Example budgets by situation

If you were a college sophomore, your month probably looks like this A made-up but realistic $1,150/month college sophomore budget, split into envelopes. See where the money ac... If you were a new grad at your first real job, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,400/month first-job budget broken into 12 envelopes, including student loans. See the rea... If you were a newlywed couple, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $6,200/month newlywed budget split into 14 envelopes for two incomes, two cars, and one very... If you were a grad student on a stipend, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $2,100/month grad stipend budget in 12 envelopes, including the conference travel fund nobod... If you were a barista with a side hustle, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $2,650/month budget for a barista with 1099 side income, including the tax envelope most sid... If you were a junior dev in a big city, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $5,100/month junior developer budget for a high-cost city, in 13 envelopes. Good salary, bru... If you were a nurse working nights, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $4,300/month night shift nurse budget in 14 envelopes, including the 3 a.m. convenience spen... If you were a teacher heading into summer, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,000/month teacher budget with a dedicated summer buffer envelope. Eleven envelopes, exact... If you were a freelance designer with lumpy income, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical freelancer budget that pays itself $4,500 a month from irregular client income. Twelve envel... If you were a new parent, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $5,600/month new parent budget in 15 envelopes, with $900 childcare and $180 for diapers. Se... If you were a dog parent, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,800/month budget with the dog broken out into six honest envelopes, from food to the vet ... If you were one of three roommates, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,200/month budget for living with two roommates, including the shared-cost envelopes and t... If you were in a long-distance relationship, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,600/month budget for one half of a long-distance couple, with $320 of flights and a close... If you were a gym rat, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,900/month budget built around training: $560 of high-protein groceries, $90 supplements, ... If you chased tours for a living-adjacent hobby, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,300/month budget for someone who follows tours: $220 tickets, $150 show travel, $60 merch... If you were a gamer, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,100/month gamer budget with $235 across games, subscriptions, cosmetics, and a hardware u... If you flipped thrift finds on the side, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $2,900/month budget mixing a $2,000 day job with $900 of resale profit, including inventory,... If you were always planning the next road trip, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,400/month budget for a habitual road tripper, with a $250 trip fund, $120 maintenance env... If you were a couple saving for a wedding, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $6,800/month couple budget with $1,200 a month going to a wedding fund and $300 to the honey... If you were sprinting to pay off debt, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $4,000/month aggressive debt payoff budget sending $1,260 a month at balances while keeping ... If you lived in a van, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $2,400/month van life budget with no rent and a $200 repair fund instead. Fourteen envelopes... If you were a small-town commuter, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,500/month budget where housing is cheap and the car is not. Fourteen envelopes with $910 ... If you were a remote worker who moved back home, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $4,200/month budget for someone living with family while remote, saving $900 a month toward ... If you always overspend at the holidays, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,600/month budget that funds gifts, holiday travel, and hosting all year so December is bo... If you just moved into your first apartment, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,300/month first-apartment budget with a $250 furnishing envelope and the household-supply... If you were a coffee shop regular, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,450/month budget that gives coffee its own honest $160 envelope instead of pretending it ... If you drove rideshare full time, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $3,200/month rideshare driver budget where the car eats $940 and taxes take $260. Twelve env... If you were a server living on tips, your month probably looks like this A hypothetical $2,800/month server budget built for variable tip income, with a $260 slow-season fund and $... If you were a military family on $5,200 a month, here is the split A made-up but realistic $5,200/month military family budget in 12 envelopes, including the PCS move fund an... If you were a travel nurse on $7,000 a month, here is the split A made-up but realistic $7,000/month travel nurse budget in 12 envelopes, showing why a $7,000 contract is ... If you were an OTR driver on $5,200 a month, here is the split A made-up but realistic $5,200/month over-the-road truck driver budget in 12 envelopes, built on weekly set... If you were on a $3,000 base plus commission, here is the split A made-up but realistic commission sales budget: a $3,000 base covering every fixed cost, plus a written ru... One income, four people: what $5,400 a month looks like in envelopes A made-up one-earner family budget at $5,400 a month, split into 12 envelopes, including two equal personal... A PGY-2 budget at $4,700 a month, with the training-year funds priced in A made-up resident budget at $4,700 a month in envelopes, with board exam, licensing and moving funds price... Kids at home, a parent 90 minutes away: a $6,300 budget in envelopes A made-up sandwich generation budget at $6,300 a month, with a capped parent-support envelope, a respite li... Laid off with $10,400 in hand: turning a lump sum into months A made-up first-month budget after a layoff: $9,000 severance plus a $1,400 PTO payout converted into 3.4 m... Year one on your own at $4,100 a month, with kids half the time A made-up first-year budget after separation: $4,100 a month in envelopes, with a custody-week grocery swin... Year one in a 1970s house: a $6,400 budget with a maintenance reserve A made-up first-year homeowner budget at $6,400 a month, showing how a $400 monthly maintenance reserve abs... Sending $500 home on $3,900 a month, with the fees and the extra asks named A made-up budget for sending money home: $3,900 take-home, a $500 first-fill send, transfer fees in their o...