Final day preparations: My budget and my rules

This is my final day before minimum wage January, so I need to ensure I’m well-prepared.

I already have a rough budget, a frugal and nutritious diet, and 73 outfits.

I’ve now refined the budget, answering some of the questions we’ve discussed earlier:

·       Do I need health insurance?  No to good coverage. Yes to coverage that might bankrupt me but will prevent me from dying. This costs an additional $129 a month from Kaiser.

·       Do I need to save for the future?  Yes. Partly to make this harder, but partly because I need an emergency fund (I’ll assume 10% of my pay), and I’ll throw in an additional $150 for retirement saving (which is much less than I would actually need to save in order to retire independently).

·       Do I need TV? No.

So here’s the final budget:

Monthly Gross Pay:	1758
Monthly Net Pay:	1495
Rent	-450
Utilities	-100
Cell Phone	-15
Clothing (already spent)	-63
Internet (Basic DSL - AT&T)	-15
Gym (my one luxury)	-50
Health Insurance with $5k deductible (Kaiser)	-129
Emergency savings fund (10% paycheck)	-150
Retirement savings	-150
Dog expenses	-20
Total spending	-1122
Total budget per month	353
Per day budget	$11.39

And here are the rules:

• I have $353 to live on for the whole month ($11 a day).
• I will surrender all credit / debit cards tonight and live entirely on cash
• At the end of January, I will donate the whole difference between my earnings and my spending to Larkin Street Youth Services
• I will use only the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom of my apartment
• Outside work, I will wear only my new wardrobe of thrift store clothes
• I will not take advantage of free coffee, tea or food at work, unless professional courtesy demands it

This week's budget looks like this.

Finally, a little context. This is hard for me, but there are many people who struggle to survive on much less.  The San Francisco minimum wage is the highest in the country by a considerable margin, and many families survive on a lot less.

My friend Silvio recently sent me this NYT article about the struggles of young people on the streets. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/us/since-recession-more-young-americans-are-homeless.html?_r=0

Duane Taylor was studying the humanities in community college and living in his own place when he lost his job in a round of layoffs. Then he found, and lost, a second job. And a third.

Now, with what he calls “lowered standards” and a tenuous new position at a Jack in the Box restaurant, Mr. Taylor, 24, does not make enough to rent an apartment or share one. He sleeps on a mat in a homeless shelter, except when his sister lets him crash on her couch.

“At any time I could lose my job, my security,” said Mr. Taylor, explaining how he was always the last hired and the first fired. “I’d like to be able to support myself. That’s my only goal.”

It highlights several issues that Larkin Street works to address.

“Most cities and states, focusing on homeless families, have not made special efforts to identify young adults, who tend to shy away from ordinary shelters out of fear of being victimized by an older, chronically homeless population.”

I’m very proud to be supporting Larkin Street through this project. We have raised $6341 already, which is over four month’s wages.  If you feel inspired to support this great organization please do so at this link, or use the donation widget at the right of my blog.

Thanks for your support, always.