How to Organize your Income | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Adulting

How to Organize your Income

The five elements you should organize your budget into.

20
How to Organize your Income

For a lot of younger people, having a job in college is the first time a real and regular income is experienced. Some wait tables, tutor other students, or maybe even babysit. Regardless of what you're doing, some of us don't know how to organize all the money we're bringing home. For myself, I use a five element budget that I covers all my basic spending and saving needs. I put a certain percentage of my income into each element.

Firstly, I have a classic spending component. Into my spending segment, i pour 25% of my income. I use my spending portion of my income to pay for things that I want. This includes things like clothes, food, and any social outings I want to go to. Having a set amount that I can spend on myself allows me to really decipher which things I want to do, and limits the amount of pointless spending that I can do.

Secondly, I have a long term savings account. I put 25% of my income into my long term savings. I do not touch this piece of my budget, unless it is for emergencies. The point of a long term savings account is to build it over the part of your life when you plan on having an income. This allows you to have a substantial amount of money when you retire or whenever you choose to stop putting money away and spend more.

Thirdly, I have a debt portion of my budget. I save 30% of my income to pay off debts in the foreseeable future. For some people who don't have these debts, this portion does not make much sense. For myself, I have to pay certain amounts to cover part of my college tuition each year. This annual amount is small enough to be covered my a portion of my salary that I make working in a restaurant, so I put some of my income away just for the purpose of paying this debt. In summation, I do not touch this segment of my income unless I am making a payment on my tuition.

Fourth, I have a gas portion. I tend to drive a lot, and so I put 10% of my income away just to pay for gas. I do not go into this element of my savings unless I am filling my tank.

Finally, I have a portion of my savings that I use to pay for all car related requirements. As I said, I tend to drive a lot. I live very close to New York City, and so when I go somewhere I usually have to pay a toll. This fund is where I get the money to do so. For people that do not drive as often as I do, this might not make sense. However, everyone who has a car should have a car fund, because no matter how careful of a driver someone is, or how safe of a car someone drives, it will break down eventually, and money will have to be put into it.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Disney magic for New Year!

The "Happiest Place on Earth" has a lot of characters with some pretty great advice.

4391
Disney magic kingdom castle on new years
StableDiffusion

Disney movies are well known and very popular in today's world. Although many people appreciate the plot and the storyline, not many people appreciate the wisdom these characters possess. Every Disney movie has unique advice that can be applied to everyday life. Here are 11 Disney quotes to help start your New Year off right:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

40 Gift Ideas for the Indecisive

It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. But also a time of stressing over the perfect gift.

118810
Christmas gifts around a tree
StableDiffusion

It's officially December. There is less than a month of 2024, and I still feel like yesterday was summer. Now comes the merriest time of the year, the Christmas season.

Everyone has been waiting for this time of year since mid-October (which is way too early, in my opinion) or before. It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. A lot of times when I ask friends and family what they want, I get a lot of "I don't know" or "I don't care."

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Bucket List To Live In The Now

Find excitement in your life and start exploring wherever you are right here, right now.

882
mu bucket list

I was sitting at my cubicle, now that I am an adult, looking at the rain pouring down on the windowsill, bumming on life, wishing for the rain to just stop for a full day.

There are moments where we count down the hours until work is over and how many more days till the weekend, and this many weeks until something exciting. Or something like that? Well, I was bumming because my next day off from work is not until Memorial Day weekend, which is not until the end of May. And since this is my first year out of college being a “real person,” I am totally missing the winter, spring and summer breaks. I am sure all of us have felt this way even if just for a hot minute…

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

11 Ways To Survive Finals As Told By Leslie Knope

Because you know you're going to be stressed out, and Leslie knows exactly how to survive.

651
Everything hurts and I'm dying

So finals are on their way. That's right everybody, finals are about to start.

But hey, don't panic. Start getting your affairs in order and prepare for a week of hell. Here's a few things Leslie Knope wants you to do to make your finals week just a little bit less stressful:

Keep Reading...Show less
Kent State University
Great Value Colleges

If you go to or went to Kent State, then more than likely you have done or will do some of these things.

1. You’ve slipped and fallen on the ice at least once.

The winters at Kent are brutal, and while the heated sidewalks and some great snow boots are always a help, there’s no chance you won’t bust it on the ice at least once in your four plus years at school.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments