Would you mind sharing your monthly budget?

[mamagoose]

Hello, I am really trying to become better at managing my money, especially now that dh and I are separated and I'm trying to really get a handle on my finances. I know this is money management 101 and I really should know this by now, but I'm having a hard time figuring out a reasonable budget. It seems that by the time I pay for the absolute necessities (rent, utilities, groceries) I'm out of $ and I can't figure out how to pay down debt and put $ in savings. I know I'm spending too much on groceries and other things, and I know that one thing I need to do is track every expense for a month so I can really see where $ is going, but in addition it would also help if I could get a sense from others what a realistic monthly budget for 2 is. Thanks in advance for sharing --

[sarah_bella1050]

Sure, why not

Budget


Set Amounts:
Rent $675
Car Payment $150
Car Insurance-Gieco(put into savings b/c we pay it every 6 months $180
Traffic Fees-Compliance$25
Phone & Internet-SBC$37
Cell Phones-Sprint(dh has to have it for work : )$90
Cable-Comcast$13

Estimated Amounts:
Electricity-PG&E$80
Gas$100
Groceries$300
Misc. House Repair and Cleaning$50

Total$1700

[babybugmama]

mortgage - $860
Home gas - $150 (down to maybe 20 in the summer months)
Utilities (water, electric, trash) - 150
Car insurance - $200
Phone - $35
Cable/Internet - $54
Car Gas - $280
Groceries - $300
Life ins - $30
IRA - $70

total $2129

I also have some professional fees that add about 100 a month.

You also want to add in any potential medical bills or clothing needs.

[Daisie125]

I've finally figured out my Microsoft Money program, and it's really helped me create a budget, and a debt reduction plan. My DH bought it from ebay (2003 version) for like $10.

Here is our monthly budget.

Even bills that differ (like gas/electric) I want to always send them the budgeted amount, it will keep me ahead for those winter months when it is crazy, or if we get behind on bills for some reason.

Rent $500
Credit Card $140
Telephone/Internet $50
Gas/Electric $150
Car Insurance $80
Groceries $100
Gas $80

$50 flex, goes for any misc stuff. Everything else goes into savings.

Total $1150.00

This is a new budget for us, based on previous spending habits so we'll see how it goes.

[rabbithorns]

There are three of us, husband teenaged daughter and myself. One 18 year old living on his own but we help him out now and then.

rent: $693
water: $34
electricity: average $65
phone and high speed internet: $61

food: $400 (technically it's about $300, but I've raised it to include going out and having more fun)
incidental things, haircuts, OTC meds, etc: $200
school lunches: $50
teen allowance: $40
gasoline: $120
drum lessons for teen: $80

Most of these are not monthly and these are our current monthly averages:
travel and accommodations during buddhist study terms at center 2 hours away: $100
car insurance: $20
car repairs: average $75 (old car)
car registration and inspection: $5
long distance calling card: $5
holidays, birthdays: $50
medical: $100
clothing: $40
school supplies and fees: $10 (includes yearbook and PE uniform)

total: $2138

add new electronic toys now and then, periodic music purchase, etc.

Without the kid, we could drop our budget by $430 immediately.

forgot to include monthly giving: (deducted automaticcaly from checking)
$10 Habitat for Humanity
$10 Joyce Meyers ministry
$19 St. Jude's Hospital
$60 Diamond Mountain Buddhist University and Retreat Center

plus we give another $100-$200 monthly to various dharma projects

[snowbunny]

Expenses
Rent: $475
Car Insurance: $280 (This amount is only paid 8 months out of the year, on the months we don't pay it, it goes into savings)
Health Insurance:$140
Life Insurance: $100
Electricity: $200
Netflix: $45
Groceries: $200
Food Co-op: $300
Gas: $120
Household Shopping: $60
Internet: $45
Phones: $90
Total Expenses: $2,055

Savings and Debt
General Debt: $200
Savings:$400
Total Savings and Debt: $600

On expenses that from month to month (like electricity, groceries etc) the extra money goes into a slush fund for fun stuff like eating out or going to plays. We take out clothes money and car money from the savings. Since we don't have much debt at all -- general debt is used for paying unexpected bills and medical expenses.

I'd like to spend a lot less on groceries. I think $500 is a ridiculous number for 2 people and a BFed baby! But I did cut it down from $800 that we were spending.

[SunRise]

1 adult, 1 child, one cat and one dog family.

mortgage: 1000 (950 mortgage, 50 house savings)
pre-school: 905.67 (9.5 mths / year; 600 for 2.5 mths)
car insurance: 99/8mths
car loan: 293
save: n/a
food: 500 (gas, toiletries, entertainment, clothes)

monthly bills:
electric/gas 392 (winter months; less then 100 summer mths)
mci/phone: 60
water: 30 / quarter (4 times per year)

debt / credit cards: 350 (more on debt in spring/summer/fall)

extra: 200 (ends up going to misc. - oil change, vet, x-over clothes/entertainment)

savings happen during the summer months; less $$ going to utilities, tuition.. I'm paid bi-weekly so two months a year I receive 3 checks, which goes to debt, savings/emergency fund (technically )

I have documented my spending for 5 years. I use a simple msword spreadsheet.
I do a year per sheet
I list months across the top
Down first column I list payable
And then fill in the coordinates with actual payment
Below this chart I have another chart that forcasts what I intend to pay.
This chart is by paycheck.
Items payable, listed in first column.
Money in and money out. Some items are set (mortgage tuition etc) other items fluctuate. I forecast what I can pay, but when the time comes I pay what I am able to. That amount gets documented in first chart.

[sweetfeet]

Rent: $563
Car: $280 (We have 1 paid off car, and we pay a bit extra on this one each month. 0% financing)
Car insurance: $130
Water:$20
Electric: $40
Gas:$55
Phone includes long distance and dsl:$69
Meds:$20
Doctor appts (psych) $30
Food:$400
Gas for cars:$100

Total: $1707

We are a family of 3. 2 adults and a preschool age child. Our credit card will be paid off in 2 weeks so I didn't include that. We eat only organic meats and dairy so that is why our grocery bill is so high. We don't use cell phones or cable.

[CrazyCatLady]

We are a family of three, two adults and one toddler. Plus one on the way. We don't have cable tv or a phone. Our medical is covered by the state.

Morgage - 370 (roomate covers 300 of it)
School loans - 101
Electricity - 150 (it was 250 last month, I hate this place) :
Car Insurance - 94
Credit Card - 20 *we pay way more than we need to
Sears card - 20 *we pay way more than we need to
Internet - 45
Trash - 35 every two months???
Water/security - 40 every two months???
Food - 200
Gas - 187
Paying back dad - 300
Paying back Grandma - 200
Short term savings (propane, pets, taxes, cars repairs, home improvements, ect) - 150+

Then we both get 150 a month to do whatever we want with. Logan usually gets tools needed for his job. I put mine into a savings or use it for things Zayla might need (which isn't much). The 150 would be our entertainment money if we ever wanted to do something fun. I use mine to buy sprites for my morning sickness.

[vanilla]

here's ours, family of five, one on the way

Mortgage- $1100
Car Insurance-$40/mo (we have 2 older cars, no payments and minimal ins.)
Natural gas- (winter) $200
Electric- $30
gas for cars- $30 (dh works a mile away, we live in the city and don't drive much)
water/sewer- $40
Groceries-$250 (I have been known to go over)
misc-$150
student Ln-$60
Charity-(this is a sponsored child dh has had for years) $32
phone/internet-$40

total $1900


So you can see our housing costs are a huge chunk of our expenses!

[sarasprings]

This is for 2 adults and 1 toddler. Our mortgage/taxes are way too high on DS's salary, but we just sqeak by each year. Besides DS's income (which ends up being a titch over 30,000) we are able to rent our house for 2 weeks in the summer, which makes up for the higher mortgage.

mortgage 787
taxes 600
insurance 195
food 400
dog 50
transportation 190 (maintenance and gas)
phone 55
internet 10
cable/entertainment 15
baby 90
home 60
health 50
travel 20
utilities 190
misc 30

total 2800 (I'm sure I left some things out)

[jentilla]

Okay, This is for 2 adults, one toddler and one on the way.

Mortgage, Taxes, Ins. 1700 sq ft: 742
Utilities: 130-230 avg 175 (they put everything together gas/electric/h20/sewer)
Car #1: 371
Car #2: 350
Car Ins. mo: 103
Cellphones: 110
Cable/Internet: 95
Food: 250-300
Stupid Purchase Payment: 70
Gym: 42
Gas: 150
Credit Cards are paid with Dh's expense checks.

We are going down to one cell @ 29 and getting Vonage for 25 & canceling cable so we will cut bills down by $111 by next month.

Mortgage will drop $40 in March, but we will still pay same amount.
Both cars will be paid within the next 7 & then 9 mos and so car ins will drop as well. By fall we will have over an additional $900 per month to save, etc!

[Selesai]

This is really embarassing, but I don't really follow a budget. Everytime I make one, I can't figure out how I'm supposed to actually pay it. But here are our expenses. I'm in the process of tracking expenses to see what is actually going on.
There are two of us, a stepson that visits, and two cats, plus a baby on the way.

Rent: 1006 (cheap as it gets around here)
Car: 260
Car Insurance: 122
Debt Payments: at least 220 (too low)
Child Support: 422 (husband pays)
Gas: paid for by rental place
Electricity: 40 (100-150 in summer)
Gas: 200 ??
Food and Household: about 400
Health Insurance Premium: 160
Health costs (dr, prescriptions): 150
Car maintenance: 20 (usually deal with on crisis-by-crisis basis, : )
Pets, vet: 10
Entertainment: 40 (too high)
Phone/DSL: 70
No cable.

As you can see, we have virtually no discretionary income!
When making a budget, include clothing, copays, and a little extra spending money for entertainment / per person so no one feels deprived

[root*children]

I just added all the monthly bills (rent, utilities, internet, phone, electric, house savings), round it up a little and divide by paychecks/month. So that total for us rounded up is 1K, divided by paychecks means we put aside $250/week for paying bills. Something sporadic like heating oil gets paid from surplus money.

We take 10% off the top of each paycheck for savings. Then we use the leftover money to take what we need for gas/groceries (this is usually $100 each for myself and DH), and put a random amount into special savings envelopes (trips, tools, etc.).

Several years ago DH & I used Larry Burkett's envelope system. We don't use the exact system anymore but do appreciate alot of the philosophies and methods it ingrained in us, as far as budgeting.

[Kerrie]

I have got to get a budget figured out. We pay:
Mortgage: 1100
Property taxes: 250 (which I have not paid since August so we owe 1700 Feb. 1st)
House ins.: 50
Car ins.: 150
Cable: 11
Phone: 120 (includes house phone, 2cell phones and DSL)
Oil: 230
I'm now over our income and haven't paid electricity, water, trash, grocery, gas, car repairs, etc, etc..... The only solution that I see is to have more income but how???? DH is going in for an interview this week for a better paying jpb w/ more earning potential but he can't make too much or we lose WIC, FS and help w/ health ins. There's a window - if he makes in the window we are worse off than now. And I don't see him making more until he's been there for a while.

[root*children]

Kerrie - you could cut out cable and reduce the phone bill by only having one cell phone (or none) and using dial-up. Also, are you making any income? Childcare and eBay are what I do to stay afloat, and that little bit can really help with making sure certain bills get paid

sorry to hijack!

[USAmma]

cox (phone, internet, cable) - $90.00
mortgage - $813.00
hoa - $44.00
home equity - 196.00
car payment -$200.00
city (water/trash) - $60.00
srp/swg (gas/electric) - $200
cell- $47
car ins -$120.00
temple donation- $54.00
food- $280.00
formula- $150.00
gas- $80.00
YMCA- $65.00
incidentals*- $200.00

Total: $1569.00

* pharmacy and doctor copays, eating out, birthday, etc.

We are working very hard to pay off debt and our goal is to be debt free one year from now (not counting the mortgage) if we continue to pay off and nothing bad happens. After we pay off that debt we can start paying more than the minimum on the mortgage payment every month.

[Dar]

It seems like insurance costs really vary for people... $180 a month for some, $40 for others. Checking with other insuarnce companies might help out...

I'm doing this on the fly, so let me see...

Rent/water.trash ~$620
Electric ~ $35 (average)
Gas ~ $40 (average)
Auto and renter's insurance - $55
Gas for car ~$150
Cell phones - $57 a month for 2 (includes taxes, no landline)
Cable internet - $45
Groceries - $130
Eating out money (once a week) ~ $100 (we love eating out)
Ballet - $40
Pet expenses ~$50 (food, vet bills, medications)
Misc - $200 (Entertainment, clothes, OTC meds, and whatever else comes up)

Total = $1522

That works pretty well, except for the last few months when I've paid for grad school aps, Rain's trip to New York, Rain's trip to California, and Christmas and birthday stuff. I do have a nice chunk of savings, so I pulled from that, but once I get my W-2s I'll do my taxes and get most of what I spent back.

Dar

[Kerrie]

Originally Posted by root*children

Kerrie - you could cut out cable and reduce the phone bill by only having one cell phone (or none) and using dial-up. Also, are you making any income? Childcare and eBay are what I do to stay afloat, and that little bit can really help with making sure certain bills get paid

sorry to hijack!

Yes, I could cut the cell phones but I'd have to come up with $550 to do that ($275/phone) and our DSL is the same as dial up for the next 11 months anyway. I have started to sell things on ebay but have not been so successful. The cable is non-negotiable w/DH - he hates that we will see NO baseball this season save from a few on FOX. I have tried childcare and it caused huge problems w/DD1. That was a while ago so I have been thinking about trying again. I just mentioned last week to the childcare coordinator at the local Y (where DD goes to preschool) that I would be interested in working there during the day. We'll see how that goes. Thanks for the thoughts!

[kunama]

Well, mine is in £, so mutliply by whatever the current exchange rate is

Mortage - £530
Council Tax - £130
Loan - £160
Gas - £25
Gas service contract - £13
Electricity - £20
Internet - £18
Mobile phones - £60
Landline - £14
Satellite TV - £33
Bus Pass x 2 - £62
TV License - £10

So that is £1075 a month (which is about my entire salary)

£200 - £300 a month on food aswell

We will get rid of one if not both mobiles when their contracts are up. We had them before when DH was working 48h a week at night, so we never got a chance to see each other. He's down to 20h now so we don't need to rely on texts to know whats going on