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How to budget living on $30,000 a year!

07/31/2014 by Dina 54 Comments

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how to live on $30,000 a year

 

How to budget living on $30,000 a year 

You’ve covered the basics and the extras, but now what do you do with your salary of $30,000 a year? You plan for the future, of course, and you can definitely do that and still take care of bills on a smaller salary. You can still save for emergency funds, retirement, and even yearly vacations if you do some planning and saving. 

The best way to save money on any budget is to create a zero-balance budget. To do this you simply write out every single thing you need to budget for. An example of a zero-balance budget would look like the following:

Rent $600

Utilities $200

Groceries $350

Car insurance $100

Car payment $350

Gas Money $150

Spending $150

Cell Phone $75

Cable/Internet $125


Total: $2,100

You too can budget living on $30,000 a year

If you bring home $2,500 a month, though, you have $400 left over. What do you do with that? You stick it in savings and pretend you don’t have it! That’s how you make your expenses and your income equal zero and create an effective zero-balanced budget. By doing this, you don’t allow yourself to blow through your money and have nothing left to show for it. 

One of the best ways to save money for the future aside for the zero-balance budget is to divide the remaining amounts into sections. For instance, if you have $400 left over, and you want to save money for a vacation, put some in an emergency fund, and put some toward a savings account, you divide it up. 

20 percent of your remaining funds go to the emergency fund- $80.
20 percent goes to the vacation- $80.
The rest goes to the savings plan- $260.

This uses up all of your remaining $400 so that you have it all allotted to something. 

Now you can save for multiple things at once and stick to a zero-balance budget. It really doesn’t matter how much you save, as long as you save any extra that you have so that it doesn’t just go to frivolous things and then you have nothing to show for your hard work. A smaller budget doesn’t have to hinder you from saving and being responsible with your future and your money. You can live on $30000 a year!  

Do you write out a budget every month?

 Check out my other budgeting articles. Can you live on $30,000,  Painless Ways to Trim your Budget, 52 weeks of saving  money, How to clothe your family on a budget

Don’t forget to follow me on pinterest and facebook for more diy, craft, travel and adventures.

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Filed Under: Finances, Frugal living Tagged With: budget living on 30000, living on a small budget

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ben Butler

    07/31/2014 at 11:10 am

    Great tips. It’s so easy to just blow through our money when we know we have a little extra. What we tend to forget about is retirement, and what we’ll need down the line.

    Reply
  2. Ben Butler

    07/31/2014 at 11:11 am

    I forgot to mention that the average retirement age keeps getting older and older, because we DON’T budget well, which leaves us forced to work longer and longer.

    Reply
    • Dina

      07/31/2014 at 1:59 pm

      that is so true Ben! Sadly, most people do not prepare for retirement. At this stage we could still live another 30 years past retirement too.

      Reply
  3. Jaime

    07/31/2014 at 11:38 am

    We used to budget monthly, but we’ve been slack the past several months. Since my husband and I get paid only once a month, it’s a bit easier to see where money has to go every month. I may have to sit down with him tonight and do a budget for August.

    Reply
  4. Cassie @ Southeast by Midwest

    07/31/2014 at 11:41 am

    My husband is possibly getting a small raise here shortly and we’re already planning that instead of just using that as “go wild money” we’re going to save it. We’re already planning to open a savings account when he gets it.

    Reply
  5. Kay Adeola

    07/31/2014 at 12:26 pm

    This is a great post,we do our best to save all we can and make sure we do not have unnecessary costs going out.

    Reply
  6. Shop with Me Mama (Kim)

    07/31/2014 at 1:43 pm

    LOVE this post and I am bookmarking this to show my hubby!! Love how you break it all down, that is nice to see.

    Reply
  7. Robin Rue

    07/31/2014 at 4:22 pm

    I love this, but I know I could never do it. I like my little luxuries like cable and getting my nails done 🙂

    Reply
  8. Rachael

    07/31/2014 at 6:30 pm

    Dave Ramsey teaches this. I love his book, Total Money Makeover.

    Reply
  9. gaynycdad

    07/31/2014 at 8:42 pm

    Instead of a budget I made my hubby get a night job!
    Just kidding, we do not budget, but thankfully are finally able to save some money!

    Reply
  10. Pam

    07/31/2014 at 8:56 pm

    We definitely budget. Between regular expenses and medical bills, we have to make the most of our money.

    Reply
  11. The Harried Mom

    07/31/2014 at 9:00 pm

    I don’t write an actual budget out, but I know what our expenses are and what our intake is. We always try to take a little out and put it in savings. We automatically have money taken out each month for the kids college funds/529.

    Reply
  12. Krystal

    07/31/2014 at 10:21 pm

    I need to write a budget! It’s so important to stay on track.

    Reply
  13. Carly Anderson (@lipglosscrayons)

    07/31/2014 at 10:36 pm

    My husband and I just started writing a budget out tonight, actually. This is my first time ever hearing of a zero-balance budget.

    Reply
  14. aordinarylife

    07/31/2014 at 11:11 pm

    I really should budget better. It’s something I am trying to work on. Great tips!

    Reply
  15. mickey coutts (@ahelicoptermom)

    07/31/2014 at 11:31 pm

    I’d love to get to the point where we can implement a system like this. Right now, we’ve had some unexpected costs and are trying to get back on track.

    Reply
  16. Beth@KCMompreneurs

    08/01/2014 at 12:07 am

    Everyone should have a budget. Unfortunately we have been in survival mode since we got married. Boo!!

    Reply
  17. Debbie Denny

    08/01/2014 at 6:26 am

    We have a budget. It is so great to have a plan. It is the unexpected that throws us off now and then.

    Reply
  18. Bekki

    08/01/2014 at 7:41 am

    I just took a class on budgeting and learned a lot. You tips helped me too so now to put all that knowledge together and start saving!

    Reply
  19. Rosey

    08/01/2014 at 8:03 am

    I don’t, but I should. I do realize the value of seeing where your money is going on paper.

    Reply
  20. yumeating

    08/01/2014 at 8:23 am

    For the last few years we have not been very good about a budget because we were both in school and once we paid bills we did not have any extra money. Now that we have both graduated and are in need of paying off some debt again along with those school loans we’ll have to set up a budget so that money isn’t being wasted.

    Reply
  21. Jenn @TheRebelChick

    08/01/2014 at 8:48 am

    I can’t imagine living on 30K a year. My mortgage alone is $14,376, so that wouldn’t leave very much for food, utilities, etc.

    Reply
    • Dina

      08/01/2014 at 10:11 am

      Wow!!! My mortgage is $5800. Whew I know I live in a fairly low cost of living area though.

      Reply
  22. Shell Things (@shellthings)

    08/01/2014 at 9:21 am

    We do write out a budget every month. Your rent is super cheap! I don’t live in an expensive area, but it’s near impossible to find anything that cheap!

    Reply
  23. Tracey Tabone

    08/01/2014 at 1:20 pm

    This is amazing. I really need to revamp my budget!

    Reply
  24. lisamc7

    08/01/2014 at 1:51 pm

    If something ever happened to my husband or I and we couldn’t work, this is where we would be with a family of 6. Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
  25. Christie

    08/01/2014 at 2:41 pm

    You’re so organized! I love these money saving tips

    Reply
  26. Carly from The Puzzled Palate

    08/01/2014 at 3:49 pm

    We do a budget every year. That way we can adjust based on pay increases or decreases.

    Reply
  27. Debbie L.

    08/01/2014 at 3:59 pm

    My hubby is a great saver – I love sales and coupons. Together we make a great team

    Reply
  28. Tami

    08/01/2014 at 5:54 pm

    These are great tips. I’ve only just started writing a budget every single month when I realized that I wasn’t saving as much as I liked. Since starting a budget, I have been able to save more consistently.

    Reply
  29. Chrysa

    08/01/2014 at 7:39 pm

    It is so important to have a budget! Thanks for keeping it real and sharing your budget and living tips. It can be done!

    Reply
  30. mommart

    08/01/2014 at 8:19 pm

    I do not write out a budget each month. But I do keep track of my expenditures and try to stay within my means.

    Reply
  31. thechattymomma

    08/01/2014 at 9:01 pm

    This is great advice for some areas. The concept can work anywhere though.

    Reply
  32. Ann B (@AnnBac9)

    08/01/2014 at 9:32 pm

    No, I do not write out a budget but I really should, I spend way too much on groceries and take out.

    Reply
  33. Dawn McAlexander Crawford

    08/01/2014 at 9:36 pm

    These are some really great tips! I think no matter how much money you make, you should always be able to survive on the minimal amount each year in case of an emergency or a laid off job!

    Reply
  34. Liz Mays

    08/01/2014 at 9:38 pm

    I always put my money into savings first so then I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I’ve built up a pretty cozy nest egg that way.

    Reply
  35. Brett

    08/01/2014 at 10:03 pm

    We rarely write out a budget. We definitely save and talk about what we’re spending.

    Reply
  36. Marina MommySnippets

    08/01/2014 at 10:44 pm

    Great budgeting tips. We use a budget often.

    Reply
  37. Jennifer

    08/02/2014 at 8:23 am

    Great tips but our rent and utilities are a LOT more so it’s harder to get a budget going in our situation.

    Reply
  38. Felicia

    08/03/2014 at 9:37 am

    This is something we are striving to do. My husband had to take a new job (making less) and I am scaling back to part time. Thank you!

    Reply
  39. Amanda

    08/03/2014 at 4:17 pm

    This is a great post. I’m sure this can help a lot of people. I live outside of the DC area and it’s very expensive. While this wouldn’t work for us, it’s a good start at a budget.

    Reply
  40. April Decheine

    08/05/2014 at 11:48 am

    Great budgeting on $30,000. It can be done, when we had three kids we lived on one budget and were great budget-ters.

    Reply
  41. StacieinAtlanta

    08/05/2014 at 12:16 pm

    A budget does make a difference. If you’ve never done it, you eyes will be opened. You will be amazed at where your money has been going.

    Reply
  42. Shannon Gosney

    08/05/2014 at 7:32 pm

    That’s a great budget. I wish our rent was $600 a month. In California, it’s closer to $1300.

    Reply
  43. creatingcookingandkiddos

    08/06/2014 at 4:15 pm

    This is a really great plan! Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
  44. Bev

    08/18/2014 at 5:41 pm

    Do you need have medical insurance or bills? We pay almost $800 a month for medical for our family.

    Reply
  45. Melissa M. Miller

    11/12/2014 at 7:01 pm

    I use a spreadsheet that has become my holy grail! It not only allow me to set a budget, but allows me to track my daily spending to see where there are areas of opportunity.

    Reply
  46. al

    12/16/2014 at 12:16 pm

    you need to mention single people only without children and where would one find 600 a month for rent??? and 200 a month for utilities??? Is this gross wages of 30K a year or take home?

    Reply
    • Dina

      12/16/2014 at 1:15 pm

      I’m a property manager of 15 homes/apartments in my area. I have one rented right now at 590. The utilities there are right at 200. I’m sure it’s not like that in california. We are in Tn lower cost of living I guess.

      Reply
  47. Jessica Powell

    12/19/2014 at 1:37 am

    wow its fascinating seeing budgets from overseas, $600 a Month for rent!!! In some places of Australia you’d pay that a week…. We live in a cheaper area of Australia, and we pay $350 a week ><

    Reply
  48. Melissa McCarthy

    12/31/2014 at 11:09 am

    Eeeek. My budget scares me. I’m in my early 30s and work with a woman who is at retirement age; however, she is going to keep working for financial reasons. She’s been giving me advice on what she and her husband have not done and what I should be doing. So, here I am finding articles on budgeting better. Thanks for sharing this. Great tips here.

    Reply
  49. carm

    11/27/2015 at 9:46 pm

    We’ve never budget, but have been frugal for 30+ years. We are retired and our pension is $37,000 a year for the two of us. Using Craigslist, knowing when/where to penny pinch, and NOT “keeping up with the Jones” (or our very wealthy relatives) we do very well. Purging and downsizing helps too. Paying off the house before retirement was the biggest relief. Know everyone has a different situation, but living simple has it’s perks.

    Reply
    • Dina

      11/28/2015 at 9:07 am

      You are so right! It’s all about lifestyle & priorities. Paying off our home is our number 1 goal!

      Reply
  50. Shasta Jones

    03/21/2018 at 9:07 pm

    If I make 30K a year I will not have a monthly take home of 2500 a month. My take home is about 1600 or 1700. Also where am I going to find a place to rent for $600 a month? Also you for got some important things such as paying tithing to your church and savings.

    Reply

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