This is something I've desperately needed to do. My finances have always been the weakest link in my life. I keep receipts, but they wind up in a big Ziploc bag (or worse, an untidy heap) in a drawer somewhere, unsifted and disorganized. I don't keep track of how much I spend per month, so what I have left over before and after payday always comes as a complete shock. As such, while living in Korea, I've probably been spent a bit too much money on things that don't matter: pipe tobacco, whiskey, sushi, and overpriced appetizers served up by rude Bulgarians. This is a hell of a way to run a railroad, particularly since I have some rather large expenditures in mind when I get home to the States: marriage, children, an instrument rating and a commercial pilot's license, among others. Jeez, you'd think I'd be better at this. My sign is Libra, after all.
So, to amend this reprehensible state of affairs, I set aside today to create a budget, as per the instructions on The Art of Manliness's website. I won't go into too much numerical detail. Telling you how much I make (or worse, how much I spend) each month would be indiscreet. I'll just say that I followed the directions to the letter: I determined my monthly income, totted up all my fixed expenses, and set a goal for the variable ones. I had to get Miss H's help with some things. Since her school is renting out this apartment for us, most of the utilities come out of her paycheck (except for Internet, which I pay for). We split the difference each month. We also try to limit Costco runs to once per month, 'cause everything there is so danged expensive. We've been eating out a bit too much, too. But anyway: Miss H worked up a lovely utilities spreadsheet for me, and using it I managed to come up with a number. It's what I should have left over after all expenses are said and done (barring incidentals and fun) and I'm going to try to stick as close to it as possible.
(I was tempted to use Mint, which is what the author of the AoM article recommended. But something tells me it won't work as well with Korean won as it will with American dollars. I think I'll wait until I get back to the States to get into web-based budgets and spreadsheets.)
Now the only hard part's going to be keeping track of my monthly expenditures — although, thanks to the bank books that are so popular here in Korea, my checkbook balances itself. I'll just have to remember to glance at it every month and make sure I've stayed in the black.
And now you must excuse me. I have to go see if I have enough wiggle room for a new iPod Nano. I want to grab one before I head off to Hokkaido. Please loiter around for Day 17.
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