Budgeting for June
I don’t usually get into finances on this blog, but since one of my goals on my 101 things list is to go a month without unnecessary spending, I’m going to blog about it for June, the month we plan to not spend extra money.
Really, it’s because we are being forced to cut back this month. We could use money from savings to keep our current spending habits, but I wanted to save that money for another month when we truly need to use it for something.
So here goes: We lost a week of pay, meaning our combined income for the month of June is around $1500. We’re cutting the following down or out for this month: Becca’s spending money(Gray’s goes towards his iPhone so we can’t really cut it), date money is being cut down, and Comcast extra money has been cut out (We are currently on a special for six months, but I over-budget already for what we will pay when that is gone, so instead of $124, I’m just budgeting the $85 we’ll actually spend). We will have some extra income this month, which is what is keeping me from cutting out the date night, turning off Netflix, or taking away from gas money, etc. I am not turning off Netflix because we use it so much that I feel we get far more out of it than we pay in.
I hope that all made sense.
All extra money for the month is going to be set aside for either savings or vacation, seeing as we have two vacations in two weeks at the end of June and beginning of July to save up for. I’d like to see our savings back at $1000 and I think we can definitely do that if we pinch pennies this month.
Our extra income is in the form of dog sitting for about ten days, so we should actually save some electricity and water because we won’t be at our apartment the entire time, yay! We will be going on vacation to Gatlinburg with the family at the end of the month so that should save a little bit of money as well.
I am also trying to buy groceries based upon what I already have in my pantry. I have two boxes of spaghetti noodles, four boxes of mashed potatoes, and at least three of rice, not to mention hamburger helper. I think we have enough meat to not buy any for at least a week and maybe I’ll get creative and do some veggie meals.
I get extremely nerdy moving money around, I must admit.
Which brings me to my final note: I use Pear Budget to keep our finances in order and I highly recommend it. The first month is a free trial and then it is three dollars after that, but it does so much. I’ve tried using mint.com and not only did I dislike that it kept my bank information, the format just doesn’t work for me. Pear Budget is like the Dave Ramsey envelope system, except it’s all online. I hated budgets before I started using this last January and over a year later we have no credit card debt and have some savings, amazing!
Here is a screenshot, just to give you an idea. Yes, that is a portion of our real budget.
So a recap on our goals for June:
- Spend as little “extra” money as possible
- Put leftover money in savings/vacation fund at end.
- Not resort to use savings to pay for anything.
Hopefully this all leads to a good month in July because someone has a birthday *coughmecough* and usually is forced to spend her birthday money on bills. Hopefully, that won’t have to happen this year because of planning on my part. 
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Tags: 101 things in 1001 days, budget, debt, pear budget, savings
hello there
amazingly enough i do budget every month and do not use a program to do it. Although this month sucked for us because we didn't go grocery shopping so we waiting and just picked up things here and there causing us to spend more than what i usually like, for june though I plan to get back on track! and soon enough i will be working and hopefully paying our car off sooner. I like the program you are using though and may actually give it a shot!
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 3:28 am
@Kaylee, I'm always amazed by people who can keep their budgets so easily. I like this program because you enter your receipts, so if I spent $50 in gas at Kroger, I'd enter it on the day I spent it. It's been so useful to go back and see exactly when we bought something and it keeps track of your spending habits and shows you my month, tags, and year what you are buying. I really do love it!
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 3:28 am
@Kaylee, I'm always amazed by people who can keep their budgets so easily. I like this program because you enter your receipts, so if I spent $50 in gas at Kroger, I'd enter it on the day I spent it. It's been so useful to go back and see exactly when we bought something and it keeps track of your spending habits and shows you my month, tags, and year what you are buying. I really do love it!
Love the budgeting. It really makes a difference.
Check out the "Feed the Pig" site below for more fun financial resources.
http://www.myspace.com/benjaminbankes
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 4:27 am
@Cathy, Thanks! I'll definitely have to check it out.
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 4:27 am
@Cathy, Thanks! I'll definitely have to check it out.
Well i budget a little unconventional. I make sure the bills are paid and money goes into savings a head of time, then the rest of the money is fine, we always spend between 50-70 dollars in groceries and twenty dollars a week for gas. and when its time to get paid again i make sure we have at least 600.00 dollars left in the bank account which is allocated to savings and what not. i know its weird but it works for us!
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 6:05 am
@Kaylee, Sounds like a good plan to me. I just do better when I see it all laid out for me and I'm less likely to spend money on junk food or toys if it has a place to go.
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 6:05 am
@Kaylee, Sounds like a good plan to me. I just do better when I see it all laid out for me and I'm less likely to spend money on junk food or toys if it has a place to go.
How do you budget groceries? That's where we always seem to screw ourselves over. We weren't watching what we spent on groceries until recently when I added it all up. HOLY CRAP. We're trying to do a better job now. Trying.
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
@Mel, Our groceries category isn't in the screen shot because we categorize it as an irregular expense, which it's not, but it's easier to explain. In Pear Budget, irregular expenses get rolled over but regular, monthly expenses do not, so I made groceries one of those.
We usually budget $250 a month for groceries/toiletries. We also put money towards thegrocerygame.com and coupons, which both costs us together about $20 every three or so months. I use the grocerygame to know the sales (it was very helpful when I was a student and had no time to search myself) and the coupons that match those items on sale. When it is a very good sale we save up to $50 or $60, so it's well worth the money we spend on it.
So yeah, it comes down to us spending about $50 a week on groceries, and that number is only possible because of the coupons and sales.
I hope that makes sense. We do fall into pitts where we're buying junk food or eating out too much with the grocery money, but most of the time, it helps.
Becca Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
@Mel, Our groceries category isn't in the screen shot because we categorize it as an irregular expense, which it's not, but it's easier to explain. In Pear Budget, irregular expenses get rolled over but regular, monthly expenses do not, so I made groceries one of those.
We usually budget $250 a month for groceries/toiletries. We also put money towards thegrocerygame.com and coupons, which both costs us together about $20 every three or so months. I use the grocerygame to know the sales (it was very helpful when I was a student and had no time to search myself) and the coupons that match those items on sale. When it is a very good sale we save up to $50 or $60, so it's well worth the money we spend on it.
So yeah, it comes down to us spending about $50 a week on groceries, and that number is only possible because of the coupons and sales.
I hope that makes sense. We do fall into pitts where we're buying junk food or eating out too much with the grocery money, but most of the time, it helps.