The last few months I have been posting our budget estimate at the beginning of the month, and then an updated version at the end of the month. Beginning this month, I’m sticking to one posting at the end of the month for a few reasons.
First, this month was far busier than anticipated at the beginning of the month, and we’ve had a lot of different, unexpected expenses come up. Reconciling and categorizing them at the end of the month is the easiest for me in this instance.
We’re coming into spring and summer, and it’s going to get super busy here until about the end of October. Plus, it’ll free up time to get other posts done, and I can reflect what we budgeted and what was spent a lot better in one post rather than over two separate posts.
So how did our our budget go for March?
Income
Salary: $4,685.00
February Debt Savings {& Accrued Interest}: $95.05
Total: $4,780.05
Expenses
Mortgage: $500
Cell Phone: $50.11
Home Phone / Internet: $68.46
Last month our 2-year promotional rate ended, and our bill increased by $5 per month.
Credit Card 1: $288.07
We are done paying off debt with this card and currently use the card for reoccurring monthly bills such as Netflix, weekend Newspaper subscription, and so on. We had a card breach last month, we had to wait for the new card and then switch the accounts around. As a result there were some prorated charges this month, making this payment higher than normal.
Credit Card 2: $210
The actual payment on this is $79.12 higher than what you see above. We’ve planned to buy some asparagus roots for nearly 5 years now. Asparagus is a vegetable you’re in the long haul with since they take a few years to develop before we can harvest them. Earlier this month we got an awesome deal on 30 roots, as well as a rhubarb root, two elderberry bushes and a small lilac. The amount for our roots and shrubs came from our annual savings account while the remaining $210 went towards paying down the balance.
Student Loans: $316.27
This month I paid off the remaining $156.27 on my private student loan. For the remainder of the year, our student loan payments will be lower while we focus on our car loan and our final credit card.
Car Payment: $790.14
This is our current snowball debt.
Electric: $97.44
I budget $145 each month, and this month was much lower. The difference went to our debt savings as extra money towards next month’s debt payment.
Insurance: $249.71
Our monthly payment includes home owners insurance, 5 life insurance policies, and our car insurance. This month rates on our car went up slightly due to policy updates.
Piano Lessons: $0
Bookworm’s piano lessons are a generous gift from my mother-in-law.
Fun Money: $80
Annual Savings Account: $1,120
This month had an extra paycheck, so we were able put a huge chunk into savings for the year.
Gifting Savings: $200
Debt Savings: $0
I had aimed to put aside $100 in debt savings for the month. This was before we had some unforseen expenses come up throughout the month. Truth be told, before I had reconsiled our month’s budget, I had just under $180 put aside for next month’s debt payment, $5.13 of which was from my Save the Change Challenge. But by the end of the month, I dipped into this to even out some areas where we went over {fuel and miscellaneous purchases}. While I could have easily made up the difference from our savings, or even our emergency fund, to cover these overages, I simply didn’t. Our savings account is for medical expenses, taxes, and non-monthly bills, while our emergency fund is for true emergencies, such as a house insurance deductible or a very time sensitive car repair.
What was remaining:
This month I tried something new and further divided our “lump” category of Groceries and Household into separate categories, mainly because I’m interested in exactly how much we spend on food throughout the month. This month was a bit high though as my kids went through two weeks where they were eating everything in sight! They did grow what seems like 2 inches each by the end of the month.
Groceries: $506.57
Household: $29.33
Personal Care: $10.35
OTC Medication: $12.59
Gas: $93.61
This is far beyond what we spend in gas in a month, and it’s because I travelled to my home town twice in one week. I had to fill my tank three times in one week, the first of which was pulled from our budget.
Miscellaneous: $157.40
The beginning of the month we bought some seeds. By the end of the month, I couldn’t even tell you where some of these purchases came from. Yes, we made them. But the last two weeks of the month were such a haze. To zero out this portion of our budget, I made up the overage from our monthly debt savings.
Notes:
We had a lot going on this month, and while we didn’t let it break our budget, we do have to do some house keeping next month. Our debt payment will be reduced while we make up for our chimney and travel expenses that was put on our credit cards {chimney replacement parts, expenses related to funeral travels}. While these amounts won’t take up our entire debt snowball payment, I don’t want these expenses accruing interest either.
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