To succeed with money, you must live within your means. This is easier said than done when budgets don’t work for young people who are just starting out.
The classic budget tells you to track your current purchases and to anticipate your future expenses. If you are leaving school to start a job and to live with roommates, then your anticipated expenses will include all sorts of one-time purchases like work clothes, kitchen gadgets, even furniture.
If you diligently list everything you need for a new job and apartment, you will trigger negative feelings like overwhelm without gaining any useful money insights.
To make matters worse, classic budgets start with “take home pay” while you only have a salary in mind. No one is helping you understand the taxes that will significantly reduce the income you are counting on. For example, that $50,000 salary is only $38,000 after taxes if you plan to live in New York City.
You may be wondering, “If a classic budget won’t help me live within my means, what will?” Great question!
I wrote the book, Money in Your Twenties to empower young people as they begin their money journey. The book tackles taxes and gives you a simple, six-step process to predict what you can afford without doing a budget.
My clients LOVE The ProcessSM. All you do is estimate your income (step 1) and then follow five other easy steps to learn what you can afford each month for rent and other monthly expenses.
If you have not worked full-time before, The ProcessSM will help you put money into a context you can easily understand.
For example, if you have a job offer of $50,000 in New York City, The ProcessSM says you can afford $1,055 for rent. Need to spend more than that? The Process tells you how without crushing your finances.
Check out the reviews page to learn more about how Money in Your Twenties and The ProcessSM have helped many people feel more confident and in control.
Kristen Jacks is the Founder of Money in Your Twenties. To learn more about Money in Your Twenties click here.