That was… a lot. Even for me, and I live here (for the moment). This was an incredible sociological exercise that I am very thankful for and I hope you gained some knowledge as well.
As you go through the numbers and citations, I know some things are a bit off. As someone who specializes in data, it makes my skin crawl. But, as someone who specializes in data, I know that this is just the nature of data.
Though there are some pieces of data that were left out. Did you notice?
- Car maintenance wasn’t included, because the cost differs so greatly between car brands, and gas was left out as well
- Things like clothes, soap, detergents, etc. were left out
- There was no room for a savings account at all
- A 401K or other retirement plan was not included in the income breakdown
- There was no budget for a phone bill, streaming services, internet, or any sort of entertainment
Depending on where you live, you could add in $500 easily for these extra services. There are probably other costs that you can think of that would be budgeted into your monthly spending as well.
What did you learn? Did this help you? Please post in the comments.
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