April 2016 Budget

I was looking forward to our April 2016 budget after having a budget in March that, while we didn’t go negative, it did not go as we had planned for it in the beginning of the month.  This month was a nice breather month, and allowed us to get back to our typical budgeting.  I did spend quite a bit on food and fuel this month compared to previous months.  While reviewing how May went last year, I’m going to expect the same for next month simply because it’s the end of the school year and there’s a lot of things going on while things wrap up.  On top of that, May also means Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and a birthday.

Income

Salary: $3,757.43
March Debt Savings {& Accrued Interest}: $0
Total:   $3,757.43

Expenses

Mortgage:  $500

Cell Phone:   $44.73
When I was driving my sister home for a funeral last month, my phone had deactivated for some odd reason.  I still haven’t completely figured out why, but I’ve assumed it was because I rarely use it and the company will deactivate inactive accounts.  When I got home, I logged into my account to reactivate my number and they gave me a discount for a few months for being a returning customer.

Home Phone / Internet:  $74.08
I’m really starting to dislike this bill, and yet we’re stuck.  It’s variability each month is based solely on our Internet price, and I have no clue why.  Our landline is only $20 of this bill, and sine we have no cell service where we live, I need to keep our landline.  At the same time, I can’t understand why our Internet is varying in price {between $33 and $40} each month.  To add to the frustration, they are the only company that services our area, and their customer service, for lack of a better term, sucks.

Credit Card 1:   $452.75
The total payment on this card was $781.22.  After breaking down the purchases, $60 came from our gifting fund, $268.47 came from our savings designated for additional raised beds in our garden, and the remaining balance, shown above, is our reoccurring charges {Netflix, newspaper subscription, etc.} and also for items related to repairs for our chimney fire last month.

Credit Card 2:   $210
As with the first credit card, the total payment on this bill was $360.  The extra $150 came from our debt payment for the month and went to paying all the travel expenses for when I had to travel home for a family emergency.

Student Loans:  $160

Car Payment:   $528.21
After paying nearly $800 on our car last month, we don’t have a payment due until the end of June since they’ve advanced the due date.

Electric:  $100.27

Insurance:   $246.77

Piano Lessons:  $0
Bookworm’s piano lessons are a generous gift from my mother-in-law.

Fun Money:    $80

Annual Savings Account:  $240
Every week I put aside money for non-monthly expenses that come up throughout the year.  You can read more about what I include in this savings and how I calculate how much to save up in my post about our Annual Savings Account.

Gifting Savings:   $200

Debt Savings:   $39.05
$8.06 of this savings this month was from rounding up the change from our purchases throughout the month.

Groceries:  $591.30

Household:  $14.25

Gas:  $74.87
Fuel expenses are a little more this month for three reasons.  Fuel prices have risen again in our area, I drove to town every day for two weeks straight, and we’re buying some more fuel for the lawn mower.

Miscellaneous:   $51.15
This month’s miscellaneous expenses consisted of rabbit food, charcoal for our grill, and sun hats for Lady Bug and I since I sunburn very easily and sunscreen doesn’t play well with my skin.