I never understood all this yuppie self-help crap.
My expenses and my purchases are almost nothing-
-About 5000 in student loans (will be a bit more soon, BUT I have a student loan repayment plan (20K) from the army)
-My rent is 300/month; I live in a nice clean sunroom; the sun wakes me up in the morning, I'm close to the bathroom
,....
-My tuition is about 3000 or less a year (see above as well).
-I have a free public transit pass (the whole city is easily accessible) for being in the military, so my transportation costs are roughly $0/month; I
occasionally take a taxi or borrow my brother's car if I have to take a bunch of instruments somewhere. That happens less than once a month.
-I am about 6'10" and between 180-190 pounds. Overeating is not an issue.
I eat a lot of pasta (cheap!).
-I have no private loans and no credit cards. I do have a debit/credit card from my bank that I use mostly as a credit card as it charges 50 cents each time I use it as a debit card. Crap... I pay cash for most things and rarely use checks.
-I shop at Aldi's for whatever I can get there that I use (almost, but not quite everything).
-My cell phone has text, internet,.... All I
really need is the talking part, but the texting is very useful to me. My plan is 50/month.
-I am a total wuss when it comes to buying "expensive things." It took me 2 years to spring for a $500 tuba (honestly, couldn't afford it then couldn't find one that I liked!). My last few instrument purchases paid for themselves easily ($1700 bass trombone paid for itself in my old orchestra; $400 Eb tuba= roughly $800 from playing and sold it for $500
). I am now considering "splurging" and spending up to $2000 on an instrument (Conn Giant Eb, Cerveny 653 F, or getting a small King built up with a 4 valve set as my 3 banger is so kick ***)!!!
I will probably use a student loan for that. As a music major, I kinda need an instrument!
Monthly expenses are roughly-
300 (rent) + 50 (phone) + 150 (food)= 500. I make just short of 900/month for very little work (and being a full-time student), so anything I make over that (as in, actually working!) is gravy.
So you see, being Bob isn't that bad!!
