) without any financial assistance for 8-10 years (PhD program). The costs will be lower if I go to a school that has a lower tuition cost or I get a scholarship.
  

  Frequency of payment?	Category	Item	Amount per PAYMENT	Rationale for amount listed	Amount per YEAR
  Monthly	Housing	Rent or mortgage	2000	cost of a nice apartment in a medium sized city	24000
  		Property taxes	0	rent
  yearly		Home maintenance	300	Cost of upkeep and if something breaks	300
  		If applicable, H.O.A. fees	0	rent
  Weekly	Food	Groceries	100	I love whole foods.	5200
  Monthly	Utilities	Gas	0	rental
  Monthly		Electricity	0	rental
  Monthly		Water	0	rental
  Monthly		Waste management	0	rental
  Monthly		Telephone- hardline and cell phone	100		1200
  Monthly		Internet	0	rental
  Once	Transportation	Where applicable, downpayment for car	NA
  Monthly		Car payment	400	$20,000 car	480
  yearly		Car insurance	900		900
  Monthly		Fuel	100	i’ll take the bus or train	1200
  Yearly		Car maintenance	200		200
  Monthly		Public transportation	50	bus	600
  Monthly	Health	Medical insurance	220		2640
  Monthly		Dental insurance	30		360
  Monthly		Fitness facility or activities	100	why is yoga so expensive?	1200
  Yearly		Vision insurance and eyewear	20	new glasses copayment	20
  Yearly	Pets	Vet	300	about $100 per pet for normal, but extra accounted for emergencies or extra pets	300
  Monthly		Food	100	I spoil my dogs	1200
  total	Education	Tuition	300000	The education system sucks — this is for cornell
  Monthly		Student loan repayment	2000	Im crying	24000
  Monthly		Books, magazines, etc	10	idk I read sometimes	120
  Few Years		Computer	1000
  Monthly	Protection	Clothes, including jackets and basics	20	basics	240
  Monthly		Shoes, every day use, work use, dress up	50	shoes are expensive	600
  Monthly	Apparel		50	workout gear is expensive	600
  Monthly	Restaurants		100	Eating out once or twice per week plus coffee	1200
  Monthly	Movies		10	one movie per month	120
  Monthly	Electronics		10	Netflix	120
  Monthly	Etc
  				TOTAL NEEDED TO COVER  EXPENSES AFTER TAXES	67000

• According to http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes191012.htm I can likely count on making $80,000 each year in my future job as a food scientist/researcher.  My education/training to get that job will cost $300,000 total for all years of training because I will most likely pursue a PhD program.
• I want to save $1000 for my rainy day fund each year, and $13,000 for retirement each year.  If I save $13,000 for retirement each year, by the time I am 65 years old I will have $5.2 million plus interest (http://money.cnn.com/calculator/retirement/retirement-need/).
• Comparing my future income and expenses makes me think about how expensive it can be to live in a bigger city. I don't plan on having kids, but I will have dogs to care for. The expenses will add up if I make $80,000, which is more likely if I have a PhD. If I have to get a job with a lower salary, I will have to cut costs by finding a cheaper place to live and by being more frugal with luxury items. The costs of living will also be a little easier to cover if I get married or move in with a boyfriend that also has a well-paying job.