I was playing with Excel a few days ago and made up some charts on where I estimate my salary goes. Here is a rough breakdown: (Dept is Debt, which is my student loan. I am too lazy to fix my typo. :))

Essentials = Rent, Food, Gas, Insurance and Car
Fun = Entertainment, gifts, computer, internet/cable, and travel

The tax portion is a bit inflated, I think. Last year my effective tax rate was only 17% but that was in a state with lower taxes. Then there is sales tax… Well, who knows?

Here are the details as estimated by me, though it gets a little meaningless with all the 1% categories:

I wonder what my chart would have looked like when I lived in the much cheaper area in the Midwest. My salary was lower, but my rent was only 12% or 13% of my salary. Did I save more, or just spend more on non-essentials? Probably a little bit of each. When T and I get a place together (maybe in a year) the rent percentage will drop to a level I’m more comfortable with (maybe 17%), and maybe the savings level will increase.