02 Jan 2013 9 Comments

December 2012 Spending Plan Results

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!! I was a bit nervous about the budget as I haven’t kept track of the numbers for the last few weeks in December, and although there are some items we definitely overspent on, overall, the damage wasn’t too bad. Phew!

The following is my combined expected and actual household expenses for the month of December.

Fixed Expenses Expected Actual
Cable/TV          30            27
Phone          60            56
Rent     1,150      1,150
Gas        150          130
Utilities            -             -
Total Fixed    1,390      1,363
 
Variable Expenses
Groceries        220          202
Dining out        175          330
Household          20              5
Donations            0             -
Clothing         100          170
Presents

      200

          399
Entertainment          50          145
Personal          20            15
Working out/health        120       (104)
Work Expense            -             -
Unaccounted             -
Total Variable        905      1,163
Total Expenses     2.295      2,526
 
Savings for Expenses
Insurance Payment       120      (127)
Car Maintenance           0          (2)
Dentist/haircut/Dr           0           0
Vacation           0           0
Education         10         10
Total Savings       130     (119)

 

Notes:

-          Groceries were decent this month, although we spent a good chunk eating family dinners, but we were able to stock up our freezer with proteins again. Looking at the overall budget, we reduced our eating out budget by 40% from 2011 to 2012!! The new 2013 budget will further reduce this number another 15%, but we will see how that pans out. The reduction in eating out may result in an increase in groceries, but I will keep an eye on this by continuing to participate in MR. CBB’s Grocery Game.

-           My phone plan should remain consistent until August when the contract expires; I will probably start researching alternatives closer to that date.

-          With my consistent urging (I’m sure boy would describe it as incessant nagging :P ) all work expenses have been paid out!

-          Oil change is coming up, so will start saving up for expenses again.

This is the expected January spending plan. It is a little different as I looked over all the expenditures for 2012 and determined what the numbers should be going forward. As always, these numbers are fluid depending on the situation, but it helps provide a guideline to start the year off!

Fixed Expenses
Cable/TV          27
Phone          60
Rent     1,150
Gas        180
Utilities            -
Total Fixed    1,417
 
Variable Expenses
Groceries        200
Dining out        160
Household          20
Donations            0
Clothing          55
Presents

     165
Entertainment          50
Personal          20
Working out/health          70
Work Expense            -
Unaccounted
Total Variable        745
Total Expenses     2,162
 
Savings for Expenses
Insurance Payment       120
Car Maintenance         50
Dentist/haircut/Dr         55
Vacation           0
Education         25
Total Savings       250

 

Notes:

-          I increased the expected gas amount as we were spending about $180 a month last year on it. This might drop as the year goes on as there is less traveling for boy’s work and gas has been cheaper for the past while. Does anyone remember the last time gas was under $1??

-          Utilities are included in the rent as long as we keep our usage under $95 a month. So far so good! We also got in touch with our landlord, and we are good until September with no change in rent. :)

-          Internet service as well as his phone is a benefit provided by boy’s work, so it isn’t included in the expenses.

-          Vacation savings are being accounted through the savings number right now; this is something I have done before and am unsure if I want to change it right now.

-          My current share of the expected expenses is about 40%.

Have you adjusted your budget for the New Year? Or is this the year you start tracking your spending? :)

Happy New Year everyone! :)

Thanks for reading!

 

by Vicky in Level 1: Cash Flow, Spending Plan updates