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July 12, 2019 · 1 Comment

July Budget Categories

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Budget· Budget Tips

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It’s so hard to believe that half the year has passed!  As you’re prepping your July budgets, keep these categories in mind!

July Budget Categories

Fourth Celebrations

Fourth of July celebrations are something I bring up in our June Budget Categories, but if you’re just getting started, don’t worry!  Even though the holiday is really close to the beginning of the month, you don’t have to go over-budget just to have some fun.  If your plans are finalized, determine how much money you’ll need and start figuring out where you can squeeze that extra money from.  If you just can’t swing it, there’s nothing wrong with staying home or having some frugal fun!

Lawn Care

Depending on the weather in our corner of the northeast, July is when our grass starts to slow it’s growth and the weeds kick their growth into high gear.  Whether you pay someone to care for your lawn, or you do it yourself, it’s not free.  Look at your lawn expenses in the past to get an idea of how much you’ll be spending throughout the growing season.

Allergies

My allergies run year round.  Nothing is weirder than having to be that one person that buys OTC allergy medicine in the middle of December.  But my kids allergies kick it into high gear this time of year between the grass and ragweed.  This results in buying our allergy meds more often than I do throughout the rest of the year.  If this is your prime allergy season, don’t forget to budget for it!

Increased Utilities

For us, the July and August are our peak electric bill months.  It’s solely because our pool filter is running 16 hours a day, and we use of our air conditioners during a heat wave or when I’m taking a day to can.  Either way, be sure to budget for an increase in these utility bills during the summers.

Pool Care

July is when stores start to change their seasonal sections to back to school items.  July also is the time we run low on chlorine tablets, water test strips and pool shock.  By August it’s hard for me to find any of it without having to go to a specialty store and pay an extra premium.  So in our July budget, I make sure to save some money aside for shock and chlorine tablets to get us through closing our pool for the season in September, and then reopening it again next year in May.

Back To School

Since July is when stores start setting up their back to school merch, July is also the perfect time to start making the list of necessary back to school supplies and start watching those sales.  Even if you don’t have kids in school, if you know you need items for your home office or business, now is the time to purchase items.

Garden

Since we have short growing season on my mountain, July is when we start to do the majority of our harvesting can preserving.  Whether your season is just starting, or you’re in the midst of it, or your at the tail end, make sure to set a budget, and stick to it!  Don’t be afraid to get creative too!  Some of the best results we’ve had in the garden over the years have been from things we’ve had to come up with on the fly.

Farmer’s Market / You Pick Farms

Our farmer’s markets started in May, so June through August are the main months for going to the markets.  I really enjoy going to the Farmers Market for fruits and veggies that I don’t, or can’t, grow.  It’s a favorite place for plums, and peaches too.  We love to eat our fruits and veggies fresh and in season, but we also preserve a lot of food this time of year to eat through the winters.  Either way, don’t forget to budget for the expenses for fresh fruit, veggies, herbs and flowers, whether you incorporate the cost into your weekly grocery budget, or you have a separate envelope for it.

Library Fines

We don’t visit the library much during the school year since we’re busy doing all sorts of other things, but when school is out, we go multiple times a week.  It never fails that our first time back at the start of the summer we owe some sort of library fine for a late book the summer before.  {True story… Bookworm owed a $10 fine.}

Vacation / Travel

Summer time is the perfect time to travel with the kids, so whether it’s fees for the local campground, lodging at the hotel near the amusement parks, and amusement park ticket costs, don’t forget about the other expenses that may come up.  These can include pet boarding, parking fees, beach day passes and so on.

Miscellaneous Summer Costs

Between admission to the community pool, sunscreen, sandals, bug spray, and so on, there are small expenses that can eat up a good chunk of your budget when they’re all added up.  Be sure to have a miscellaneous category for these itemss.

Extracurricular Fees

Between youth camps in the summer, sports, marching band and theatre league, funding all the extra curricular activities isn’t cheap.  Make sure that you budget for, and save for these expenses ahead of time.

Also, be sure to budget for any uniforms, pictures and fundraisers that may come up.

Instrument Care

For those band mom’s, summer is the perfect time to get that instrument for a cleaning and see if there are any repairs that need done.  While I cringe at the bill, I know from personal experience that getting it in for routine maintenance will help keep the cost of emergency repairs and instrument replacement rentals down.

Sports Physicals

Summer time is the perfect time to get those annual checkups in!  Plus, if your child is playing school sports, they’re going to need a current physical on file.  If you need to pay a co-pay, don’t forget it in the budget.

Eye & Dental Exams

Just like wither annual physicals, summer is a great time to get the kids in for their exams.  Every spring and fall we have our semi-annual dental exams, and the summer is our annual eye exams.  If it’s been a while for either, you may want to get yourself in for a checkup.  Better to be on top of your health than have to play crisis management later on.

Sinking Funds

July is an excellent time to review your sinking funds.  How are the ones you’re doing now?  Well on your way to your goal, or do you need to reevaluate how much to save?  And don’t forget to add in any extras for items coming up.  I know that once our back to school shopping is done, I’ll have a smaller school sinking fund for all those small costs that come up throughout the school year such as science projects, etc.

Christmas

It’s July, and that means Christmas is coming.  Best to get started on saving up now so you know your budget when December comes.

Car Maintenance

If you’re planning any major family road trips, it’s always a good idea to get your car checked out before taking it on the road.  Changing your oil, checking your brakes and tire tread, while it may seem like a financial inconvenience now, can save you from a bigger bill down the road.

 

Looking to set up your budget for a different month?

  • June Budget Categories
  • May Budget Categories
  • April Budget Categories
  • March Budget Categories
  • February Budget Categories
  • January Budget Categories

Are there any other budget categories you included in your July budget that I aren’t on this list?  Let me know in the comments below and I’ll be sure to add them!

July Budget Categories

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  1. Holly says

    July 29, 2019 at 3:16 pm

    Great tips! I definitely want to start budgeting for Farmer’s Markets. It’s a great way to get veggies into my kids diet.
    Holly recently posted…The Best Unassembled Beehive KitsMy Profile

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Only you can determine what your financial goals a Only you can determine what your financial goals are. If that means you're adding money to your savings account, or contributing to your retirement, while you are paying off debt, then so be it!⁠
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I can only hear about my extended warranty I never I can only hear about my extended warranty I never purchased so many times. 😣⁠
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March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠ .⁠ House: $51 March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠
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Extra Payment: There isn’t one this month since we were $25 away from zeroing out the budget for our February 15th monthly paycheck. That $25, and monies left from our January 15th paycheck, covered our OOP costs for Hubs’ filling. We also have some savings goals coming up that need to be met, making our debt payments a little lower for the time begin.⁠
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The battle for who can charge what tonight is abou The battle for who can charge what tonight is about to begin. 😬⁠
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My kids run off with my charger, plug it into one outlet 5 feet from where they found it like that particular outlet is the only one in this house, and then proceed to fight over who can charge their device first at night.⁠
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A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a bit in our February Budget Check-In about how much of this I think we'll owe, and you can check that out on my YouTube channel if you're interested, but I wanted to say here...⁠
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It was a lot of money for us at the time. Our kids were 6, 2, and 3 months old. I don't think we even had $500 in savings, and I just left a part-time teaching job because it wasn't paying the part-time daycare bill, so paying our portion in full was just a dream I didn't think was achievable.⁠
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I was even stressing about the monthly $100 payments. We were so strapped. It was our breaking moment to start cutting costs and budgeting more effectively. We've learned a lot in that time period.⁠
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What we've learned is that it does no good to stress about it all the time. Life happens. All you can do is try to plan ahead, and if it's something that's unplanned, readjust. It won't always be easy, especially at first, but it will be worth it.⁠
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Nearly 10 years later, we are still paying off our debts. Student loans suck. But I see this bill as a reminder of how far we have come. Seeing a bill like this doesn't stress me out like it used to, and I know we can easily create a plan that can get it done and out of the way.⁠
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Will it delay our debt-free date more? Yes. But it's not worth stressing over. Life happens, readjust, and continue on down the path. It's called a journey for a reason.⁠
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It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budget It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budgeting categories are working out for the pay month.⁠
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Food is looking good this far into our paycheck, probably because miscellaneous - which includes eating out - took a hit with unexpected purchases. Pet is low for this time of the month, and Household is spot on.⁠
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Fuel looks like it'll be lower than last month (yay for weeks of snow days & delayed school starts), and Therapy had one more appointment than initially planned.⁠
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Garden, Dental, Medical & Propane are not included in these estimates so far because those expenses are coming from sinking funds. Once we're done with the month and review the budget, I'll move over the total amount spent from those sinking funds.⁠
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Automating your finances makes saving money and bu Automating your finances makes saving money and budgeting more convenient, and therefore easier on you. Out of sight, out of mind, right?⁠
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What's one thing you can automate this week to make your finances easier?⁠
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Me? I'm going to set up our sinking fund transfers to automate every payday (the 15th of every month). Our bank set up a feature on their app where we can schedule savings transfers now, and I'm going to take advantage of it!⁠
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Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone a smidgen overboard this month!⁠
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I foresee a goal for March's paycheck to at out less than twice. That's where this category went awry. $99.16 of it went to eating out. 😑 Some of it was avoidable, but not all of it. Having to drive to multiple appointments in one day during snow squalls and rearranging our whole day was one of those unavoidable instances.⁠
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Tracking our expenses - much like a budget review - is vital to sticking to your budget!⁠
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