If you know you’re automatically contributing to retirement accounts (such as a 401(k) through your employer), make a note of how much you contribute each year. (Even if you don’t really understand how or why you’re doing it—we’ll get to that in a later chapter!) That money is money you earn—so it’s part of your income—but it’s already earmarked, because it’s going right to those retirement investments. In other words, it’s already budgeted, and you’ll include it in the “saving/investing” category you’ll set up in a bit when you lay out your actual budget plan.
