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September 2, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Summer 2016 Budget

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Budget· Our Monthly Budget

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Since we’ve had a busy summer, and I wanted to keep you all updated on how our budget actually went over the last three months, I thought I’d do a summer edition of our budget rather than breaking it down month by month in three individual posts.  Keep in mind that since I am lumping these together, these amounts will be higher than with our typical monthly budgets.  This time, I’m also showing you where our annual savings goes throughout the year.  I’ve mentioned before that the summer is when most of these expenses hit, so don’t be alarmed.

summer 2016 budget

Income

Salary: $12,225.49
Lowe’s Rebate {home repairs}:  $85.00
Total:  $12,310.49

Expenses

Mortgage:  $1,500
We paid $500 each month.

Cell Phone:   $134.17
For some unknown reason, my cell phone provider had disconnected my phone service for the second time in the last 4 months.  When I inquired about it, they said that it shouldn’t have happened once, let alone twice, and that they were updating the service in my area.  They sent out a new SIM card hoping that it would resolve the problem.  I also have three more months at a reduced rate.

Home Phone / Internet:  $226.96
The majority of our bill is for internet service.  One of my goals for for remainder of the year is to look into other internet providers for us, to see if we can get this bill any lower.

Credit Card 1:   $318.61
The payments on this are reoccurring bills whose payments are made online, but we don’t feel safe enough leaving our bank information in their account records.  

Credit Card 2:   $1,600
This is our current snowball, and the payments will pick back up through September.

Student Loans:  $450

Electric:  $397.23
Our electric bill for August was quite high because we had the air conditioner running throughout most of July with the consistently over 90° and high humidity weather we experienced.

Insurance:   $740.31
Our standard monthly payment, over three months.

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

Newspaper Subscription:  $40.35
Three months of our weekend newspaper subscription.

Annual Savings Account:  $1,600
Every week I put money aside into this account, and on months with an extra paycheck, I put even more into this account.  To read more on how much we try to put aside and what we use it for, you can check out this post.  This time though, I thought I’d do something different.  Since I do put into this account each week, and I also spend from it to throughout the year, I thoguht I’d show you what we used from it over the summer, and with each budget update from here on out.  See further below for a full breakdown.  

Gifting Savings:   $520
I also added to this savings account each week.  It helps us stay on budget each month, and still ahve funds available for when birthdays and holidays come up.

Debt Savings:   $0
There was no additional savings put aside for our debt snowball throughout the summer.

Groceries:  $2,139.36
Yes, I agree, this is an outrageous number.  But keeping in mind this over the course of three months, and I’ve had three growing kids at home that haven’t been able to keep food in their pantry at all.  But it’s still an outrageous amount, I know.  And since I don’t have the receipts in front of me and am using my check book register instead, I cannot be sure that every single dollar of this was spent on groceries.  I know for a fact it wasn’t because I did buy a few cases of jars at a local grocery store.  Now that school has started and we’re not on the go as much, except for after school activities, I will be able to keep a better eye on what is in the house and how fast it’s going.

Household & Personal: $122.08
Three months worth of laundry detergent, contact solution, toothpaste, and so on.

Gas:  $358.45
During months where I’m not driving an awful lot, like when school is in full swing and we’re just going through the usual schedule, I spend around $70 a month on fuel.  With soccer practice, games and piano lessons however, I’ll be driving a lot more, and probably spending double that.

Lawn: $19.08
Our only expense for our lawn is gas for our lawn mower.

Pet: $35.84
Since our rabbit is outdoors for the summer, she doesn’t go through as many pellets and hay as she does when she’s indoors in the winter.

Eating Out: $136.11
Over the summer, we celebrated a few different times.  Some of our eating out budget went towards picnic’s in the park, while others went towards redeeming “bucket filler” certificates to Subway that Monkey brought home from school.

School: $195.73
This covers backpacks, lunch boxes, thermoses, folders and notebooks for the two boys.

Soccer: $565.42
This includes registration, uniforms, cleats, shin guards, extra socks and practice balls for all three kids, as well as parking for Monkey’s individual lessons throughout June & July.

Home repairs: $740
This summer, we restored our deck.  When we bought our house, the deck was pretty well worn, and it wasn’t getting any better.  Hubs washed it, replaced some boards, sanded, primed and painted it.  The result is a deck that’s no longer falling apart, and that doesn’t leave splinters in our feet when we walk across it barefoot.

Getaway with Hubs: $432.34
For our weekend away, Hubs and I spent three days in Hershey, PA.  To keep things on the simpler side, we stayed at the campground rather than a hotel, and we both thought that it would be a place the kids would really enjoy staying next time we head to that portion of the state.  We drove down the day before the concert, spent the first day setting up and getting some food for the weekend.  The next day we spent the day at the park, and the evening at the concert.  The last day we packed up, spent some time at the outlets, and then drove home.  The entire trip was paid for with cash.

Hair: $30
The boys and Hubs got their hair cut once each this summer.  Lady Bug and I go once every 12 to 18 months, while the boys go every 2 to 4 months.

Miscellaneous/Fun:   $307.05
These are usually two separate categories, but for the purposes of this mass budget, I’ve lumped them together.  This category includes seeing a few dollar movies, going to see Finding Dory in the theaters, books and workbooks for the kids, report card celebrations, etc.

 

Annual Savings

These are the expenses we paid for from this account throughout the summer, and do not come from the usual monthly budget, aside from what I put aside each week.  Since some of my bills and expenses are quarterly, annually, etc., this account allows us to be able to have the money set aside for these expenses without stretching out standard monthly budget.  Summer time is when the majority of these expenses hit between annual bills, our eye exams and prescriptions, taxes and going to our local you pick farm.

Local You Pick:  $336
This is a one time expense for the summer, and we preserve all of this for using throughout the rest of the year.

Annual Eye Exams & Prescriptions:  $696.20
This year, I’m really excited to say that we have vision insurance.  We were able to get eye exams for all 5 of us, contacts for Hubs and I, and a new pair of glasses {frames and lenses} for this price!  Last year, we spent nearly double that on just three of us.

Clothing:  $524.90
We were able to get a really good deal on clothing for the whole family throughout the summer.  Some of it was desperately deeded as the kids grew, some of it I needed as I haven’t bought clothes for myself in a while.  Some of the clothing we got this summer and was put aside for school clothes, that way when the time came to take them for their back-to-school shopping, we didn’t have a great big expense at the end of summer.

Medical:  $21.60
We had a MedExpress visit for LadyBug at the beginning of June.  She had a tick lodged in her leg, and after several unsuccessful attempts on my part to get it out, I smothered it in balm and went to the center.  It took the physician several attempts to remove the tick too, so I didn’t feel so bad about my tick removing skills.

AAA:  $145
I posted earlier this year about how this expense may not be the most frugal, but it is something that we do get use out of.

Trash:  $34
Our trash is picked up every other week, and we’re billed quarterly based on the number of bags we have throughout the quarter.  We very rarely will go through more than one 33 gallon bag a week, making two bags of trash that we have picked up every two weeks.

Car Expenses:  $52.99

Propane:  $166.92
This is another bill that we get quarterly.  Every 13 weeks, we have propane delivered to supply our stove and water heater.  This bill usually runs around $200, but since it was so hot earlier in the summer, we did a lot of grilling rather than cooking.

Taxes:  $693.46
These are taxes that we owe the school district each year.  Since we were able to have a significant down payment on our house, one that knocked out PMI, we were able to choose whether or not we wanted to escrow our taxes.  We chose not to, and we pay the reduced rate on our taxes in March and August.  The combined price is just over $1,000 per year.

 

Well… there you have it.  A complete rundown of how our budget went this summer.  How did your summer 2016 budget go?

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makingcentsmatter
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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Do what looks right for you and your personal finances.⁠
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The trick to meal planning is to make it predictab The trick to meal planning is to make it predictable. But predictable doesn't mean the same thing week to week. You could have a chicken meal, a soup meal, a pasta meal, a leftovers meal, a family favorite meal, and so on.⁠
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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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House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $0 – this has a residual $3 in interest charges since payoff, due in April⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $600⁠
Explorer: $336.27⁠
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Total Paid in 2021: $8,258.84⁠
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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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Then they get grumpy when it's their turn and it's not the proper input cable. #itwasmychargerfirst #dontlikeitgofindyourown⁠
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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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To the mother with little kids struggling to get your finances in order, it will get better. I wish I could have heard those words years ago.⁠
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Nearly 10 years ago we were facing a $1,400 out-of-pocket portion for A's Phase 1 orthodontic work (I looked it up after I uploaded the video... we had a $1,400 portion).⁠
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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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How's your paycheck budget coming along?⁠
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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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