Money/Budgeting/Spending in Your Late 20's

     First off, it's crazy to say that I'm in my late 20's. Second, I'm writing this to share perspective for anyone who hasn't taken the time to think about how they spend their money. Particularly for folks in their 20's, as it's probably best to get your financial house in order as soon as you can. I'll start out with some hard numbers:
     My salary this year is 57k, give or take. Because of taxes, union dues, and pension contributions, I take home something around 33-35k (the reason that's a range is because I had to pay more in taxes than usual and that's throwing off my calculations a bit). For the rest of the post, I'll work with 33k. Monthly, that works out to about $2,750.
     Before I dish out numbers - I'd like to acknowledge my priorities. They are, in order from greatest to least: paying for the necessities (shelter + food, car costs), saving for a home/the future in general, and travel. You'll notice that eating/drinking out does not show up on this list of priorities. You'll see it in my budget, but I would say eating/drinking out is extremely low for me. The primary purpose when I do is socialization - with Daisy, family, friends. It happens regularly (as in every weekend) without fail, but is NOT a priority. I spend on it anyways. All that to say: whatever you spend on, you should be cool with. Without further ado, here are the categories (accompanied by a number and a % of my 2,750)

     Rent (18%): 500 (remaining: 2,250)
     Gas/insurance (8%): 220 (2030)
     Food (7.27%): 200 (1830)
     Travel (16.36%): 450 (1380)
     Eating/drinking out (7.27%): 200 (1180)
     Misc (3.63%): 100 (1080)
     Retirement (7.27%): 200 (880)
     House/the future (32%): 880 (0)

     A few notes:

• I paid rent from Aug 2017-June 2018, when I started my Master's program. My parents gave me a 1-year pass and my rent payments turned into school payments.
• The number for travel is kinda high and has actually been recently downsized and reallocated to "the future." I just left it at that because it was like that for awhile and $5400 over a year's worth of travel isn't too much considering how flights, accommodations, and eating out adds up. Additionally, I'd much rather travel in my youth. 
• Retirement is probably not a category that I will continue to contribute to after this year, for a couple reasons: 1) banking on collecting that sweet pension when I retire & 2) a dollar now is worth much more when I am saving for school/a home than when I am retired. I'll have made it by then, and if I haven't then my life will be more miserable than some money could offset. 
• You might be of the opinion that my numbers for travel and eating out are high relative to my income (650/2760, or ~23.64%). I see where you're coming from because 23% is a significant share. Let's look at the numbers, though:
• At $880/month, it'd take ~19 years to save up for a $200k down payment.
• Yes, I know you can put less than 20% down
• But I'm already poor - what do I look like paying for PMI? It's a penalty for not having more money saved up. Nothx.
• Yes, I know you can find a home for less than a million dollars
• In what part of San Jose, in what condition, & in 20 years? If it'll take me nearly 2 decades to save up for a down payment - at that rate, I'm way past the point of a starter home. Even assuming minimal (as in, unrealistically minimal) appreciation, a 3br/2ba house would be past the million mark. So if anything, $200k is a conservative estimate (as in lower, not politically conservative).
• Well now - how 'bout I completely reallocate that 650? That brings it up to 1530/month
• At that rate, it would take just under 11 years to save $200k.

     So... yeah. As much as I would love to own a home, and as high as it is on my list, it's not THAT high. It's not "give up travel for 11 years" high. It's not "don't go out for 11 years" high. My quality of life would take such a nose dive for so long that it's just not worth it to me.

& now, to address some holes in my presentation:

• That 880 figure will not be a constant - it'll grow as my income grows (if you're wondering, it'll take me another 5-6 years to hit 6 figures). 
• I'm not paying for a home myself (well... I hope not)
• I can make more money throughout the year 

     However, I wrote it the way I did to show how difficult it can be for someone to buy a home. I'm not sure how accurate this is, but if 40% of Americans can't cover a $400 expense, then my savings of $880/month is a significant amount (Bay Area cost of living notwithstanding). In the face of saving for a home in San Jose, though - $880/month is just a drop in the bucket. So... it's crazy depressing and I definitely envy my peers with more buying capability, but them's the breaks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Happy saving/spending - thanks for reading!