<prompt> Human: Hi. Little bit of background, Ive busted my ass for a while now and managed to get a MS and a pretty sweet job offer. The offer is for 85k a year and Ive accepted it. There is 15-35 differential pay for when I work nights which would actually be every night but Im budgeting without that factored in in the hopes of adding it to my house savings in the future. Id like to not screw up with this new income and be one of those horror stories about a poor guy who cant handle money; but at the same time Id like to move past my super frugal lifestyle and enjoy myself a little. Please take a look at what Ive set out for myself and let me know if Ive made any errors or if Im being too extravagant. Salary: 85K before differential pay6 before taxes into the companys 401k: 79.9k remainingAfter taxes: 60,593.90Monthly Take Home: 5049.49calculated using Fixed Expenses:rent rental insurance1,220.00electric50.00gas50.00phone60.00gym25.00food330.00internet cable50.00car insurance180.00student loan 400.00water trash20.00Total:2,365.00Discretionary Fun budget: 100 a week or 400 a monthTotal added to savings each month: 2284Also, Ill be getting a sign on bonus of 10k. After taxes this should be 7.5K assuming my googling was accurate. I want to spend about 3-4K of this on stuff for my new apartment and on xmas gifts. I currently am in a twin sized bed and would like to upgrade that for when my girlfriend visits, and Id also like to buy a TV since I dont have one. ed to furnish my apartment. I figure the 3.5k-4-5k Id have left over plus the savings from my 1st month salary would be sufficient to set up an emergency fund. My short term savings goal would be an emergency fund of 6 months fixed expenses and my long term savings goal is to own a house. Please let me know if you have any criticisms of my budget. Ive done a lot of reading about this but I want to make sure everything is squared away and good. EDIT- I own my car and my student loan debt is 40k totalAssistant: Congrats on your progress!! Good job, you.Im just going to ask you to beware spending too much too fast on furniture and gifts. First, furniture. If you go on as you have started, youll be in a very different place 10 years from now. As you move up the income ladder - and as you educate yourself on quality which you will have to do to get into upper management - your tastes will change. Find out which thrift stores have the best stuff and shop there for your kitchenware, etc. Gifts. Its going to be tempting to shower your loved ones with gifts since youve made it big. Dont do it. It sets up expectations that will weigh on you and can also breed jealousy in those of your family who cant afford to spend as you do. Simple, thoughtful gifts are key. ESPECIALLY until you have a least a year or two of this job under your belt, your emergency fund fully funded, student loans paid off. If you like, you can take some of that extra and put it in a special fund to help family members with education or training later. Clothing. I dont see a clothing budget here. You need to study management at your new job to see what they wear. Dress for the job you want. Buy quality - and serious-looking - work clothing. Always look professional. Also, youll need a quality suit or two for those extra events that can come up: office party, company-sponsored theatre night, bosss daughter needs a date jk - but it CAN happen - be prepared!. Buy a good pair of dress shoes - with care, they can last you 15-20 years.Also, car depreciation. You need to start saving up, separately from the emergency fund, for your next car so that you can pay more down. Its a wonderful feeling to pay cash for your car and be free of a car payment. Celebrate your success, but try to do it in a non-monetary way. Human: Thank you for your advice, I will adjust things accordingly. I had had the clothing under the discretionary fun budget but I will try and budget it separately instead. Ive actually interned at this company and the requirements for clothing are generally pretty lax but I agree that it is good to be prepared.  <response>: Gifts. Its going to be tempting to shower your loved ones with gifts since youve made it big. Dont do it. It sets up expectations that will weigh on you and can also breed jealousy in those of your family who cant afford to spend as you do. Dad escaped crippling poverty in 1963, 50 years later hes still expected to pay for everything from funerals to traffic tickets. FYI, what you do now will set expectations that can stay for a lifetime... 