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Welcome To Our June Personal Budget Report!

Alright, I think a full month of radio silence is probably enough. It’s budget report time again. Today, we’ll look at June’s savings, spending, and debt repayment.

Guys, I have been STRUGGLING with my motivation for the past month. I’ve done nothing for the blog at all, not even post links on Twitter. I had really hoped to be more productive than this, but such is life sometimes.

We’re on week number … 16?… of almost complete isolation. We’re alternating trips to the grocery store just to get out, and Baby Girl is getting extremely stir crazy. There’s still now word about what next school year will look like, but my state’s plan is basically to just reopen schools with no precautions in place, and … hope for the best, I guess. I think this has been a big factor in my lack of motivation recently.

Hopefully, I can muster up a little more motivation in this final month before school reopens because I have a sinking feeling that this coming school year is going to be awful.

All in all, I can’t complain too much about our finances this month. We don’t go anywhere or do anything, and that makes it much easier to curb spending.

So, let’s look at last month’s earning, spending, and saving!

The world continues to be a scary place, and I urge everyone to start getting finances in order, and get prepared for emergencies. Preparedness, financial freedom, and money management go hand in hand. You simply can’t have one without the others! If you’re looking for some reading material to get you started, I’ve got a few that might be helpful.

Want more budget report goodness? Check out these links to see our previous months!

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Why Create A Monthly Budget Report?

The first real budget I set was back in 2014 when I made A LOT less money than I do today. I had been idling along for years in my retail service job, scraping by from paycheck to paycheck, and making very little headway. Way back then, it wasn’t even debt reduction or budgeting that got me interested in getting my finances under control. An interest in prepping lead me there.

In learning about preparedness, I began to realize that if there were ever an emergency, I was going to be out of luck. There was no savings to speak of, cash or otherwise. Stocking up was out of the question. The debt I had accrued was taking up all my expendable income and then some. I thought I was okay with money, but it turned out, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. At best, I was JUST okay. So, I started to research.

I probably learned about every system under the sun. Cash envelope systems, spreadsheets, percentages and ratios… There was so much to absorb. I made a lot of mistakes. To be honest, I still do. But I did find a system that worked for me, and it made a difference almost instantly. In finally creating a physical budget, I could see that my money was being wasted all over the place. It was no wonder I couldn’t catch up.

If I could share only one takeaway, it’s this. You do, in fact, need to set a budget and put it on paper! Yes, technology counts as paper here!

Why Am I Sharing My Spending And Earnings?

Simply put, it helped me when others showed me what they were doing. I can only hope that sharing my own monthly budget report can help others out there who aren’t sure where to start.

I also think it’s really important that we talk about money. Like, as a society. The secrecy and shame surrounding spending makes it so much harder to figure out a system that works for you. There should be less fear of judgement and failure around money. If I can contribute to expanding the conversation, I want to!

Now that I have a child, I am realizing she learns so much by watching me. The best way for me to set her up for success is by showing her what’s out there and how it could be handled. It might not have taken me until I was almost 30 to realize I didn’t actually know what I was doing if there had been more conversations about healthy spending going on around me.

Budget Report Details Before We Start

Everyone budgets a little differently. There’s not really a right or wrong way. Just what works. Mr. P&P and I don’t track our budgets exactly the same way. But we’re working on getting there.

For a little consistency on our budget report, I’ll calculate monthly spending based on purchases made during the calendar month.

As for income, I work on a zero based budget using last month’s income. Basically, this means that all the money I earn this month is budgeted and spent next month. It’s an absolute life saver, especially if money is tight or inconsistent. Having the ability to borrow from my future self has saved my life a few times! Want to learn more? Check out this post where I break down how and why I budget this way!

Note: I’ve started making donations as I earn! Waiting a whole month doesn’t feel right. I’m adding the half of earnings that I keep into the next month’s budget like normal.

Mr. P&P is still budgeting the current month’s income, so we do a little of both. Since most of our income is salary, this really only effects extra earnings and rental income.

June Income Budget Report- $6,786.74

Teacher Salary – $6,854.37 This includes both teacher salaries after the automatic withdrawal of taxes and health insurance. Mr. P&P tracks his income in the current month and didn’t quite hit his training hours requirements last year, so we took an income hit. I didn’t reach mine either, so my dip will show up in the July report.
Rental Income Property – -$119.00 Our first home was a townhouse we paid under $100,000 for in good condition, which is unheard of today. When we bought our last house, The Pit, we decided it was better to keep the town home as rental income rather than sell it to put money toward the new house. We stand by this choice today! This is the money we receive after paying any management and repair fees. There were several repairs, so we are negative this month.
Extra Income Deposited – $30.00 I earned $20 by offering up some ideas on Twitter and cashed in $10 on Swagbucks (click to sign up at try it out!) to take advantage of birthday points.
Extra Income Paid in Cash – $0
Rebates – $21.37 I earned cash on InstaGC in June, but the cash didn’t clear for a few days, so it will be here in July. I did finally hit the $50 limit and can cash out through Paypal instead of Amazon gift cards. Now I know that I need to cash out about a week before the month ends on InstaGC.
- I’m loving InstaGC (click to sign up and try it out!) right now. Since I’m stuck at home anyway, I stream videos on my computer while I work, clean, and take care of Baby Girl. Then, I try a couple of surveys in the morning and at night. I’ve had better luck qualifying for them than many other sites I’ve tried.

June Spending Budget Report - $6,921.04

We’re still slowly figuring out our new normal with household expenses. Since we have yet to experience “normal”, it’s still hard to estimate our regular expenses in advance.

Monthly Living Expenses - $3,215.80

This budget report category includes typical monthly expenses that come out of our budget pretty much every month. These are our “basic living” expenses that we need to pay in order to get through the month.

Mortgage – $2152.66 This is our total mortgage payment on our new house, including insurance, escrow. etc. It’s a lot higher than we paid at The Pit. However, we wanted to stay in our area, and we now have considerably fewer rodents living with us.
Utilities – $283.17 This covers the electricity, water, sewer, and pest control services. Even though we moved, we are contracted with our pest control service through the summer.
Daycare – $0 Paid during the school year. We are fortunate to know an incredible lady who provides services for teacher’s kids at a very affordable rate. Summer break means no childcare. While it’s great for the budget, Baby Girl really misses her friends and teachers.
Car Payment – $234.35 On top of the home issues last summer, Mr. P&P’s 14 year old car died right in the midst of everything. The car seat doesn’t fit in mine, and we were basically living in a hotel, so we were stranded. We purchased a used car through Hertz Rentals because we knew it would be maintained, and their process is very straightforward. But we didn’t have the cash saved up after foundation repair, so we had to finance. I am still driving my 13 year old, paid off sub-compact.
Gas, Toll, and Other Transportation Expenses – $124.97 Mr. P&P filled up and renewed his stickers this month.
Car Insurance – $91.00 We decided to start setting aside money each month to cover estimated insurance premiums. It renewed this month, so now, we’re rolling money into a sinking fund again for December renewal.
Groceries – $329.65 We’re very excited about this but can’t fully explain it! I guess we’ve been doing better than we thought with eating left-overs. It’s also kind of scary to hang out at the store lately. People are getting a little too reckless for my taste. We’re still in the midst of a pandemic, but you’d never know it…

Debt Expenses - $1,959.75

This is money we spend in order to pay down previously existing debts and any expenses resulting from debt. Just look at how much money we’re giving away!

Student Loans – $400.00 Mr. P&P is still making his payments. (Federal student loans older than 10 years DO NOT qualify for COVID related assistance!) The cost of my loans will go into savings for now. Since my loans are not accruing interest, I will set aside my monthly payment for 6 months. Things are so uncertain right now, and I want a buffer in savings if there’s an emergency. If all is well, I’ll make a 6-month sized payment in September.
Debt Repayment – $1,484.76 We had a fair amount left over this month and made a large payment since our 0% interest offer is about to expire on one card.
Fees and Charges – $79.59 Apparently, I just straight forgot to pay my balances off this month… I told you, no motivation. Now that my cards are fully paid, they’re used a lot like debit cards. I make purchases according to my budget and pay them off at the end of the month to avoid interest and late fees. Except this month, where I have just been a bump on a log and can’t muster the energy to do anything.
Medical Debt – $0 No payments on Mr. P&P’s hospital bills from October. When you’re rude and make up stories in an attempt to bully a payment out of us that we can’t afford, you don’t get paid.

Other Recurring Monthly Expenses - $285.72

These budget report expenses happen every month, but they are not vital spending categories! It’s the stuff we could get rid of and survive if we needed to.

Phones – $88.35 This is both cell phone plans.
Digital Media, Streaming, and Internet – $85.59 This covers our internet and Hulu accounts.
Rock Climbing Gym – $75.78 We love rock climbing together! But when we learned that Baby Girl was coming, we stopped attending and haven’t picked back up. The gym is closed, but we’re still being charged. We don’t want the place to go out of business, so we will pay.
Monthly Renewals – $36.00 We each have some subscription boxes for various hobby interests throughout the year. It’s lower because one of the businesses was required to shut down for a bit due to the pandemic.

Variable Spending - $1,309.77

These expenses change every month. They are somewhat unpredictable and variable.

Health Care – $75.32 Vitamins. I also purchased some essential oils from Rocky Mountain Oils. They had a deal, and I was low on a few things.
Home Improvement – $262.54 We built a washer and dryer stand (tutorial coming!) and put up some hooks in the garage for organization. We also paid $130 to have our A.C. unit serviced since Baby Girl’s room has been so hot. It turns out, air wasn’t even reaching her room! This expense was paid with cash we had on hand, not from our normal budget.
Home Expenses – $104.02 Paper plates, envelopes, air filters, and A.C. filters.
Dining Out – $94.07 We ordered pizza a couple of times and picked up breakfast for the family when my mother in law came to visit. I had to go up to the school and clean out my classroom lockers, and I stopped and had lunch (from inside my car) on the way home.
Blog Expenses – $25 I bought a Pinterest course which I have yet to try (or finish reading). I have got to get it together in July.
Baby Expenses – $84.28 I bought Baby Girl a dozen books about the moon since she’s obsessed with both the moon and books, and let’s be honest, she could use something new to look at. They cost a lot less, though, after about $31 in rebates and Paypal credit. We also grabbed another set of toddler silverware. If your little one demands that her silverware looks like yours, these have been pretty good. They’re big, but work just fine for our toddler who’s already pretty good with a fork.
Classroom Spending – $0
Digital Streaming/Media $0
Gifts – $0
Hobbies and Entertainment – $198.82 While my Punky Color hair was lovely, it faded fast. I invested in a new brand to try out, and the results have been great so far! Loving my violet hair with pink highlights. I did try to create black roots, but the black dye I got didn’t take AT ALL, so that was a waste. Also, one of my monthly subscription boxes renewed. I pay in full twice annually, so it’ll renew again in December, but I’m thinking about setting up a sinking fund for this expense.
Other Spending – $65.72 I grabbed a few more items for the Get Home Bag I’ve been building all summer. We also stocked up on a few standard personal care items.
Savings – $400.00 My student loan payment. I’ve chosen to add those payments to savings while the CARES ACT has suspended my interest. At the end of September, when my interest rate kicks in again, I’ll make a lump sump payment, provided our situation stays the same.

Donations - $150

Those of you who read this post might remember that I’ve decided to start donating half of my online income to organizations that support black causes in light of recent events in my country. I’ll be doing this for 9 months. I don’t make much, but I felt a strong pull to do something to help fight racism and the mistreatment of humans in my country.

If you’d like more details or information, go check out my post. This month, I donated $100 to two causes.

Additionally, Mr. P&P and I donated money to help support one of our students who was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing treatment. While her treatment is covered, her family is in need of support for everyday expenses. Since the start of the pandemic, her family has been in quarantine and her father’s job does not have an online alternative, so he is not working in an effort to protect her very compromised immune system.

I have linked the two causes that are currently accepting donations if you feel called to help.

Black Lives Matter Peace Rally TC – $10 helped provide supplies for peaceful protesters at the Open Space of Traverse City.
Black, Queer, and Intersectional Collective (BQIC) – $90 focuses on black LGBTQIA+ liberation and humanization, awareness of intersectionality, and providing support and a platform to empower some of the most marginalized groups of people to fight for their rights to be treated like humans.
Helping Hannah – $50 helps provide for everyday living expenses, healthy foods, medically adaptive clothing, and physical therapy supplies for Hannah, one of our students this school year, and an incredibly sweet and amazing girl undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer.

If you’re looking for resources that provide information about charitable giving and donations, take a moment to check out this Guide to Giving Charity from A Dime Saved which goes into detail about how to choose and plan for charitable giving.

Budget Report Goals Progress

As always, there were things that went well this month and things that didn’t go quite as expected. I always hope we’ll have just a little more money left at the end of the month, but I also know that hoping isn’t enough. I need to be better about cutting out needless spending, and I’m finding it so, so hard as we enter into month 4 of isolation.

In the coming months, we plan to pay off another credit card. (yay!) That will leave us with just one more left! I can’t believe that we’ve paid off more than 60% of our nearly $40,000 in credit card debt since September.

We’re also getting a head start on Halloween shopping because I’m decorating for Halloween whether it happens or not. I’m really hoping to go all out since last Halloween was interrupted by antibiotic resistant MRSA trying to kill my family… But I don’t want to blow the bank, either! Perhaps a budget Halloween decoration post or two will emerge. Let me know if that’s something you’re interested in.

The start of next school year is only a month away, and that always comes with expenses. I don’t know if you guys know this, but teachers pay for basically everything you see in your child’s classroom. That safe, fun, and inclusive learning environment doesn’t come cheap. With Mr. P&P changing grade levels this year, I expect it will be even higher than usual, and we already usually spend several hundred dollars up front.

I’m also still not thrilled with our preparedness stores, and I’d really like to deal with that before school starts. I don’t want to have to worry about panic buying as the COVID numbers grow. Not to mention, I think another Slow Spend September is likely on the menu for 2020.

What’s Slow Spend September, you ask? It’s our twist on a No Spend Month Challenge! Check out these posts to see what we did last year!

I know that not everyone out there is as fortunate as us. If you’ve lost your income, or it’s been cut drastically, I recently wrote this post about how to cope right now if you didn’t have an emergency fund to fall back on. I outline a bunch of ideas to help cut costs and increase income while times are tough.

A Quick Word On Preparedness

In the P&P household, we’re all still healthy and relatively untouched by the pandemic and protests. But friends, things are changing… FAST. With states opening up, people choosing not to social distance, and protests breaking out into violence, who can say what the future will bring?

Here in Texas, our infection numbers are skyrocketing. The first wave wasn’t that long ago, and hopefully, you still remember the stress of food and supply shortages that snuck up on so many people. If you can prevent it the next time, I urge you to do so. Don’t wait until things get worse.

NOW is the time to take steps and get prepared if you haven’t already. Get money in the bank, food in the pantry, and supplies in storage.

Here’s that list of helpful posts again, just in case you’d like more information.

What Does The Future Hold?

Facing your financial burdens head on does not feel good, but it is important if you want to grow. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know it exists. No matter where you are, figure out what you’re starting with so you can decide where you’re going.

If you need help getting started, well, that’s what I’m here for. Check out this recent post that will give you a step by step guide to help you make a plan and get out of debt.

We longingly dream of the day we can say we are entirely debt free! I don’t know if that day will come, but why not dream big? Today, our goal is to make progress. But someday, we want to have as much control as possible over how we use our money. So, I’m giving you a breakdown below of our major debt goals and monthly progress. Who doesn’t love a nice graph?

All totals except the credit cards go back to the original loan amounts, and the credit card total comes from our calculations in September 2019.

The percentage bar shows the percentage paid off.

The numbers beneath show the total remaining / original loan.

Credit Card Payoff Goal

Debt Paid 68.4%

$12,461.39 / $39,558.61

We are shooting for a goal of payoff in 2 years! Just 1 year, 3 months to go.

I can’t believe all the progress we’ve made in just 9 months! Busting through this debt in two years is looking more and more likely every month.

Medical Debt Payoff Goal

Debt Paid 16.4%

$11,885.63 / $14,169.05

This includes only the debt I took on with the birth of Baby Girl. The cost of her conception through treatments and prenatal care were paid in cash, as was the hospital down payment. It’s just the debt accrued after delivery complications and emergency services that I couldn’t deal with due to a mostly unpaid maternity leave. A lot of this is currently in collections because I just don’t have enough money to settle yet, but I’m chipping away.

Medical Debt Payoff Goal #2

Debt Paid 9.5%

$5,000.27 / $5,526.63

This is the debt we took on as a result of Mr. P&P getting an infection that went septic and needing hospitalization in October.

No extra payments were made this month after a collector straight up lied and tried to tell us that we promised to pay the full balance this month. That did not happen, and we don’t deal with bullies and liars.

Car Payment Payoff Goal

Debt Paid 16.6%

$11,762.62 / $14,111.92

We’re not putting extra here yet.

Student Loan Payoff Goal

Debt Paid 25.1%

$60,321.51 / $80,567.17

Someday, we might qualify for debt forgiveness due to becoming public school teachers. We’re not really putting a ton of eggs in that basket though. If I can get them paid off earlier, I will. A lot of the progress I made here happened in the years where my income was fairly low, so I’m pretty proud of that.

In January, I officially paid off one of those loans! Slow progress is still progress.

Mortgages Payoff Goal

Debt Paid -38.7%

$405,576.86 / $292,407.00

I left our previous mortgage total because I thought it would be interesting. Mostly, it’s painful. This move increased our debt total in this category significantly. There’s no guilt here, though.

We had to make the best choice for our family’s health and finances. The best choice for us was to get out of The Pit, and start again somewhere else. Between the purchase of the new home and the refinance on the rental property, we took on a lot more mortgage debt. It’s weird, though. For the first time in a while, we feel like we can breathe. We see a light at the end of the tunnel and an opportunity to actually make some progress.

We are definitely gambling a little bit. Not much can go wrong, and the budget will be tight for at least a year. Of course, with Coronavirus, we have some anxiety about this change. I couldn’t imagine, though, self isolating and working from home in a house infested with rats! We still think the move was a good choice.

The mortgages are last on our list of payoff priorities. They’re pretty huge amounts for us, but we really would like to pay them off early and save some interest!

Now, It's Your Turn

If you haven’t sat down yet and faced your debt head-on, I really encourage you to do it! Figure out what you owe. Write it down. Stare those numbers in the eye and acknowledge them! Here’s a step by step guide to help you get started.

You can’t fix a problem you don’t know about!

What was your spending month like? How have recent events altered your budget or plans? What are you doing to stay on top of everything?

How are your personal finance goals coming along? We would love to know!

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