Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The New Budget

I'm not an extravagant spender.  My home is furnished with thrifted items, furniture that is now 10 years old and the occasional item that was purchased new, either on sale or from the clearance section, at Ikea when I simply couldn't find a secondhand item that would work.  The majority of my clothing was purchased secondhand and most of the knickknacks that you'd find in my home have either been given to me or were souvenirs from my global travels.  I'm not really known for "throwing money away" but in order to make my new goal a reality, I have to adjust my budget in a major way.  As mentioned in my last post, I'm anxious about this because for so long, I haven't had to watch my spending.  I made enough money that my minimal spending wasn't about to break the budget.  My new situation involves paying down some debt, saving up for a down payment on a car, paying to have some renovations done AND getting used to what could become a lower monthly income.  Doesn't that sound like *fun*?

Being brutally honest, I don't know if I can make this work.  The budget I'm going to attempt to live on doesn't accurately reflect the breakdown amounts that will be used if I make the crazy life changes I'm contemplating but the $3000 *does* represent the reduced income I'll likely be forced to accept.  I need to prove to myself that I can manage on that amount in order to make the other changes required.  Below is the first version of the reduced budget I'll be living on as of August.  Any income above the $3000 will go to paying off my debt, saving for a new car and all the other major expenses I have lined up.  *shakes head*  There are so many other major expenses coming up...

August 2014 - $3000
Mortgage/property taxes/buffer $1405.00
Electricity $45.00
Gas $88.00
Water $35.00
Cell $90.00
House insurance $58.00
Car insurance $99.00
Fuel $220.00
Car Repair $0
Groceries $180.00
Layover expenses $82.00
Internet $60.00
Cats $60.00
RSP $300.00
EF $0
Life insurance $30.00
Netflix $8.00
Clothing $0
Personal/Recreation/Misc $240.00
Gifts $0
Long Distance $0
Health $0
Travel $0
Reno/House Fund $0

You see all those categories with zero amounts???  They all have to be covered from the Personal/Recreation/Misc amount of $240.  Ugh.  Fortunately, some of these amounts will accumulate and roll into other months (roll over amounts will be kept in a separate account to help keep all the figures clear) and some of these amounts are really just estimates since I haven't kept a budget in so long, I'm not sure how much some of these categories need.  I'll have to become obsessive about tracking everything again but I think after the first few months, I'll get back into my old budgeting groove.  Wish me luck and I'll keep you updated on how things are going.

Happily,
Kris









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