Yikes! I've been doing the budget for next year!

**Dutchie** · 12-17-2008, 05:49 AM

I hope that this is the right place to post this.

Several bills have come in for next year with the new amounts on them and I have therefore started to make the new budget for 2009.
GULP!!! and YIKES!!!
Our health insurance is going up 100 euros per month and another 25 in July.
I am also taking into consideration in the budget that a few appliances will have to be replaced in 2009 - clothes dryer, dishwasher and fridge/freezer.
I have already thought of possibly not replacing the dryer and dishwasher.

Of course the fact that we have 2 kids in college and that our oldest son is getting married next year means that the year will be expensive anyway, so I have some major adjustments to make.
Wish me luck!!!

Anyone else got started on their 2009 budget?

**joyofsix** · 12-17-2008, 06:53 AM

:hugz; Wow, that's an eye opener. We replaced a refrigerator and stove last year. I had saved the $$ back and that made it easier. Ours were practically antique and I figured replacing them before a crisis would be good. Can you build a little more savings into your budget earmarked for just that?
I haven't looked specifically at next year's budget. Our insurance went up $20 in October but I can live with that. Who knows if dh and ds's meds will increase. We should be roughly the same unless gas zooms up again or the price of food. Our housepayment is fixed and quite low so we're good there. Dh wants me to look into an umbrella insurance policy but that won't be too, too much I don't think and with two teen drivers next year and lots of kids over here all the time it seems prudent, God forbid, something accidental happens. Now I know what I can look at the week after Christmas, LOL.

**Momto2Boyz** · 12-17-2008, 07:00 AM

I have not even thought ahead to that daunting tasks. But I suppose it'll need to be done, soon. I should probably sit down and start number crunching before the kids are out for Christmas break. If I do it while they are home, I might be tempted to incorporate the sales of children into my incoming cash flow!

Our insurance is going up at the 1st of the year, and we got the actual increase numbers yesterday, and I was surprised at how little they were going up. Only about $2 per week. I had expected alot more!

As a side note: joyofsix....love your avatar pic! That is my favorite movie of all time...who cares about Christmas? I countdown to the 24 hour Christmas Story marathon on Christmas Eve!

**TheRootedNomad** · 12-17-2008, 07:06 AM

I have started on mine as well. I am working through it slowly as I have a habit of setting unrealistic expectations. To repeat something thats stuck with me - "If you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you land among the stars." Anyway for me, my first set of goals on anything are a little unrealistic. I keep them as the high goals and then set a more realistic set too. I also do this with the budget. Usually I end up somewhere in the middle. I've got the "lofty" bring home, save, intrest, bare bones, bugdet together and am now working on the more realistic one.

**Patty A** · 12-17-2008, 09:54 AM

I to am looking at next years budget. I can't get over how many things are already going up.....our power bill almost doubled (new tax) and our health insurace is going up over 15 dollars more a month. I hope not many more are due to rise, it is making things tuff. I am wondering what else they will add come the new year, that is when they really like to kick things off.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 12-17-2008, 10:29 AM

I'd actually planned on doing the 2009 budget while I was away, since I can't bring my computer with me to work on the book!

I need something to do in the van besides sitting and watching the flat landscape, so it would only seem fitting to do the budget on some notebook paper (or even in my Palm Zire handheld).

I feel your pain, though, because 2009 is our year to kick the crap out of the debt in the house. It's also the year we're looking at some income changes in the household, both outgoing and incoming. I'm going back to work in August and that means daycare for both kids (at least full-day daycare for a month for my oldest who is disabled, and after-school daycare for my youngest who will be in Grade 1). I had wanted to go back to school but I just don't know if we can handle that...

Oh and not to mention the whole book thing I'm working on. If I can get that published, any extra income would go directly onto the debt and then we can go from there. Our entire budget may not even be right, so I might just leave the book thing out and figure the budget without it.

DH wanted me to start doing the budget in Excel and omg, I can't touch Excel. Excel and I have this love-hate relationship and the only reason I use it now is because it helps me figure out the debt reduction part of this year's budget.

**homesteadmamma** · 12-17-2008, 10:36 AM

I've been looking at our 2009 budget too and it's not looking good either. We will be loosing roughly $500.00 in income at some point during the year. That isn't going to leave us any leeway. That's one of the reasons I've tightened up the frugality belt and will be doing even more so in 2009.

**MandiDawn** · 12-22-2008, 01:12 PM

I sat down last week and worked out my budget thru August and if all goes well (ie we don't lose our jobs) we are sitting pretty for next year. Most all of our debt is paid off (took 4 long years) so I will be concentrating on mostly savings.

**LuvMyHubby** · 12-22-2008, 05:28 PM

Hopefully barring anymore medical bills our 2009 budget should look pretty much like the last quarter of 2008. We rent so appliances and such are not our responsibility.

Hopefully our medical bills will be paid by spring and I am so close to finishing off my student loan that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Good luck Dutchie and everyone else on getting your budgets tweaked just so.