Budget Check-Up? :) Thoughts, Please?

[tay]

Hey everyone!! I really want to become involved here as when I'm reading a lot/posting about frugality I tend to stick with it.

Anyway - I'd love thoughts on our budget - I am worried I'm leaving things out. We've been married for 6 years, 7 months (and 10 days but whose counting!) and I have to admit that in all those years I've never full had a month where I lived within the budget. Maybe the budget we had was too tight...I don't know - all I know is I HAVE to do this. HAVE to.

DH brings home 2264 after these things are taken out:
Dental Insurance Family: $5.55
Long Term Disability $2.15
Medical Family Coverage: $86.30
401K (minimum required contribution, I think 3%?)
State Taxes
Federal Taxes

He does work an odd shift which results in 48 hours one week, 36 the next. He usually pulls an addition 10 hour shift on the long week which is all overtime and that nets us another $180 or so.

Goals: PAY off the truck, save as much as possible for future goal of purchasing land.

DEBTS
dh's truck - $3622.45 owed of the original 10,500 loan, 5.85% interest at our local credit union.

Now for the budget:

again, income: 2264

Tithe from the top: 300
offerings: $65 (missions and building fund for the church)
House Taxes - $40
House Insurance - $68
Car Insurance - $93
Groceries/Diapers/Household - $400
Truck Payment $305
2 Term Life Policies - $30
Newspaper Subscription $15
Auto Fuel - $150
Utilities (includes electric, water & trash) $200
Home Phone/DSL Internet - $60
Cell Phones - $130 (1 iphone with smallest data and texting package, 1 basic phone with no data and smallets texting choice, all our family is long distance and our home phones have none so we use our cells primarily)
Blow Money - $80 split w/dh and i each two weeks we get $20
Medical Expenses - $30 (nebulizer rental, athsma meds)
Clothing $25
Entertainment $50
Christmas $50

This leaves us with $183 total after bills. It SHOULD anyway. I'm terrible about sticking to the budget. Last month I spent almost $800 on clothes for the kids when we'd budgeted $250 for back to school. I used the CC to do so - most were bought used on ebay and over about a week long period - I totally just bought without thinking it was adding up to too much and was SCHOCKED when I looked at the account. Too often I am here or there and find such a "deal" I can't leave it behind. Too many of those and I've nickel and dimed myself broke.

I put my debit and credit card away in my desk (though I know the CC number by heart!) and only am carrying cash now. It'll hurt to have to leave "deals" behind but I'm determined to change. DETERMINED.

We have 2 children - 1 in public school (HELLO - have you noticed they try to get money from you ALL the time!) age 5, he has dairy, peanut, artifical colors and corn syrup allergies in addition to having athsma and allergies to all kinds of other things. He uses two medications orally and also has two meds that he uses on an as needed basis in his nebulizer. DR. copays are once every 5-6 months or so at $20/visit. I have celiac disease which also does hurt our grocery budget. Both DH and DS2 (2yo) have no allergies. They are BIG eaters though (not overweight) and I easily cook 3-4 pounds of chicken breasts at a time to appease their appetites. I coupon heavily as well.

anyway - thoughts on anything?

[SarahElmore]

I might be over looking this, but have you budgeted the credit card payment?

[HelloK]

Have you asked your doctor to give you a prescription to buy a neublizer machine? My child has asthma as well, and we have a portable one that I paid maybe $60.00 for w/ the mask included.

[sunshine]

Call your insurance company and see if you can increase your deductibles to lower your monthly payments. . .

Nix the entertainment budget or slash it drastically and find free things to do. . . Even in our tiny community there are lots of free/cheap things to do.

Can you ditch the cell phones and get Magic Jack ? My son has one and loves it. . . he calls us long distance frequently.

My dd has celiac like disease, and I have allergies to milk, cherries, etc. . . I understand the struggles there. . . we simply went to a completely wheat free household, and we seldom try to "fake" the wheat stuff. . . tonight's dinner is spaghetti squash with ground turkey and tomato sauce. I make nearly all of our foods (safer and cheaper) Meat here is a condiment, seldom the main dish. . .

[Primnproper]

I am a teacher in a public school and all I can say is that you do not have to send in money all the time! It seems like many schools try to nickel and dime families to death and its just wrong. Our new superintendent is adamant that we don't send home supply lists or ask for classroom supplies, etc. Now sports and clubs tend to have fees but that's to be expected.
Explain to the teacher that it is just impossible for you to send in the money due to your budget.

[khaski]

Is your grocery budget truly reasonable? $400 for 4, with one with specific dietary needs, seems low to me. And is the paper a necessity? $15 a month is about .50 a day....

[mndtrp]

Reign in your "buying without thinking". If you can't curb that, a budget won't do anything. Take out the $250 in cash, and once it's gone, it's gone.

[forHISglory]

DH brings home 2264 after these things are taken out:
Dental Insurance Family: $5.55
Long Term Disability $2.15
Medical Family Coverage: $86.30
401K (minimum required contribution, I think 3%?)
State Taxes
Federal Taxes

DEBTS
dh's truck - $3622.45

Now for the budget:

again, income: 2264

Tithe from the top: 300 I encourage you to continue to tithe.
offerings: $65 (missions and building fund for the church) You may need to cut down on this part until you get more established.
House Taxes - $40 Paid monthly? or in escrow?
House Insurance - $68 Paid monthly?
Car Insurance - $93 Paid monthlyl?
Groceries/Diapers/Household - $400 Cut to $300.
Truck Payment $305
2 Term Life Policies - $30
Newspaper Subscription $15 Might have to drop.
Auto Fuel - $150
Utilities (includes electric, water & trash) $200
Home Phone/DSL Internet - $60
Cell Phones - $130 (1 iphone with smallest data and texting package, 1 basic phone with no data and smallets texting choice, all our family is long distance and our home phones have none so we use our cells primarily)
Blow Money - $80 split w/dh and i each two weeks we get $20
Medical Expenses - $30 (nebulizer rental, athsma meds)
Clothing $25 Need to cut out or at least drastically cut
Entertainment $50 Cut to zero. People can entertain themselves
Christmas $50 Cut in half, if not cut out completely.

This leaves us with $183 total after bills. It SHOULD anyway. I'm terrible about sticking to the budget. Last month I spent almost $800 on clothes for the kids when we'd budgeted $250 for back to school. I used the CC to do so - most were bought used on ebay and over about a week long period - I totally just bought without thinking it was adding up to too much and was SCHOCKED when I looked at the account. Too often I am here or there and find such a "deal" I can't leave it behind. Too many of those and I've nickel and dimed myself broke. Do you have a category of debt payment on credit cards?

I put my debit and credit card away in my desk (though I know the CC number by heart!) and only am carrying cash now. It'll hurt to have to leave "deals" behind but I'm determined to change. DETERMINED.

We have 2 children - 1 in public school (HELLO - have you noticed they try to get money from you ALL the time!) age 5, he has dairy, peanut, artifical colors and corn syrup allergies in addition to having athsma and allergies to all kinds of other things. He uses two medications orally and also has two meds that he uses on an as needed basis in his nebulizer. DR. copays are once every 5-6 months or so at $20/visit. I have celiac disease which also does hurt our grocery budget. Both DH and DS2 (2yo) have no allergies. They are BIG eaters though (not overweight) and I easily cook 3-4 pounds of chicken breasts at a time to appease their appetites. I coupon heavily as well. You simply need to cook less of the pricey things, and more of the cheaper things. I know.... easier said than done. But some creativity, you can do it!

anyway - thoughts on anything?

You have a ways to go, but I think you can do it. It won't be forever that you are cutting back.

[tay]

I might be over looking this, but have you budgeted the credit card payment?

Not this time - usually the CC is just the gas. DH is working overtime and I'm selling on Ebay to pay it off. We do not carry a balance.

Have you asked your doctor to give you a prescription to buy a neublizer machine? My child has asthma as well, and we have a portable one that I paid maybe $60.00 for w/ the mask included.

The fee each month is purchasing it actually. If I bought it outright it was $140, by "renting it" for 10 months insurance pays $10 and I pay $3 each month, after the 10th month it's mine. Originially when we started this journey I had no idea if we would need it further after those two weeks....and the answer is yes. This was truly the cheapest route - I called every medical suppy place.

Call your insurance company and see if you can increase your deductibles to lower your monthly payments. . .

Nix the entertainment budget or slash it drastically and find free things to do. . . Even in our tiny community there are lots of free/cheap things to do.

Can you ditch the cell phones and get Magic Jack ? My son has one and loves it. . . he calls us long distance frequently.

My dd has celiac like disease, and I have allergies to milk, cherries, etc. . . I understand the struggles there. . . we simply went to a completely wheat free household, and we seldom try to "fake" the wheat stuff. . . tonight's dinner is spaghetti squash with ground turkey and tomato sauce. I make nearly all of our foods (safer and cheaper) Meat here is a condiment, seldom the main dish. . .

Entertainment is actually eating out. This is the first month I've budgeted for it - up until now we pay out of our blow money and/or I pull from my grocery. Eating out is typically once a week fast food, never anywhere nice unless it's bday or anniversary. (nice is $25 for two, btw!) We tried magic jack and it didn't work for us.

I am a teacher in a public school and all I can say is that you do not have to send in money all the time! It seems like many schools try to nickel and dime families to death and its just wrong. Our new superintendent is adamant that we don't send home supply lists or ask for classroom supplies, etc. Now sports and clubs tend to have fees but that's to be expected.
Explain to the teacher that it is just impossible for you to send in the money due to your budget.

I put my foot down. Monday was school tshirts ($28), Tuesday was book fair ($15), Wednesday was collecting change for a fundraiser, Thursday it's wanting $10 for a bowling field trip, plus the list was insane - for kindergarten and asking for ink cartridges? SIGH.

Is your grocery budget truly reasonable? $400 for 4, with one with specific dietary needs, seems low to me. And is the paper a necessity? $15 a month is about .50 a day....

I usually gain $20 at least in coupons each week from our paper. Buying a paper each sunday is $12 and at the kiosk it's gas plus $1.50 each.

Reign in your "buying without thinking". If you can't curb that, a budget won't do anything. Take out the $250 in cash, and once it's gone, it's gone.

Thank You! I'm trying!

You have a ways to go, but I think you can do it. It won't be forever that you are cutting back.

We paid our house off (140K) in 2008 with a severance check from DH's previous job so our insurance/taxes are once a year.

Car insurance is paid two times a year, we just save each month so it's not one big expense. Full coverage on dh's 03 dodge ram worth 12K, my 10 honda civic worth 18K. This is the cheapest for us - I check every 6 months.

This is the first month I've added a line for clothing, entertainment and christmas. We have nothing saved for any of them. DH just got a raise this week which is why I put those in the budget because typically - I'm gonna spend on those, so why not set limits? The boys are growing fast and I know I'm going to need clothes for them in a few months - saving the money each month will give me a guideline. Christmas is always $300-$400 for everyone/everything including gifts, decorations, food etc - each of our boys get 3 gifts and everyone else gets one. Not extravagant...but I thought I might need to go ahead and put a little back for it.

Thanks everyone!

[mateosbaby]

As a mom of 4, I can suggest forgetting the coupons and buying generic. Most of the time, we find the generics are cheaper then brand names, even with a sale plus coupon. I do use coupons for diapers, but my grandma clips them from her paper and gives them to me. See if you can work out a similar deal with a relative, friend, or neighbor. This way you can get rid of that paper.

Definitely need to budget for clothes (adults & kids). However, I buy everything used for me and the kids, except underclothes. I stock up for the next sizes during the summer at yard sales, and if I miss anything, I head to thrift stores. We have 2 local ones in my small town, or I go to Goodwill or other thrift stores in the cities when we head up there. We do all or mostly hand-me-downs for the youngers. My kids only get brand-new clothing from gifts for bdays & Christmas.

One more suggestion: Try cutting your eating out to once or twice a month rather than once a week. You could make homemade pizza once a week (so simple to make!), and that could be your "eating out" for the week. Especially if you do pizza and a movie family night. Use your crockpot if you're eating out during the week on a busy night, or just have sandwiches those nights.

Those are my thoughts. Print out your budget and keep it in your wallet, hang it on your door, in a cabinet you frequent, and anywhere else you think of to keep you focused. You can do it!

[TheRootedNomad]

I put my foot down. Monday was school tshirts ($28), Tuesday was book fair ($15), Wednesday was collecting change for a fundraiser, Thursday it's wanting $10 for a bowling field trip, plus the list was insane - for kindergarten and asking for ink cartridges? SIGH. This completely makes me crazy. Every year here it seems to get worse. We've even been asked for rools of toilet paper and reams of copy paper on the supply lists. Sorry, I know that's not helpful but it's a peeve of mine too.

I usually gain $20 at least in coupons each week from our paper. Buying a paper each sunday is $12 and at the kiosk it's gas plus $1.50 each. We just have the Sunday paper delivered since that's where I get all my coupons from. Not sure if your cost is just the Sunday or not.


We paid our house off (140K) in 2008 with a severance check from DH's previous job so our insurance/taxes are once a year. WOW! Good for you all! Here I am looking at the list and wondering until I got to your post...where's her cc bill budgeted....but didn't even notice there wasn't a house payment listed. :duh: At your age I'd say you are ahead of the game if you get on track now.

This is the first month I've added a line for clothing, entertainment and christmas. We have nothing saved for any of them. DH just got a raise this week which is why I put those in the budget because typically - I'm gonna spend on those, so why not set limits? The boys are growing fast and I know I'm going to need clothes for them in a few months - saving the money each month will give me a guideline. Christmas is always $300-$400 for everyone/everything including gifts, decorations, food etc - each of our boys get 3 gifts and everyone else gets one. Not extravagant...but I thought I might need to go ahead and put a little back for it. I would probably slash the entertainment money and use the motivation of "if I have any grocery money leftover at the end of the month we can go out to eat" mentality. That would make me work harder on the grocery budget. Our kids are only little once and I would have a really hard time slashing the Christmas budget as well. However, maybe you could get this income pulled in another way such as pulling a couple of quick jobs such as babysitting a few times or racking up points on a site like mypoints for gift cards or how about calling somewhere like Pizza hut and being a delivery driver on Friday nights for a couple of months.

Thanks everyone!

Ok now for a couple of the other things.

the tithe - This is generally something people are unwilling to cut out completely however it is also one of your larges bills. Until the truck is paid off maybe you could slash it to 10% of your husbands take home say $226

missions - I would cut this as well for now and offer my time. Time is often much more valuable than money. Once your in a place where your personal finances are secure and abundant you will be able to give without stress.

Savings - Ummmm do you have an Emergency Fund? it sounds as if your husband is the sole job holder. Even owning your own home I would make it a priority to re-evaluate EVERYTHING, even some of what I've previously stated if you don't have a minimum of 6 months worth of living expenses stashed up in an account (and not the 401k) somewhere.

[tay]

Ok now for a couple of the other things.

the tithe - This is generally something people are unwilling to cut out completely however it is also one of your larges bills. Until the truck is paid off maybe you could slash it to 10% of your husbands take home say $226

missions - I would cut this as well for now and offer my time. Time is often much more valuable than money. Once your in a place where your personal finances are secure and abundant you will be able to give without stress.

Savings - Ummmm do you have an Emergency Fund? it sounds as if your husband is the sole job holder. Even owning your own home I would make it a priority to re-evaluate EVERYTHING, even some of what I've previously stated if you don't have a minimum of 6 months worth of living expenses stashed up in an account (and not the 401k) somewhere.

Yes, we have 4 months expenses in the bank. We could pay off the truck but that scares us because we have a 20 year old AC unit. DH is a a/c tech on the side but still....we like having that buffer. DH also has 40K in 401k/IRA's.

[Russ]

DH also has 40K in 401k/IRA's.

Do not touch this.

[forHISglory]

Actually, I admire you. You've done so many things right. Don't touch your retirement accounts. Slash entertainment, per above comments. Try to pick up a little income. Try all this for say..... 3 months, and then re-evaluate.

As far as the tithe and offerings: I am a believer and a very strong advocate of tithing. I also believe that I should give an offering above my tithe. And God has ALWAYS met our needs when we did this with a grateful and sincere heart. ALWAYS! When I look at your budget, I see that your tithe amount is actuallly above the strict tithe. That's why I suggested that for a few months, you might cut back on the missions offering. But by no means would I advocate doing that forever. There is an uncommon joy in giving.

[krbshappy71]

I have a big pair of meat bone-cutting scissors you can use for that credit card. Switch to a debit card ONLY or better yet, cash. Debit card works the same at the gas station if you really want the convenience but I am pretty sure you would not have spent that much on clothes if you didn't have the option. You say you don't carry a balance but that doesn't mean you are sticking to your budget. That's the beauty of credit cards, they let us fudge stuff around because it doesn't immediately come out of the account.

My own choices based on your list, I would:

Ditch the iPhone
Ditch the blow money OR the entertainment money OR both, depending on how dedicated you are feeling
ditch the home phone (I have not had a home phone for a few years now, I plan my calls around breaks/lunch at work and after hours unlimited minutes.)
Cloth diapers (I did them for both of my girls)
Ditch or cut back on tithing, but I know that's a very personal thing most people wont touch. But if I said this list was my choices and didn't list that I'd be a liar, grin!

I did glance through the posts but if I missed anything you already addressed, sorry.

As far as the schools go, give what you can, consider it tithing towards your children's education IF it is directly related to their education such as field trips. Don't get suckered into everything they ask for. (I work for a school district) Skip the packaged school photos, you can take better pictures every year of your child on your porch with his cute little backpack yourself. Do attend those book fairs, some of it are real steals but only purchase with gifts for birthdays/Christmas in mind, not just buying to buy something. Set a limit for yourself and when your kiddos get older can have them do small chores to earn money if they are nagging for something at the book fair. They can feel the pride of earning then spending it.

Hugs you are doing awesome, just some tweaks I would suggest!