Budgeting

I've spent the last little while looking at numbers. Trying to figure out a bit of an approximate budget for the next while, since I'm moving out and my expenses are increasing by quite a bit.

Honestly, I've gone out of my way for a very long time to avoid having to budget in a carefully planned fashion. I hate numbers of any sort. In fact, I'm on a quest to find a t-shirt I once saw in a store. It said "I'm too pretty to do math" on the front of it.

This is not easy budgeting to do, either, as I have no particular figures to base what the costs of things like food are going to be. I've never lived on my own - I don't know how to anticipate or figure out what the costs are going to be. I don't know what the incidentals are that I'm not expecting.

I'm hoping for a good raise at my job in September at my one year review. They're underpaying me quite a bit compated to the Calgary job market. I'd really like to stay - though I have a hard time with some of the people, I like my boss - we have a great working relationship. However, if I don't make a bit better money, I'll have to look elsewhere, a prospect I also don't relish...

Numbers are stressful. I think I'll probably talk through the whole budgeting thing with my mom when she gets home. This is ironic, as I've worked to keep her completely uninvolved in my finances over the last year. But, she's managed the family budget for years, and since this is very definitely not my strength, I'm going to get some help with it.