I'm back

I apologize for my absence lately. Life has been... hectic? And crazy, stressful, worrisome, irritating and frustrating. I am moving forward and have had a boost of positive energy today. I really should post more to relieve stress.

Since I am so far behind, here is January's numbers. I am still waiting for all of our February transactions to clear.

January Budget	Budgeted	Spent	Left
Income	3608	3608
Fixed
Mortgage	301	301	0
Mortgage - Extra Principal	200	200	0
Property Taxes	117	117	0
House Insurance	36	36	0
Car Insurance	150	150	0
Health Insurance	52	52	0
Student Loans	90	90	0
Cell Phones	135	130	5
Trash	21	21	0
Cable/Internet/Netflix	81	81	0
Variable
Utilities	190	168	22
Auto (Fuel + Maint.)	525	411	114
Food	300	302	-2
Misc	250	216	34
Entertainment/Dining	225	280	-55
Dogs	75	45	30
Savings
Roth IRAs	200	200	0
Short Term	400	162	238
Long Term	260	260	0

We went over in some areas, but I don't think we did too bad. February looks much, much worse.

We have mostly automated our accounts, and I love this!

2011 budget

The 2011 budget is finalized! Now to just stay on track

Income	3590
Fixed
Mortgage	301
Mortgage - Extra Principal	200
Property Taxes	117
House Insurance	36
Car Insurance	150
Health Insurance	52
Student Loans	90
Cell Phones	135
Trash	21
Cable/Internet/Netflix	81
Variable
Utilities	190
Auto (Fuel + Maint.)	525
Food	300
Misc	250
Entertainment/Dining	225
Dogs	75
Savings
Roth IRAs	200
Short Term	400
Long Term	242

Living with Pennie (and Red!)

Meet Pennie, our 8 year old lab.



And Red, our 12 year old corgi/heeler.




So how much does it actually cost to live with Pennie and Red?

Food: $600
We feed 4 star and up food found at dogfoodanalysis.com.
Medication: $420
Includes heartworm preventative and glucosamine for their joints.
Vet: $140
Includes wellness checks and shots. This does not include emergency visits as we had none this year. Hopefully we can keep up the good health in 2011.
Boarding: $490
Assuming a 2 week vacation. We didn't take one this year but we plan on it next year.
Misc: $120
Includes toys, bedding, collars and leashes.

Total: $1770 annually or $147.5 per month

We technically only budget $60 per month for them which includes their food and miscellaneous items. Boarding comes out of our vacation savings and vet bills come out of our budget surplus. We buy the medications at the vet's office so we tend to bundle them together for budgeting purposes.

Next year I am considering using a new budgeting technique and budgeting medications and vet visits in with their food. I think it makes more sense that way and will help us to figure out where that budget surplus is disappearing off to.

Weekly Money Check-Up

Participating in the Weekly Money Check-Up over at My Pretty Pennies.

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on the vet. Red was due for shots and both Red and Pennie had a flea outbreak. Ugh.

2. Today I feel hopeful towards money. We totally blew the budget earlier this month, but I feel like we are both committed to getting things back on track.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was visit with friends.

4. I will consider this week a success if I avoid Black Friday sales.

5. My favorite food at Thanksgiving is stuffing.

Weekly Money Check-Up

Every week My Pretty Pennies has a weekly money check-up. I think it is a great idea so thought I would join in.

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on a couch and loveseat. Really though, what haven't we spent money on lately?

2. Today I feel anxious towards money. Our CC bill is a little high this month because we purchased new couches. We have the money saved to pay it off when the bill comes but it still makes me anxious knowing we have that debt out there.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was read a book. I love the library!

4. I will consider this week a success if I get the house cleaned.

5. I am afraid of starting my new job. The first day is always the worst. I hate not knowing the little things, like where the bathroom is.

March

Well, March didn't go so well. Despite me working out of town for two extra days (way more pay), we still had the lowest income of the year, and the highest expenses. I have no idea what happened there, other than we eat out too much and had a bunch of unexpected expenses (plates and a title transfer, gifts, minor house issues - ugh) come up.

I think we're going to start donating plasma for extra money. No, seriously.

February Budget

We barely squeaked by this month in thanks to high utilities and going out for Valentine's. On to next month!

I think I'm going to only post the budget spreadsheet at the end of the month. It is getting repetitive posting the planned, mid-month, and end of month budgets. Our budget looks very simliar from month to month so no need to keep posting it.

I'm also going to start zeroing our checking account out to $1000 at the end of each month. I'm hoping that it will help us to save better. We charge nearly all of our expenses to our credit card for the rewards points, but it is due in the middle of the month. So technically, we are paying for last month's expenses in the middle of this month. We don't put the credit card payment as an expense in the budget, because we account for each charge in the budget when it occurs. I think by zeroing the checking out to $1000 (for a cushion) we will be better about making sure any extra money for the month is actually transferred to savings and not spent on junk in the next month. It really all does sound more complicated than it is, I promise.

February Budget

Just dropping by to show where we're at this month.

January's Actual Budget

Holy gas usage batman. We moved this month which was several extra trips, but I am still seriously disappointed in how we did in that category. Our vehicle insurance was higher than budgeted because we changed our address to our new state in December. They had already taken the automatic payment out of our checking, so the difference was added to this month’s bill. Our total income was more than our total expense, which is the important part to me right now. I know it’s not practical to meet all of our budget goals the first month. It’s going to take time and practice. I’m satisfied for how we did this month.

Mid-January Update

Well, just dropping in for an update. Here is where we are at for now.



Obviously, we could be doing better in some areas. But, it looks like we will at least be in the green for this month.

January Budget

Our January budget at a glance. I'll check in around the 15th to see where we are at. I am trying to keep things bare-bones until we see our average pay at our new jobs.