Last month I graduated from a PhD program and am now officially a part of the work force. But what really scares me is the financial uncertainty of the future. I would like to seriously start planning for retirement now that I’m pushing 30 years of age with almost no savings in place.

My monthly budget (at least for January) is as follows:

• $1650 – Rent
• $100 – Recurring Expenses (Cellphone, utilities, etc)
• $200 – Groceries & Restaurants
• $100 – Amazon Purchases
• $100 – Miscellaneous Expenses
• $250 – Loan Payment

At the end of the first week of January, I am halfway through my grocery and restaurant budget, which isn’t great, but I don’t plan on buying much if anything over the next week.  I’m not sure how well I’ll be sticking to this budget this month because it is restaurant week. I am two-thirds of the way through my Amazon budget. Hopefully I can make it this upcoming week without any purchases. I am $89% of the way through miscellaneous spending. This is mostly because I brought $83 of necessary clothing.

Overall, I’m not terribly pleased with where I’m at. My Amazon purchases for this month came earlier than I’d like, as did my miscellaneous purchases. If I can make this week a no spend week I think things will be better.

Short-term Financial Goals:

1. Pay off Piano Loan
   • This should be paid off by April
2. Have Emergency Fund
   • I have about $2,000 towards my emergency fund, and a $2,000 cash cushion for my checking account.  I would like to grow my emergency fund to $4,000.
3. Saving and Investing
   • $750/month towards retirement