Day 29: Budget

My coworker Andre has a background in finances. Through a strain of conversations, I have mentioned my financial situation to him and let him know about the amount of stress and worry I have about my (lack of) money. He has been very encouraging, helpful, and thoughtful throughout my time knowing him.

About a month ago, I asked Andre to help me create a budget. During our first planning session, we only got so far when he asked me about a few items on my list. He wanted to know if there were better options and ways to save some money.

For example, he saw that I was paying for set amounts of money on my bus card rather than paying for a pass. He encouraged me to do some research. 

The next day I came back to him and said that a 10 ride pass was cheaper than the value I was paying. Switching to this method saved me $26 a month!!

I'm not sure why, but we took a hiatus from budgeting until yesterday. At the end of our work day, we sat down with the printed worksheets Andre grabbed and started the budgeting. I filled in the areas that were fixed amounts such as rent, bus pass, and cell phone bill. Then I wrote in my estimates for food, toiletries, etc. 

While Andre was talking, I did the math and realized I was over budget by $15....

He could see that I was discouraged. So once again, we discussed ways to save. 

We wrote down some homework to do, like getting a better estimate for some of my expenses and seeing if I could change my cell phone provider and plan. 

It's a lot of work. At times I'm motivated, and other times I'm discouraged. But I know it will be okay.