Here's my monthly budget:
$1427 - mortgage payment
$400 - Home equity loan
$250 - car payment (loan with Mom)
$385 - health insurance -dh and kids
$243 - auto insurance
$149 - Comcast (phone, cable, internet)
$45 - Sprint (dh cell phone)
$200 - electricity - monthly average? I need to figure this one out
$25 - garbage
$10 - water
$40 - allowance - dd
$300 - gas (auto)
$43 - pest control (will be switching to quarterly after this month)
$650 - food and household
$20 - prescriptions
$15 - chiropractor co-pay
$50 - take out food (this is new estimate based on dh dieting now)
These expenses total $4252 per month. My take home is approximately $5380 per month, sometimes a little more. So, where is the extra $1131 per month going??? This is what I need to track. I know it's going to things for kids schooling, we just spent over $2200 to paint the house, car maintenance, tabs, etc. It seems I am always just barely making it by from month to month. I need to get a cushion in savings - period! I should be in the Black each month and I'm always almost in the Red.
The best way to "see" where your extra $$ is going is to keep a spending journal & write down every single penny that you spend! It helps me stay on track! :)
ReplyDeleteI am going to try this for November. I'll probably be surprised to see where it all goes, little by little.
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