30 by 30

At some point last year I decided that I'd like to have a bucket list of sorts to accomplish for each of my milestone birthdays....30...40...50...you get the idea.

The 30 goals I'd like to accomplish by my 30th birthday in August, 2012 are:
1) Create a blog
2) Buy a home
3) Raise money for charity
4) Grow my nails
5) Be inside my weight category
6) Grow something (flowers, veggies, herbs)
7) Learn to knit
8) Go to the Olympics
9) Have a $50,000 net worth
10) Host a Christmas holiday party
11) Develop a retirement plan
12) Travel to Central/South America
13) Go vegetarian for a month
14) Take a yoga class
15) Go rockclimbing
16) Sit on a volunteer committee
17) Run a 5k
18) Get a sustainable 2nd job
19) Try surfing
20) Go bobsledding
21) See a play
22) Visit 20 countries - sitting right now at 16
23) Build a Habitat for Humanity house
24) Join a club
25) Read 1 personal finance book per month - on track so far
26) Mentor someone
27) Take a class
28)
29)
30)

Still trying to come up with 3 other ideas......any help would be greatly appreciated!

Monthly Budget

My monthly budget will be as follows for the rest of 2010:

Income	$3,068.00
Rent	$870.00
TTC Pass	$111.00
Food	$320.00
House Fund	$100.00
Emergency Fund	$1,300.00
Clothing/Gifts	$60.00
Phone/Cable Internet	$120.00
Entertainment	$60.00
Gym	$76.00
Other	$40.00
Left Over	$11.00

You'll notice that there is no line item for future vacations - I have embarked on a second job as a Mystery Shopper.  I am hoping that will bring home $200/month, which will be allocated to the travel fund.  Because of my low income (by Toronto single girl standards) I won't be taking any travel money out of my tight budget, it'll have to be financed creatively.

My house fund will be on the backburner until January 2011 when my Emergency Fund will be at goal ($5,000). 

Here's how I stay on track budget-wise:

Gail's Magic Jars!

Welcome to my blog!!!

Welcome to "Big City...Beer Budget" my first blog!  I wanted an outlet to discuss finances, living life in the big city, and what it takes to meet personal and financial goals.  I've followed other blogs for a couple of years now, and wanted to get into the game myself. 

I recently moved to Toronto after years of living in Southern Ontario.  I've recently begun a new job, making $47,000/year (gross), I've ditched my car for a TTC pass, and am living on my own in a bachelor apartment - housing in T.O. is expensive! 

I have a list of goals, I call them '30 By 30' that I am aiming to accomplish by my 30th birthday in August of 2012.  This blog will speak to how I've been able to accomplish all 30 goals, how to survive living as a single girl in the big city, and save for my future.

Thanks for vising and I hope you enjoy.