I am single with no plans to mingle so my plans are crafted this way.

Me

It’s called “The Life Equation”, my personal budget spreadsheet with tabs specifically outlining my different cashflows.

While I don’t intend to retire early, it gives me a sense of security to see my cashflows on a visual. It helps me panic and not panic. It helps me live my life.

After embracing this new chapter in my story and coming to terms with it, I felt that for me to get a handle on things I had to make sure my basic needs were covered. I had to pay rent and keep a hot shower. I had to have my meals and get to work.

When those were ensured I set money for the mother of all gifts: a solo trip to Scandinavia. When the plan had been laid out, it opened more doors for me to explore knowing how much I was going to get and how much I would have left after the basics.

Now I have a Travel Fund that outweighs my savings. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have savings. It just means that while I can, I want to travel and sleep in hostels, walk around town for hours, and brave the elements. Because I know that will keep me alive.

This is what my spreadsheet is about. It’s my life in different simple equations summing up to something happy.