My Expenses

I figure if I’m going to take a personal loan with a bigger repayment commitment I’d better take a look at my finances.

I get paid fortnightly so I’ll calculate my expenses on that basis.

Fixed Expenses

Rent $440
Phone $35
Power $60 (average over the year)
Cigarettes $160 (I’m embarressed to admit it)
Car Running Costs $30 (this includes registration and insurance for car and my home contents)

Total Fixed Expenses $725

My fortnightly pay is $1380 clear so that leaves around $655 for my variable expenses.

So the $655 is used to cover entertainment, food, clothing, fuel and of course the credit card payments. I always make the minimum repayments on the credit cards, and if I have any money left over by next payday I slide that towards the credit card bills as well.

I’ve thought about it some more, my minimum credit card payments work out to about $200 a fortnight. So I’m actually getting by on $455 a fortnight or less, and thinking of what I do with it, I actually make it go a long way.