Welcome To Our October Personal Budget Report!
It’s time for our October Personal Budget Report. This month has been a doozy.
We did not save up enough money this month to get Mr. P&P a month ahead. But it wasn’t for lack of trying! We are having one of those “if it can go wrong, it will” sort of months!
So, let’s assess the damage!
Check out these links to see previous Budget Reports!
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Why Create A Monthly Budget Report
The first real budget I set was back in 2014 when I was making A LOT less money than I am 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, probably. 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 there were only one takeaway I could share, 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.
A Few 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. We don’t even have joint finances despite our 14 years together because we just work differently.
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 saved us again this month! I’m hoping I won’t have to rely on it again now that we have all the data put together.
Mr. P&P isn’t quite there, but we’re working on it. We had hoped to get him there by this month’s report, but it looks like it’s going to take a little more time That’s life. I’m not beating myself up over it!
Since most of our income is salary, this really only effects extra earnings.
Ocvober Budget Income Report- $8,338.97
This is money that was earned during the month of September that will be budgeted in October. It’s definitely higher than normal due to a surprise double payment from the rental home. It’s not really extra though, because we didn’t get a payment earlier in the year that we should have.
- Teacher Salary – $6,952.63 This includes both teacher salaries after the automatic withdrawal of taxes and health insurance.
- Rental Income Property – $1,346.34 Our first home was a townhouse we paid under $100,000 for in good condition, which is unheard of in today’s market. When we bought 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 even despite the problems with this home! The rental income has saved our lives on a couple occasions. This is the money we receive after paying any management and repair fees.
- Extra Income Deposited – $40 I got a couple of Venmo payments for selling some items.
- Extra Income Paid in Cash – $18 Cash payments from selling a few things on Facebook Marketplace. I’m listing it here as income, but it will not show up in the total above or in next month’s budget! It will be kept aside to handle unexpected expenses that require cash.
October Budget Spending Report - $8,252.34
We made a little progress this month and didn’t spend too wildly. I love Halloween, so I did spend some money there. The biggie that’s throwing a huge wrench in our process right now is unexpected expenses! Shocking, I know.
Baby Girl got staph and required several doctor’s visits. No ER, thank goodness, and is now doing great, but it cost us!
We have major debt coming our way soon. Mr. P&P wasn’t so lucky with the infection he caught, and required hospitalization. The bill for this medical care has been deferred for now, but it’ll catch up with us soon enough.
Oh yeah, and we don’t have heat. Not such a problem in Texas. Unless of course it’s suddenly become 40 degrees outside AND your Pit of a house is poorly insulated. It’s so cold in the house right now. If the current weather continues, we will have to bring someone in to fix it despite not being able to pay for it yet.
Monthly Living Expenses - $3,872.43
This budget report category includes typical monthly expenses that come out of our budget basically every month. These are our “basic living” expenses that we need to pay in order to get through the month.
- Mortgage – $1704.00 This includes our payment, interest, taxes, and insurance on The Pit, plus an extra $100 payment that will help shave a few years off our loan.
- Utilities – $611.35 This covers the electricity, gas, water, sewer, and pest control services. The Pit has regular problems with spiders, mosquitoes, and rats, making pest control an essential service!
- Daycare – $600.00 Paid during the school year only. We are fortunate to know an incredible lady who provides services for teacher’s kids at a very affordable rate. Baby Girl loves going!
- Car Payment – $234.35 On top of the home issues this 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 paid off sub-compact.
- Gas, Toll, and Other Transportation Expenses – $65.71 This covers gas for both cars, toll fees for the new car, and an insurance rebate for removing the old car from our policy. My toll tag only renews every couple of months, so we got a little break here.
- Groceries – $657.02 You know how I said we wouldn’t increase our grocery spending after our no spend month? Well, apparently I lied. We did load our freezer with items to make quick meals, though. We’ve struggled this school year to cook regularly. So, while we’re working our way back up to those good habits, we’re transitioning by getting some easy to prepare ingredients. My Instacart subscription also renewed.
Debt Expenses - $1,758.32
This is money we spend in order to pay down previously existing debts and any expenses or debt we have as a result of those debts.
- Student Loans – $1,091.39 Ouch. Mr. P&P accidentally made two full payments to his student loans this month. Not the best for the budget, but great for paying off more loan totals! Yet another time when having an established budget and living on last month’s income saved us from worrying about overdraft fees or running out of money!
- Debt Repayment – $598.00 We’re still just paying the minimums while we build up that extra month’s income. However, by paying off several small cards last month and shifting some balances, we shaved over $200 from our minimum payment. We’re feeling grateful for doing that right now!
- Fees and Charges – $68.93 Somebody (it was me…) forgot about a Kohl’s card charge she made in August for some school clothes and accrued $69 in charges. Ugh.
Other Recurring Monthly Expenses - $340.24
These budget report expenses happen every month, but they are not absolutely vital spending categories! This is the stuff we could get rid of and survive if we needed to.
- Phones – $124.22 The cost of both cell phones. We don’t have a land line. I don’t know why it’s so high this month. Mr. P&P’s new phone plan charged us a bunch. If it happens again, we will be swiftly switching back.
- Digital Media, Streaming, and Internet – $95.24 This covers our internet, Netflix, and Hulu accounts. We’ve never paid for cable, and with so many options, we don’t plan to!
- Rock Climbing Gym – $75.78 We love rock climbing together! This pays for our family membership plan. Since Baby Girl, we have gotten very lazy about going, so we need to be more intentional and not waste this money.
- Monthly Renewals – $45.00 We each have some subscription boxes for various hobby interests throughout the year.
Variable Spending - $2,281.35
These are expenses we may or may not have every month. They are somewhat unpredictable and variable.
- Health Care – $568.69 I don’t even want to calculate this category! It includes vitamins we take, a chiropractor visit, prescriptions for all the infections and a lot of office visits. It does not yet include any Urgent Care visits or the hospital stay and treatment. This addition will most certainly be in the mid-thousands of dollars.
- Home Improvement – $0 No projects this month. We are going to need to have work done to get the heat working again, though. If it stays in the 40’s and 50’s like it’s been, it will be unavoidable. We can freeze, but it’s not safe for Baby Girl to sleep in a jacket.
- Home Expenses – $76.01 We got a couple things to put out for Halloween as well as more hand soap for the bathrooms.
- Dining Out – $74.74 Still higher than we’d like to see on average, but better than we were doing before! This includes two restaurant visits, four lunches out while shopping at Sam’s, and two trips to Sonic on particularly stressful and long work days.
- Blog Expenses – $151.80 If I had known what the end of October would hold, I would not have made these purchases. Fortunately, I live on last month’s income, and I always leave a cushion when I can help it. This covered paying for some help with getting the blog updated on the legal side before I start to monetize. I also purchased the Genius Blogger Toolkit, which has been so helpful, but I would have waited if all the medical stuff had come up before I made the purchase!
- Baby Expenses – $180.02 A fair chunk of this was restocking on Honest diapers for the next couple months. While we cloth diaper during the day, she does still wear disposables at night and at daycare. We also bought a board book to give her for Christmas. The rest is clothing, books, or costume materials for Halloween.
- Classroom Spending – $0 No spending here this month.
- Digital Streaming/Media $10.80 We bought a couple of our favorite bad scary movies.
- Gifts – $0 Nothing this month (except that book that I counted as a baby expense).
- Hobbies and Entertainment – $0 We did go to the pumpkin patch this year, but we went during a time with free entry, and then bought our pumpkin at the grocery store.
- Other Spending – $230.40 We got some skeleton onesie pj’s for costumes we didn’t get to use (Yes, I’ll be wearing them all winter long), and some thrift store pieces for my costume at school I didn’t get the chance to wear. I stayed home to care for Baby Girl and be with Mr. P&P while he recovers in the hospital. Then, some other clothing items, and laundry detergent. I also needed deodorant. Due to very sensitive skin, I use Primal Pit Paste, which costs a bit more. They also restocked my favorite scent, so I bought several containers. I’ll be set for a while.
- Savings – $988.89 This isn’t really savings, but we’re putting it here. One big goal this month was to get Mr. P&P living on last month’s income. We haven’t reached that goal yet. This is all the money we’ve pulled together in October for that!
Budget Goals Progress
This month, we are okay. We didn’t hit our month ahead goal, but we’re pretty close. I’d like to say next month is the one, but I also know that we have a broken heater, two upcoming urgent care bills, and a several day hospital stay to treat infection and sepsis to deal with. That’s not even to mention the holidays coming up. Yeah, we’ll be looking for ways to save money there, too!
We got dealt a bad hand this month. I could throw my hands up and shout, “I quit!”. But I’m not going to. This will certainly set us back on our goals. We will probably have more debt than we started with by the time our December Budget Report rolls around. My stress level is through the poorly insulated roof. But I’m not panicking yet.
Nobody died this month, and I’m grateful for that. We trusted our instincts rather than letting the urgent cared doctors tell us everything was fine. I’m freezing right now, but not homeless. We are fortunate to have some paid sick days from our jobs, so we haven’t lost income from all this yet. We have awesome neighbors and our jobs are being super understanding. I know I’m a lot more fortunate than many people who get dealt a crappy hand.
We’re not good, but we’re going to be okay. We’ll get through the coming days and weeks. The bills will come in. When they do, we will reassess our plan.
Honestly, when the bucket is already holding $125,000, what we’re about to add to it is only drops. It’s a small price to pay to have my family healthy and back together again.
Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. It seems that when you go into survival mode, a cascade of things to survive show up! We didn’t make huge financial mistakes this month. Things simply went south. That’s how it is sometimes.
Our circumstances aren’t always our fault, but we have to find ways to work through them. In the coming months, I’ll be keeping you guys updated on how we’re dealing with it all in hopes that you too can find some hope and some help for your own challenges.
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. My situation is probably fairly common. Our income is pretty good. We have a lot of debt, but not as much as we could. Many of you might be in a similar situation. Some might be better off, and some might have a longer road ahead. No matter where you are, figure out what you’re starting with so you can decide where you’re going.
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 good bar 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.
$38,564.34 / $39,558.61
This is the first time that the credit card debt has actually gone down in several months. We are thrilled about that little baby step! Hopefully, we will be able to pay down a much larger chunk in the coming months. We are shooting for a goal of payoff in 2 years! Just 1 year, 11 months to go.
$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. This is 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..
$13,035.73 / $14,111.92
We’re not putting extra here yet.
$63,754.86 / $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.
268,920.90 / 292,407.00
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!
You can’t fix a problem you don’t know about!
What was your spending month like? What goals are you working on, and what kind of progress have you made?
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