Trip Summary

Back from our trip.

While we didn't meet the individual budget goals, we came out under overall.

There was $415 in the travel fund in August. We added $100 of the August grocery money to that. I budgeted that money as above for gas, groceries, eating out, and a buffer.

Our stay was free, as it is a family home. We had to clean the place before we left and do some minor repairs and checking while there. We did spend some of our money (grocery) on these tasks. We only ate out once, at my favorite restaurant. Other spending in the restaurant category was for food on the road to and from. I grossly overestimated the gas spending. I think the last time I drove down there was when the gas prices were really high, and I was going off what I remembered spending that time. I also expected us to putter around more while there and need a fillup during the week. We only had to fill up at the beginning and midway each way, for under $50 each direction. I had to mail some packages while there, and that is my "other" expense. (Most of these are rounded up, by the way).

The big hit was groceries. I was shocked at the prices there, and almost no sales. We had to shop Publix, and it was freaking expensive, and like I said, no good sales. I think all the prices were inflated. Even with coupons, it was painful. Later in the week we went out to Walmart (which is much further away) but the deals there were so much better.

We still came in under budget, though I do feel I was a bit of a tightwad about it, but I don't think we suffered for it. We aren't big eater-outters anyway. $74 back into the travel jar.

Plugging others~

This is a fellow blogger on a TTC message board I am on. She is giving away a care package including a really cool cup and some ic's. She also makes beautiful graphics. Check her out.

In related news.... We are on our 5th anniversary (non-Hawaiian) trip. I am relaxing and enjoying some time away from work drama. I love my job, but there is some petty juvenile I'm-not-your-friend stuff going on that is wearing on me, so I am glad to be away. Additionally, I should be ovulating next week, so I am hoping to give this my undivided attention this month. It would be really cool to come back with a little anniversary souvenir. I hope the stress free relaxation and copious free time will be good for our mission.

I have all my budget stuff with me. I do not have a scanner here, so posting will have to wait til I get back. We have our August budget and also a trip budget for our trip. I am going to work on the June income statement (which is mostly done) and have that ready to post when I get home. By then I should have what I need to do July too. We will be paying off the little student loan next week, so I am in a really good place with getting pregnant now. The last two loans are going to take a while, but will be doable even if we do get pregnant at this point.

May Income Statement

I really have to say, at this point, after doing this for a few months, that I really don't understand how we keep having such large net incomes. It isn't like we are gaining $2000 a month. I suppose it is from our bank balances, but even those aren't really that high. We each maintain about $350 in our accounts throughout the month. Maybe it is because we get paid at the end of the month, and haven't spent that money on bills yet when the statements are mailed? It does make sense that the end amount is $400 less than the beginning balances, because I think I got paid an extra $400 at the end of April, which we saved to pay for our hotel in May. I don't know... I just don't want to give the false impression that we are rolling in dough or that we aren't busting our budget every month, which we usually are.

Extra revenue: Birthday money

Expenses:
Yay low power! We over paid cable last month, so it is a little under this month. Termite due this month. I think netflix was double paid last month, or else I just missed it on my statement.

Debt:
Standard stuff here.

Variable:
Restaurant was high because we were out of town and had a couple of unplanned lunches. Most of our meals during the trip were covered by one relative or another. Supplies were high ... I have gotten into CVS ing. Unfortunately, some trips I get out of there for under $1, some are more like $20.

Additional expenses:
I spent almost $200 making my cousin's programs for her wedding, but my aunt offered later to reimburse me for that, which was great! That will show up in July, I think. The rest of the expenses for the wedding included our hotel, parking at the airport, and some last minute outfit additions.

Fund activity:
I have been struggling with how to handle planned expenses in the budget. I keep a separate spreadsheet with the tallies for our funds. Most things I just leave off altogether, like the boy who cuts our lawn, or our cleaning people (which my mom paid for as our Christmas gift). But I feel that I need to keep a true account of our expenses, and I also want to celebrate the fact that we actually were prepared for some things. The money isn't technically coming out of our monthly income, it is coming from our savings funds for that purpose. So, I have added "fund activity" at the bottom of the IS.

This month we took from two funds: I show the balance of the fund, the amount removed, and the new balance.

From repairs, we paid for our roof repair (YAY!) and also 2 new tires for my husband's car, since one was completely flat. From pet, we paid for my dog's boarding for our trip, which somehow tripled in planned amount, because he also had a checkup and some medicine added on.

April Income Statement

April Income Statement

Revenue:

I got an extra week's paycheck at the end of the month, which was actually brought forward to pay for the hotel in May. My inlaws paid my husband back for his expenses to travel there.

Fixed Expenses:

Power is finally going down a little bit. We couldn't find the cable bill, and even though we pay the same amount every month, my husband overpaid on purpose. Insurance is super high because we got charged 3 installments on our auto insurance and my husband and I both got life insurance. I had thought we would be charged monthly for that, but we were charged quarterly.

Debt:

We paid the planned $2000 to the last credit card, as well as the $800 for the travel expenses which were put on the card.

Variable:

We were able to include a travel fund again. The pet amount includes the $150 for the fund as well as $200 spent at the vet on the dog for his shots and grooming. We forgot to take cash. I sorted all the funds out in May. I keep a separate spreadsheet with their ins and outs and actual totals. Supplies was high this month. We did some work on our basement, which required some supplies and I needed some supplies for other projects. Bank fee was the finance charge on the credit card. My husband's discretionary was super high. He got his WOW renewed for 6 months. He also cancelled a subscription, but in the process had to pay for several issues at once. Or something.

Savings:

Not surprisingly, we had nothing for the sinking fund this month. $900 in the bank account was earmarked for repairs.

April special circumstances:

A couple of my husband's charges from his parents carried over onto the April statement. We owed $2000 to the federal taxes. We moved money out of savings to pay for that. Then we got $874 back from the state. I want to pay back the $2000 to savings, but as of yet we have not. I have really just been holding my breath to get through May, but now will look at that.

March Income Statement

March:

Income: Standard.

Fixed: Power is still high. Trash bill this month. My husband says they are redoing the trash system here so that it will be included in property tax and will also pick up more recyclables, which will be fabulous. They tried this last year, and it failed, so we are hoping it passes this year. Water was high. We have some plumbing problems we haven't addressed yet, and some leaky toilets. But, it's only like $5 more than usual... Our insurance (car) was crazy low this month. With all the roof stuff, my husband also spoke with them about some discounts he thought we should be getting, and reduced our price. I guess they were crediting us back or something? I really don't know.

A note on Bally's: I have started going back. I am trying hard to lose weight (for the wedding, and pre-baby) and am working out 4 days a week now. 2 at Bally and 2 at the gym at work. I'd like to also do wii fit on the weekends, but haven't gotten to do that yet. It's been pretty busy. I have lost 4 pounds so far. So, I am keeping Bally's for now.

Debt: Paid off my credit card. I now own a lot of veterinary work and all my dollstuffs and my transmission. Only $1000 to cc5, to allow for us to save for the roof repair. Minimums all around.

Variable: My car renewal was due. Two cats got shots. The repair is for the power guy who came out when my house lost power. I spent some extra money going out with work and friends this month. Bank fees are finance charges, as usual. Our Misc. was high this month, too, and I don't remember why now. (my book is downstairs)

Saving: $59 to sinking fund. $900 for the roof.

Highly unusual expenses which get their own category this month: My husband spent money to be with and help out his parents. They paid him back for this (but not until April). I bought and mailed invitations for my cousin's rehearsal dinner, which I had budgeted money for. I also bought shoes for my dress.

And, we still made it out with $20 to spare.

February income statement

February income statement

Revenue

I got an extra week's pay in one of my paychecks. My husband deposited some birthday money. I believe some of the bank balance is for our March mortgage, but I am not quite sure. It just seems high to me.

Fixed

Power was super high. Just look at that. Ugh. We had some snow and some very cold days. We are finally seeing the lowered cable price, though that does include a partial refund for the month, so future cable should be around $80. I still think that is super high for the basic stuff. We had our termite bill for the quarter.

Debt repayment

Just when I thought #2 was paid, it hit me with a $5 interest charge from the previous month. I now have that paid off again. I own my carpet (#3). We paid off most of cc#4 which is my main card. I was going to pay the whole thing, but then the fiasco with the roof, and I opted to save some money for that instead. That was a very hard decision to make. Minimums to all else.

Variable

Most of these are discussed in the cash jar post. Some highlights: Pet. Is very high, because we adopted our dog, and purchased items for him. This figure includes the money we also still set aside for the pet jar. The only thing I can say for myself, is I did that all with cash. Mostly money from my extra paycheck that month. We bought our convention tickets for this summer, so that is set. Bank fees are finance charges. Other than the dog, we really stuck to (or below) our budget for this month.

Savings

We added $120 to the sinking fund from the cash jars for the month. We saved $500 towards our roof repair, instead of paying off a credit card.

Looking back, I am not sure I calculated the bank balances properly, and we way overspent on the pet category (and power!) but we came out positive and did really well overall, I think.

January Income Statement

Revenue: In addition to our income from our jobs, we also discovered we had an $1800+ balance in our bank accounts. We had gift money as well.

Fixed Expenses: Power skyrocketed to $300. Comcast raised our cable bill. We hadn't canceled the server.

Debt Repayment: I now own my computer, phone and work clothes! We paid off credit cards 1 and 2 and a huge amount of the balance on 3. The rest of the cards and loans got minimal amounts.

Variable: My husband's car is the main expense here. He had to register it, and before doing that, had $700 of work done on it. We did put that on the credit card, but I am sorry that we did. I feel we are having Karmic retribution now (see previous post). Travel is our plane tickets for the wedding in May, which we paid cash for. Bank fees include finance charges and a late fee incurred while I juggled around our new payment schedules. My "doll" budget includes the money I spent from my discretionary jar, an order made this summer that was sent off backorder, and some eyes and faceups (in cash) for my BJDs. I believe the rest of these expenses, including our sinking fund, were discussed in the Jan cash jar post.

We had a net income of almost $2500. Overall, a win. While we would not have come out positive just based on our income, I increased debt repayment and some other expenses upon learning we had more money to work with (as can be seen if you look back at the original budget). So, as the income increased, so I increased the outgo. This gave us a great starting momentum.

December Income Statement

All the December statements finally came and I was able to make the December income statement this weekend. Some problems with my computer held up my scanning abilities.

Income: Other income includes my bonus from work, which I didn't know I was going to get. I used it to pay for my doll.

Fixed Expenses: Charged for three insurance installments again this month, also renewed triple - a.

Debt Repayment: Pretty standard. Paid off cc6.

Variable Expenses: December is the month of gift - giving, and we spent nearly $400. And that was me giving bare bones. Ugh. No pet expenses for the first time in a long time. My husband had to pay $20 each way to take a bag to visit his parents *BS*. The doll expenses include my expensive custom doll I wrote about before, and also Karito Kids showed up at Tuesday Morning at 70% off, so I went wild buying those up. The clothing is my bridesmaid dress for the wedding in May. I sponsored an Angel Tree child, and that was my December charity. Med is my birth control, which I had to pay out of pocket, because I had used up my flex card. Cash was cash for my husband's taxi to his parents' and also my December lunch/vending/spending money.

Summary: If we took out the gifts and the dolls, we still don't quite balance, but its a lot closer. I was surprised it was as off as it was. Looking at October - December, I think it is safe to say we were probably overspending by approximately $1000-$1500 a month. However, we may have actually been balancing on my old salary, and just hadn't made the adjustment to less income. Can't wait to see how January looks!

November Income Statement

November:

It appears I had three paychecks in November. The "other income" is made up of a paper paycheck (before direct deposit kicked in) and some rebates from my pet insurance.

Power is way down, phone is up, because of the stolen phone. Only one insurance bill this month - evens out with the three last month.

Lots of debt repayment going on. This is certainly what a typical month would look like there. The CC6 was some clothing purchases. It is paid off as of December. CC2 got hit with the phone replacement - had been paid off. CC3 resulted from financing new carpet. In the months of caring for a sick and elderly dog, it took a toll on our carpet and also our wood floor in the two rooms he was confined to. The house stank and the carpet was nasty. It had to be replaced ASAP. We are going to live with the wood damage for now; it isn't too bad unless you know what you are looking for. It is 0% if we pay it off in 12 months. This is the 3rd card I plan to pay off (hence, why it is named cc3).

Our gas and restaurant expenses are down. Grocery is down, but not significantly so. Pet expense is high, in part due to funerary expenses for my dog. "Supplies" were a couple of pieces of furniture I got to make my Thanksgiving guests more comfortable. Travel is my husband's plane ticket to his parents for Christmas. I can't go - new job. My husband hurt his ankle which required a trip to the emergency room. Doll expense is down (Cyber Monday sale) but gaming is up (Our Wii has been broken for a few months, and we finally sent it in. My husband spent some extra money in WOW - god knows why). We still see some clothing purchases.

October income statement

Hmm. I am not sure if this is legible.

In order to know where we were going, and how to get there, it was necessary to see where we had been. I decided to look at our income and expenses for the last 3 months of 2009. Of course, we can't look at December yet because we are still in it, but I was able to get a good enough picture from Oct and Nov to move ahead.

Unfortunately, October is not representative of a typical month for several reasons. As you can see, we spent twice as much as we made in October. While I don't doubt we have been spending more than we make consistently, I do not think it is typically that much.

First of all, I had no income in October. I started my job in mid-October, and my first paycheck didn't happen until November. Next, because I had no income, I could not pay on my loan to my dad. This is the only payment I have missed, and I told him it was going to happen. We got billed for three insurance payments instead of two (in Nov we got billed for one...) so I am keeping an average of two, though obviously it may fluctuate for whatever reason.

The other reason is that we took a mini vacation before I started my job and my last term of classes. While our stay was free, we had increased gas and food expenses. The pet expense is mostly from my dog's boarding while we were on the trip. We had a massage while we were there, which we both agree now was NOT a $300 massage. Though it was nice.

My supply and clothing expense is very high (I usually never buy clothes) because I was starting my new job. Because of my teaching subject, I was able to get away with a lot at school, but now I work in a firm and needed appropriate clothing. It was getting colder, and I needed weather appropriate clothing. The supplies are things I needed for work, but I am having a hard time remembering $500 worth, I will have to look back at the itemization and see what else I threw into that category.

My husband paid for his WOW account for 6 mos, and I would love to gloss over the doll expense, but this is why I do this. To take an honest look at what I was spending. First, there was a really good discount sale on AG.com and I bought stuff. Then, of course after the sale, they announced Kirsten's retirement, and I bought two expensive items for her. There may be a couple ebay purchases in there too.

It looks like I put Bally's in there twice... that needs to be cancelled. The $40 expense is the kid who cuts our lawn.