Miscellaneous expense examples include clothes, a computer, equipment, a work uniform and work boots, with some exceptions Miscellaneous expenses are defined by the IRS as any write off that doesn’t fit into one of their tax categories Small business owners can claim these expenses to reduce their taxable income

Something miscellaneous is made up of an odd bunch of things — things you might not expect to go together A breakfast bar, a DVD, and a credit card bill are miscellaneous items that may be in your backpack

Entertainment (anything fun): 10% Clothing: 5% Miscellaneous: 10%

About 71% of us also report expenses for household operations, spending $/b> on average (or $132 per month) for services that might include babysitting or elder care, house cleaning or lawn mowing, laundry and dry cleaning, pest control, and home security systems

How to Set Budget Percentages

1. Housing: 25-35%
2. Insurance (including health, medical, auto, and life): 10-20%
3. Food: 10-15%
4. Transportation: 10-15%
5. Utilities: 5-10%
6. Savings: 10-15%
7. Fun (entertainment and recreation): 5-10%
8. Clothing: 5%

It’s hard to define how much should be left over each month after paying all your personal finances as they are different for everyone But to generalize it, the rule is applicable to most of us According to this rule, up to 50% of your income goes to fixed spending, 20% would go to savings

One popular rule of thumb is the 30% rule, which says to spend around 30% of your gross income on rent So if you earn $per month before taxes, you should spend about $h on rent

In simple terms, the 30% rule recommends that your monthly rent payment not be more than 30% of your gross monthly income To calculate how much you should spend on rent, you’d simply multiply your gross income by 30%

In fact, the average minimum wage worker in the US would need to work almost 97 hours per week to afford a fair market rate two-bedroom and 79 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom, NLIHC calculates That’s well over two full-time jobs just to be able to afford a two-bedroom rental

One suggestion, provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is to spend no more than 25 percent of your monthly gross income on your rent For example, if your annual salary is $/b> per year, or $/b> per month, you shouldn’t plan to spend more than $625 per month on rent

A common rule of thumb is to spend no more than 25% of your gross income on rent, or no more than 30% on rent + other house-related expenses like: Water/sewage Trash Utilities

The general rule of thumb is that you should aim to spend not much more than of your income on rent According to the numbers you’ve given, you’re paying a bit more than, but not excessively more — it’s a rule of thumb, not a hard “never a penny more” cap — so if you find $2000/mo

Here are a few things many landlords will happily lower rents for:

1. Prepay months in advance
2. Sign an extended lease
3. Offer to extend the termination notice from 30 days to 60 or 90 days
4. Offer to give up your parking space if you don’t have a car (the landlord could charge another tenant for an extra space)

No, renting is not a waste of money Rather, you are paying for a place to live, which is anything but wasteful Additionally, as a renter, you are not responsible for many of the costly expenses associated with home ownership Therefore, in many cases, it is actually smarter to rent than buy

Here are some ways you can go about negotiating your rent price:

1. Ask the landlord if rent price is open to discussion
2. Highlight your strengths as a tenant
3. Inquire about extending the lease
4. Offer to end the lease in the summer
5. Research the property’s value
6. Be open to compromise
7. Negotiate directly, follow up in writing

Most articles and financial experts recommend the “30% rule,” spending 30% of your gross monthly income (before taxes) on your monthly rent That means, if your income is $per month (or a $annual salary), then you should be paying $x 03, or about $ on rent monthly

“No more than 25 to 30% of your income should be going to rent, but while it’s important to have a baseline like that, it’s also about understanding the city you’re in and whether you can get creative with sharing or reducing your costs, like with a roommate,” says personal finance expert and author Kelley Keehn

While there’s no hard and fast rule on how much you should spend on rent (the less the better – without sacrificing your health and safety), the sweet spot is generally 25% of your income, and ideally no more than 30%

10%

According to experts, a car payment is too high if the car payment is more than 30% of your total income Remember, the car payment isn’t your only car expense! Make sure to consider fuel and maintenance expenses Make sure your car payment does not exceed 15%-20% of your total income

A 72-month car loan can make sense in some cases, but it typically only applies if you have good credit When you have bad credit, a 72-month auto loan can sound appealing due to the lower monthly payment, but, in reality, you’re probably going to pay more than you bargained for

5 ways to lower your car payment

1. Talk to the lender Best for: You’re having trouble making payments temporarily, and you need to miss a payment or have lower payments for a couple months
2. Refinance
3. Sell the car yourself (and buy a cheaper car)
4. Sell it or trade it in to a dealership
5. Lease a car

You Can Make Changes In Your Payment

1. Make 1 extra payment per year
2. “Round up” your mortgage payment each month
3. Enter a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan
4. Contact your lender to cancel your mortgage insurance
5. Make a request for loan modification
6. Make a request to lower your property taxes

Prepayment is one way to reduce your monthly payments and save money on interest By paying a larger amount than what’s due, you’ll reduce the principal you owe Dividing the smaller, remaining principal by the number of months left on your loan will result in a lower payment per month

Voluntarily surrendering your vehicle will have a substantially negative impact on your credit scores because it means that you did not fulfill the original loan agreement When you voluntarily surrender your vehicle, the lender will sell the car to recover as much of the money owed as possible