Recently I have instituted a weekly budget.
My allowance is 5000 yen a week.
Any out of pocket expenses must come from this fund, and I am not allowing myself to exceed it at this point in time for any circumstances.
By out of pocket expenses, I mean, for example,
food
electricity bill (once a month)
miscellaneous expanses (stamps, photocopies, etc.)
hardware
gasoline
etc
This means all of my meals and other various expenses can not exceed 5000 yen a week. Last week, went wonderfully, and I even had 2000 yen left over to put into savings. This week has been more difficult, because I've had a lot of miscellaneous expenses.
At this point in time, I have 158 yen left to get me through today and tomorrow.
Although I may eventually have to revise my budget, I have deliberately kept it small for a number of reasons.
First, by restricting myself to a tight budget, I make myself more conscious of how much money I am actually using. This consciousness should make me plan better how to use money for things like food and gasoline, etc.
Second, it tears me further away from consumer culture by essentially removing all unnecessary spending from my list of options.
Third, if I can stick to this budget, my total monthly expenses will be under ninety thousand yen (assuming that I can get rid of the car). The rest of my salary can then be put into other uses, such as savings and what not.
This leads to main reason why I've been so intent on using less money and saving more in the first place. I used to naively think that when I got married, my wife and I would support each other, so I would have her to rely on should things take a downturn for me. (Of course I intended to do the same for her.) Now I realize that the only person I can rely on to support me in times of need is myself. Seeing as I never was very interested in saving money until now, I have a lot of ground to cover.
Finally, if I find myself without a job at any time in the future, I want to make sure that the money I do have will stretch as long as possible. By committing to a stiff budget when times are relatively good, I reduce any possible shock if I am later faced with poor times.
My allowance is 5000 yen a week.
Any out of pocket expenses must come from this fund, and I am not allowing myself to exceed it at this point in time for any circumstances.
By out of pocket expenses, I mean, for example,
food
electricity bill (once a month)
miscellaneous expanses (stamps, photocopies, etc.)
hardware
gasoline
etc
This means all of my meals and other various expenses can not exceed 5000 yen a week. Last week, went wonderfully, and I even had 2000 yen left over to put into savings. This week has been more difficult, because I've had a lot of miscellaneous expenses.
At this point in time, I have 158 yen left to get me through today and tomorrow.
Although I may eventually have to revise my budget, I have deliberately kept it small for a number of reasons.
First, by restricting myself to a tight budget, I make myself more conscious of how much money I am actually using. This consciousness should make me plan better how to use money for things like food and gasoline, etc.
Second, it tears me further away from consumer culture by essentially removing all unnecessary spending from my list of options.
Third, if I can stick to this budget, my total monthly expenses will be under ninety thousand yen (assuming that I can get rid of the car). The rest of my salary can then be put into other uses, such as savings and what not.
This leads to main reason why I've been so intent on using less money and saving more in the first place. I used to naively think that when I got married, my wife and I would support each other, so I would have her to rely on should things take a downturn for me. (Of course I intended to do the same for her.) Now I realize that the only person I can rely on to support me in times of need is myself. Seeing as I never was very interested in saving money until now, I have a lot of ground to cover.
Finally, if I find myself without a job at any time in the future, I want to make sure that the money I do have will stretch as long as possible. By committing to a stiff budget when times are relatively good, I reduce any possible shock if I am later faced with poor times.