photo credit: Darren HesterThe Family Budget
For a second month in a row, the monthly family budget post is extremely late! I have finally finished calculating the results of our August (2008) monthly budget. This is one of the most time consuming posts that I write on PFI and one that I don’t look forward to writing. However, in order to keep detailed records of our family spending which identifies where we can cut costs, I feel that it is necessary to compile this information each month. Hopefully, next month I can start to calculate this information sooner.
I have changed the format of these posts slightly from the last few months. In the past, I would keep an “Expense Fund” column next to some of the monthly expenses. I am now removing that figure and will be lumping all of the overage and/or deficit into one amount. Making this change will help reduce the amount of time spent on this post and will provide an overall fund to pull from if my family does not meet our monthly budget in future months. It will also help to accurately track individual expenses over the course of several months so I can chart our status. At the end of July, our total expense fund was at $620.13. We saw an increase of $221.99 in August, which will bring our running total up to $842.12. Some months we may dip into this fund, as some of our expenses fluctuate throughout the year. Items such as medical expenses and vehicle maintenance, taxes, and plates are items that don’t show up each month but may be over the monthly budgeted amount in other months.
As with any month, there were some highlights and concerns with the monthly budget. I believe that August saw the peak of several expenses such as electric and groceries & entertainment.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Gas - We spent $55.11 less on our gas expense during the month of August. This was helped by a drop in oil prices, along with driving fewer miles over the course of the month. We only made 3 fill-ups during the month instead of the usual 4 (2 for each car).
- Utilities - Once again, our utility bills (gas, electric, water) came in well under budget. While we did see our highest electric bill to date, we continue to come in under budget on all 3 utilities. With the summer months and high temperatures coming to an end, I believe we have seen our last electrical bill at this level. I will probably revisit the monthly budgeted electric bill amount once we have been in our home for 12 months. It appears that we can probably drop this total to at least to $125 and maybe even lower.
CONCERNS
- Groceries & Entertainment - Once again, we exceeded our budget amount by over $250! This category includes gifts and expenses for special occasions as well as groceries and entertainment. I have continued to try and focus on this category but am not making a lot of progress. Fortunately, some of these additional expenses were a direct result of our roommate who has now moved out. We were spending a lot more money as we were feeding my brother-in-law who moved in with us for a few weeks. We really need to focus on pushing these expenses down if we want to make good progress. Increased usage of coupons should help to bring this expense down.
August 2008 - Budget Review
| Expense | Budgeted | Actual | Balance |
| Principal & Interest | $1,290.58 | ($1,290.58) | — |
| Home Owner’s Insurance | $52.75 | ($52.75) | — |
| Tax Escrow | $263.89 | ($263.89) | — |
| HOA | $53.34 | ($53.34) | — |
| Car #1 | $258.10 | ($258.10) | — |
| Car #2 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — |
| Car Insurance | $86.68 | ($86.68) | — |
| Gas | $200.00 | ($144.89) | $55.11 |
| Car Maintenance | $40.00 | — | $40.00 |
| Car - Registration, Plates, Taxes | $25.00 | — | $25.00 |
| Cell Phones | $52.93 | ($52.93) | — |
| Phone, Cable, Internet | $95.37 | ($95.37) | — |
| Electric Bill | $150.00 | ($111.15) | $38.85 |
| Gas Bill | $150.00 | ($23.01) | $126.99 |
| Water/Sewer | $60.00 | ($42.16) | $17.84 |
| 529 Plan - Child #1 | $50.00 | ($50.00) | — |
| 529 Plan - Child #2 | $50.00 | ($50.00) | — |
| Pre-School Tuition | $120.00 | ($120.00) | — |
| Medical Expenses | $175.00 | — | $175.00 |
| Groceries & Entertainment | $650.00 | ($906.80) | ($256.80) |
| Investments & Savings | $166.81 | ($166.81) | — |
| Newspaper | $10.00 | ($10.00) | — |
| Prosper Loan | $30.41 | ($30.41) | — |
| TOTAL | $4,030.86 | ($3,808.87) | $221.99 |
Final Thoughts
Once again, I will be focusing on the grocery and entertainment budget. Our new roommate has moved out, so this will help reduce our expenses into the future.
How do you keep track of your weekly/monthly finances? Do you have a budget setup to track your cash flow?
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Dawn 09.29.08 at 3:06 pm
My budget is coming along nicely and I’ll be doing one of these recaps myself soon. My problem is I have gotten out of the habit of tracking everything little expense this month - that is something I need to work on being better at for October.
John 09.30.08 at 4:45 am
Thanks for showing this savings can be done. ~$40 under budget on utilities. Nice. What do you think of programmable thermostats? I read they can save up to 15% on utilities. I found this site which gave some ways, companies, and programs that help save on bills, including utility. http://www.needhelppayingbills.com Do you have any tips on gov’t programs or ways to get help? Thanks
Scott @ The Passive Dad 09.30.08 at 11:02 pm
Curious if you would consider looking for another roommate to add some additional income? Or, are you looking forward to getting back the additional bedroom?
passivefamilyincome 10.01.08 at 9:27 pm
Scott - Probably not. We would probably not rent out a room to anyone that we didn’t know and would prefer to keep it to family or close friends. The house is large enough and it would be a great opportunity. But with two young boys, we just don’t feel comfortable with a stranger.
John - I am a strong supporter of programmable thermostats. I think they are great at saving energy. Unfortunately I don’t have any tips on government programs but good luck with your search!
Dawn - I look forward to looking at your budget. I am actually lucky when I calculate it because as you know, we charge everything, so I can download our expenses quickly each month.