2011 Budget - Doable...

[MomToTwoBoys]

Now that we're in the new house, we're starting to receive bills for the upkeep of the house. I figured that while we were waiting on the rest of the bills to start coming in, I'd make the budget now. That way, I can see how much room we have left in it for fixed expenses:

Monthly Income

$2300 (DH) + 709 = $3009 (this is the base income without any overtime)

Bills

Mortgage - $506.05 semi-monthly = $1012.10 per month (about $350 more than in the last house)
Mortgage Insurance - $62.85 (in case something happens to either DH or I, the house is paid in full)
Home Owner Insurance - $108.50 (this went up and is double what we were paying in the other house)
Automobile Insurance - $65.92 (yes, we bundle automotive and house insurance and receive a reduced rate due to the alarm system in the house)
Life Insurance - $12.95 monthly
Account Fees - $15.95 per month (this is the only fee we see... we don't pay anything else for the other two accounts)
Alarm System - $47.24 (we have this as a safety precaution for my autistic son and the new neighborhood we live in - we're not familiar with the area just yet)
Power/Gas - I'll fill this in later
Water/Sewer/Trash - I'll fill this in later
Cell Phone #1 (Rogers - DH) = $88 per month
Cell Phone #2 (SOLO Mobile - Mine) = $50 per month ( accounting for overage on minutes, which is at 200 minutes but I text most of the time and use Skype when I'm at home)
Skype - $13.95 per month (I get unlimited calling with this to anywhere in North America, so I make use of it when Google Voice is acting weird)
Groceries - $500 per month (this has not changed)
Savings - $100 per month
Cable/Internet - $116.95 (this includes movies, digital cable and high-speed internet, which I'll need for classes in the fall at NAIT)

Total - 2106.41

Net Income Remaining - 902.59

DH's gas and smokes are not included and neither is entertainment. DH is in the process of quitting smoking by cutting back. So even with tucking money into savings, we have enough.

The inlaws aren't included because we're using the tax return to finish off the debt to them. So if we take that out of the budget, we're still okay.

[gmarie]

I would suggest increasing your life insurance to also cover the amount of your mortgage and drop the "mortgage insurance" which is usually much more expensive.

[krbshappy71]

Cable/Internet - $116.95 (this includes movies, digital cable and high-speed internet, which I'll need for classes in the fall at NAIT)

Total - 2106.41

Net Income Remaining - 902.59

DH's gas and smokes are not included and neither is entertainment. DH is in the process of quitting smoking by cutting back. So even with tucking money into savings, we have enough.

Nice remainder!! Way to go!!

If you are still trying to tweak things I would suggest considering your $116.95 of movies, cable, internet as your entertainment and cut back on other entertainment. Then, throw the money you have been using for entertainment and consider it "School Activities". (or are they home-schooled?) Just a thought as I didn't see any school expenses in your budget list.

[MomToTwoBoys]

Nice remainder!! Way to go!!

If you are still trying to tweak things I would suggest considering your $116.95 of movies, cable, internet as your entertainment and cut back on other entertainment. Then, throw the money you have been using for entertainment and consider it "School Activities". (or are they home-schooled?) Just a thought as I didn't see any school expenses in your budget list.

The only entertainment I really have is the gaming subscription, which is about $15 a month. I plan on pulling another $100 into a school expenses fund as soon as we get other things figured out first. I'd have to save for a while in order to go back, so this year may not be possible. But I finally know what I want to go back to school for, so it's a big plus.

[monkeywrangler71]

I would suggest increasing your life insurance to also cover the amount of your mortgage and drop the "mortgage insurance" which is usually much more expensive.

I'll second this suggestion. Loan/mortgage insurance is usually overpriced, and the value of the policy gets smaller with every payment.

[krbshappy71]

The only entertainment I really have is the gaming subscription, which is about $15 a month. I plan on pulling another $100 into a school expenses fund as soon as we get other things figured out first. I'd have to save for a while in order to go back, so this year may not be possible. But I finally know what I want to go back to school for, so it's a big plus.

I was referring to the kiddos. Your nick is "mom to two boys". I made an assumption you had kids at home and I didn't see a school fund in your budget.

Ya...I just finally put a hold on my gaming subscription. The game will let me save all my characters created a certain way and will make me delete other ones, but it will be free-to-play at least. On my "to do" list is to sit down and figure out which ones I will keep and delete.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I was referring to the kiddos. Your nick is "mom to two boys". I made an assumption you had kids at home and I didn't see a school fund in your budget.

Ya...I just finally put a hold on my gaming subscription. The game will let me save all my characters created a certain way and will make me delete other ones, but it will be free-to-play at least. On my "to do" list is to sit down and figure out which ones I will keep and delete.

Their school fees are basically non-existent in Edmonton. You do, however, have to pay for things like swimming and field trips and the like. We also have to buy all of their supplies instead of them being supplied by the school. I usually take some of the savings and use it for that.