Your friend Libby is a recent college graduate who has just secured her first full-time job in Boston, MA with a gross annual salary of $50,000 and monthly take-home pay of $3,104. She is eager to find an apartment and get settled in before starting her job. During a phone call with her, you ask her some basic budgeting questions to which she responds:

On keeping a budget: “I’ve never kept a budget to manage my money. I think a good breakdown could be: 40% towards housing and leave the rest to entertainment and other expenses. I know I’ll have to make my monthly student loan payments, but I’ll just pay the bare minimum. After all, I’m only young once, and I can always allocate more money towards my loans later on in a few years. I want to have fun in a new city!”

On housing: “I’m really looking forward to living on my own - I finally won’t have to share any living space with anyone!”

On transportation: “I’ve had a few people tell me that there is plenty of public transportation in Boston, but I’ve always had a car and want my own in Boston too so that I can have more flexibility.”

On food: “One of the things I’m looking forward to is all the restaurants in Boston! I’m such a foodie, and I can’t wait to start trying different cuisines and posting more food pictures on social media!”

On entertainment: “I’ve heard that there are so many amazing things to do in Boston - from theater shows to shopping to trendy gyms…I NEED to go to them all!”

Libby needs some help with getting her financial priorities straight. Address each one of Libby’s statements above and provide some tips that she can use to budget appropriately for each category during this exciting part of her life. Be sure to keep in mind her monthly take-home pay of $3,104.