26 Out of 32: Budget

I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world.  It isn't easy when you have student loans and a fixed income.  I have to admit I'm often envious of friends who can take multiple vacations abroad each year, have endless shopping sprees, and seem unburdened because their parents help them with things like rent, cell phone bills, etc.

But never having that luxury has forced me to be responsible for myself and my own finances.  I have a 401K but would like to be able to have more saved for both the future and in my current savings.  Some people call that a rainy day fund, I refer to it as Shit Hits the Fan account.  Hopefully I never have to deal with a medical emergency, sudden job loss, family crisis, etc but I want to be prepared if I do.  I also want to have more money for the fun things in life I want to do.

How do I get there though?  Prioritizing!  I downloaded Mint which is a great budgeting app.  I want to track where I am spending my money, where I can make cuts, and figure out what my priorities are so I know were to spend and where to save.  This is step one in something that will be a larger project over the next year...that's right already thinking about 33 before 33.  :O

Photo by doctorwonder