Creating a budget

As part of my ongoing process of figuring out how to not live on daddy's dime post-graduation, I've been trying to work out a monthly budget. Since you people have experience with real life, I was wondering what people thought of mine and if there's anything big I'm leaving out. After-tax monthly salary = $4500 (I expect a decent-sized bonus in December but my plan is to budget based on salary plus a bit and put away half the bonus while keeping the rest for spending on less-regular needs, like furniture, clothes, vacations, etc...). Rent + parking (this is already set) = $1850 Utilities = $100 Cable/PVR + high-speed internet = $150 Car insurance = $250 Gas = $150 Other parking = $75 Groceries = $200 (I like good meats and cheeses but will probably spend most weeknights at work, where dinner is paid for) Dining out = $400 Entertainment/drinking = $400 Haircut = $25 That leaves me with $900. What else am I spending money on? Does saving $500-900/month and then saving $10-20k of bonus seem like enough?

Health insurance not necessary -- provided through work, plus I live in Canada, so between those two, I'm pretty well-covered for anything. Too early to start planning for retirement. I know that sounds irresponsible, but I should be making more than enough in a few years that the couple thousand I can put away now is meaningless. Besides, I already said I was socking away half of a $20-40k bonus for that and rainy days. (Also, I hate to say it, but it's true: I can probably count on inheriting a good amount of money that I can keep for retirement.) How much is rental insurance? Is that really necessary?

No need for mobile phone as unlimited usage one is provided by work. I'm going to get Skype at home for $10/month. Don't really need a liquor "cabinet" as I don't drink much at home, but let's say that's $100/month. Mark another $60 for taxis and $30 for cleaning. Now I'm down to $700, which is still $8400 a year before my bonus. How the fuck is it possible to only spend half of what ones makes, at least if they're not making high six-figures+? I always heard save 10-20%, which is what I'm doing.

What are you guys missing?!? I already said I was prepared to put a little less than half of my after-tax bonus (which does NOT figure in to my monthly income/expenses) to retirement. That's $10-20k (conservatively) a year going to retirement when I'm 23 to 25. If I keep doing what I'm doing and don't fuck up in life (and if I do, retirement won't be my biggest worry), I'll be putting $100k/year towards retirement before I'm 30. (I know it's early, but I don't plan on having kids.)

This is thoughtful criticism at least, and I've thought about a lot of it. I know it's early, but I'm pretty sure I don't want kids, ever. So that's a lot of savings there. (And no, I don't not want kids just for economic reasons.) Also, maybe you're right that I won't reach the executive suite, but if I keep my head down and work, I should be able to keep my job for at least a few years to start out, and that's a few years earning $125-250k, which should translate to ~$75-100k in retirement savings alone by age 26-28. Sure, I could top out making $500k for a few years after that before I leave or get canned for not moving up further, and not get the $1M+ I was hoping for, but by that time ~$200k+ in retirement savings would be pretty conservative (that kind of money earning 5% a year over 30 years makes a comfortable nest egg), and I'd hopefully have another $100-200k in cash and cash equivalents if I keep spending under control. I hear you on the whole rat race thing. But I've always felt it is for me (no joke, I wanted to be a corporate lawyer when I read The Firm as an 11-year old), and it's been what drives me. If that drive wanes/stops, I figure it's probably because I've completely re-evaluated my life, in which case all this -- nice cars, nice apartment, country club memberships, etc... -- goes out the window. So, with all else being equal, I'd rather keep this to more practical matters of monthly budgeting. And I can turn this around on you guys, since you seem like a more or less successful bunch in your 30s - 50s: How much were you putting away, on an absolute basis, in your 20s? Because I think the absolute dollar value is important -- if one guy makes $100k and spends $50k and saves $50k, that's better than the guy who makes $50k and saves only $30k of it, even though it is a higher percentage. So to sum up: After MONTHLY expenses, I'm left with $500-700/month in pure savings, or $6000-8500/year. Then I get a bonus of $25-50k after-tax. So that's ~$30k to $60k in the bank my first year. Depending on how much is left, I can still save $20-50k after stuff like new clothes and any other big ticket expenses I might have to make. Put this way, is that enough? Also, FWIW, my employer matches 401k up to 50%.