A Penny Saved

I admit I don’t know much about, nor do I follow the entertainment world. But when word got out about Britney Spears monthly earnings and how she spends, I took notice. So how does her spending / budgets compare to mine? Let’s see:

Budget item

Britney Spears $

As % of Her Budget

My Budget

Income

$719,634

Mortgage

$49,267

6.9%

15.7%

Spousal Support

$20,000

2.8%

0.0%

Entertainment

$102,000

14.2%

2.2%

Clothes

$16,000

2.3%

1.7%

Eating out

$4,758

0.7%

0.5%

Groceries

$1,600

0.3%

8.4%

Phone Bill/Internet

$2,500

0.4%

2.7%

Savings/Investments

$0

0.0%

8.0%

I guess [...]

In comparison to some people I know, I’ve never spent much money on food. At the same time, food is easily one of my biggest expenses–it’s just that I don’t buy much else! Here are some of the ways I save money on groceries. Please note, this list is meant to be descriptive of what [...]

I got my first grown-up paycheck on November 1st. It was for $1,977.99 after taxes and health insurance. I started my new job on Oct. 1st, so it’s been a long time coming! But being a paid on a monthly basis is not that bad of a thing from a budget planning perspective. It makes [...]

It happens all the time, even to the best of us. We go into a store, and right there in front of us is temptation. For some it might be hobby supplies (my wife), for others it might be geek toys (a friend of mine), and for some others it is [...]

PF bloggers are often accused of being cheap, no-fun-niks whose only goal in life, it seems, is to squeeze the last bit out of every penny. Yet, when I read their blogs, I don’t see a people who are kicking all the fun out of their lives in order to save more money. I see [...]

More and more these days, I see people calling out companies that offer payday loans. “They’re evil!” “It’s predatory lending!” are the words that you’ll hear anytime you mention payday loans. What do I think? It’s all a load of bull, plain and simple. There is nothing inherently evil or [...]

Many of A Penny Saved’s readers are married, I’m sure - I for one am happily married.  At some point in a marriage ( hopefully before you say I do ), the issue of finances will come up.  The question that a lot of people are asking these days is “Should my spouse and I [...]

It’s on the news all the time - millions of Americans don’t have health insurance coverage.  Are you one of them?  If you are, then you really need to step back for a moment and ask yourself why you don’t have it.  Is it because you truly cannot afford it, you think you can’t afford [...]

Budgeting is such an important part of money management. That’s part of the reason I talk about it so much. Today’s lesson is about predicting the future. To correctly and safely budget, you’ll need to be a bit clairvoyant. Before making any changes to your budget, you need to look into the future and see [...]

Entrepreneurs and 9-5′ers often handle their money in dramatically different ways.  For a 9-5′er, income is a fixed item, and stays relatively the same each month.  These folks tend to stick to a budget religiously, and track every single penny they spend.  With a set income, this is the smart choice.
Folks who are self employed [...]