05 Feb 2013 13 Comments

January Spending Plan Results

Anyone else watch the Superbowl? It was quite the half-time show, wasn’t it? :P Too bad the 49ers weren’t able to pull it off at the end!

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

Fixed Expenses Expected Actual
Cable/TV          27            27
Phone          60            56
Rent     1,150      1,150
Gas        180            86
Utilities            -             -
Total Fixed    1,417      1,319
 
Variable Expenses
Groceries        200          186
Dining out        160          155
Household          20              2
Donations            -             -
Clothing          55             -
Presents

     165

            97
Entertainment          50            51
Personal          20             -
Working out/health          70             -
Work Expense            -          272
Unaccounted             -
Total Variable        740          763
Total Expenses     2,157      2,082
 
Savings for Expenses
Insurance Payment       120        120
Car Maintenance         50        (10)
Dentist/haircut/Dr         55          22
Vacation           0            0
Education         25          25
Total Savings       250        157

 

Notes:

- Groceries were decent this month. Need to learn what vegetables can be frozen and for how long as we found messages in grocery stores about shortages in produce due to weather conditions in the States, which resulted in some of our staples tripling in price within a week! Although the Boy is pretty pleased that broccoli has become too expensive to have right now. He doesn’t realize that there is always a frozen option!

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

- A couple work expenses still need to be claimed. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. :P

- The car was due for an oil change, which normally runs $85 – $90. I was able to find a Groupon from a local mechanic shop (owned by a female!) and his final bill ended up being $60! Of course, there is also $500 worth of stuff that is recommended, so I need to figure out if things like transmission flush and power steering flush etc. are necessary. They wanted $20 to clean the battery terminals though, which I thought was kind of funny. Also, they mentioned that the transmission flush should be completed ASAP, otherwise, there is no point in doing it at all? Seems like a weird comment, so if anyone has some insight, it would be greatly appreciated!

This is the expected February spending plan. Damn NHL returning means that our cable bill is increasing so we can watch the Flames lose some more. I don’t see why we just can’t watch it at the gym, but alas, I was out-voted on this one. :P As always, these numbers are fluid, and I fully expect them to change as the year goes on.

Fixed Expenses
Cable/TV          37
Phone          60
Rent     1,150
Gas        180
Utilities            -
Total Fixed    1,427
 
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        740
Total Expenses     2,167
 
Savings for Expenses
Insurance Payment       120
Car Maintenance         50
Dentist/haircut/Dr         55
Vacation           0
Education         25
Total Savings       250

 

Notes:

- We were enjoying gas prices as it was under $1 but all of a sudden it has jumped to $1.10 again. Darn it! Should have filled up before the jump. :)

- Utilities are included in the rent as long as we keep our usage under $95 a month. So far so good!

- 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.

Has your budget changed since the New Year? Have you started tracking your spending, yet? :P

Thanks for reading!

by Vicky in Personal Finance, Spending Plan updates