Here is the budget for December 16th through January 15th.
December 2010/January 2011
Laundry 30 (reduced by $10 because I am going to start air drying clothes; fewer coins to pay!)
Rent 1000
Groceries 240 (I am planning on having a pantry challenge in January, so I have reduced this a bit)
Toiletries & Diapers 100 (new category I created this month so my grocery budget would actually reflect groceries, not diapers)
ComEd 40
AT & T 28
Comcast 82
Son’s school 549
Son’s after school language program 140
Son’s dance class 48
Misc. 50
Gas/Transportation 120
Restaurant & Entertainment 100
Student Loan 192
Life insurance 77
Husband’s spending money 25
My spending money 25
Weight Watchers 40
Tithes Private
TOTAL $2886
Starting January 1st, we will no longer have my income. That will make us $1,326 short each month. My husband applied for part-time teaching jobs, but he has not heard anything. He did just find out yesterday that he will be getting a larger assistantship next smemster, so I think now we will be $1126 short each month. I am planning on further trimming the next budget. I am also doing my part to put money aside as I want to try to avoid dipping into emergency savings.
So far I have saved for January:
360.39 – refund from son’s old school
130.10 – payment for article writing
125.00 – payment for book review
200.00 – saved from my November pantry challenge
060.49 – payment for article writing
035.49 – payment for article writing
070.00 – short month at son’s language school; only had to pay for half the month, saved the difference
981.47 Total saved for January thus far
great job- nice to post and make yourself accountable. we’ll review before Jan 1- see if there are any areas we can do better with.
how did you get paid for writing? Every place I’ve applied isn’t hiring. Good luck on your budget challenge!
I applied with Demand Studios last year and was accepted. The book review I got from my former employeer. I also sometimes write articles for other bloggers.
I’ve been a weight watchers member for a while, but the fees were killing me! My friend just lost 60lbs, and informed me that she used the FREE tools on http://www.livestrong.com/
They have a weight tracker and a tool called MyPlate, which has a great database to record your nutritional intake and calories. Similar concept to the points program, and good for journaling your food intake.
Just a suggestion for you! Good luck in your new adventure to stay home!!
Thanks, Karen. I never heard of this resource before. Right now I am learning alot from attending the meetings. I tried to do it at home the first few weeks and my success was limited. However, if we run into dire financial straits, this might have to go.
Have you thought of making your own laundry soap? It is good for regular or HE washers ( I have a HE washer and have used our own soap for two years now). We pay 2 cents a load. Yep and we hang dry everything we can. Also if you do your laundry at off peak hours it will cost you less to run the washer. Just some thoughts.
Hi. Yes, I am planning to make our own laundry soap. A reader sent in a recipe last month that I am anxious to try. Our big expense is that we live in an apartment and have to use a coin operated machine. 🙁
I remember those days. So glad that God has blessed us to have a house we rent.
Forgive me if this is too personal — don’t feel pressured to answer if you don’t want to. But, I was wondering if your husband’s income is enough to cover your entire budget of $2886 or if you will need to supplement just to make that minimum? Or are your savings and miscellaneous incomes just for added breathing room? I only ask because I can’t imagine the stress of trying to sustain a budget so close to the stable income amount.
Starting in August my husband should make enough to cover our entire budget. From January until then, we will be short $1100 of the $2886 every month. We have 5 full months of emergency savings set aside in case we need to use it to cover the difference. We are also going to further slash our budget in January. My husband has the option of taking out student loans for next semester, so we are also toying with that option. Right now I am piling up the little bits of extra money I am making to help prevent us from dipping into the emergency savings.
Ok — so it will be stressful, but at least there’s light at the end of the tunnel. My thought was there’s no way a sane person could sustain that! Best of luck to you!