Okay...so I have posted my income and expenses here looking for some guidance. I already see one thing...dining out is huge! i really had no idea that we were spending that much eating out.
This is from the 29th of June until the 27th of July. I have included the amounts budgeted for gas and prescriptions and groceries. I have tried to make this as accurate as possible.
Income
Salary - 1950.00
Child Support - 677.92
From DS For Car Payment and Insurance - 350.00
Transfer from Savings - 320.00(this was the balance in Savings)
from Mom for Health Ins for DD - 245.00
Advance from Mom for IRS Refund - 953.00
Total Income = 5395.92(wow!)(three paydays)
Loan Payment - 200
Amy Misc - 149.88(Cigerattes, Weight watchers, Eharmony which expires this month)
Vet for Dog- 33.40
Auto Fuel- 373.93
Auto Service - 285.47
Dining - 398.72(WOW!! Includes DD birthday lunch)
Entertainment - 7.99 (netflix)
Groceries - 659.12
Household - 48.50
Medical - 820.05 (include prescriptions and DD ins policy)
Misc - 12.31
Cell phone - 229.06(it is actually around 300 but exdh pays towards $135 toward it each month.)
Water - 62.27
Loan from MIL - 100.00
Car Insurance - 247.87
Son's car payment - 300(I included the $ he gives me in income)
Telephone/Cable/Internet - 174.92
Credit Card - 50(only a $600 balance)
Total Expenses = 3978.49
Rental Expense:
Mortgage - 550
Power - 179.00
Insurance - 69.62
Total Rental Expenses = 798.62
Income - 4495.92
Expenses - 3978.57
Rental Expenses - 758.02
Will have 502 left in my account on Friday. However...I need to make another house payment on the rental property but since I will be short on the 10th for my sallie mae payment(first one) and DD's insurance I can't make that payment. There is only one house payment because my mom actually pays for the house I live in plus the power bill. I need to start giving her money but can't find it in the budget.
I will try to not be offended by any comments. Listing my dining out was a real eye opener. I am spending almost 600 on groceries and an additional $400 on eating out! That is $1000 a month on food! Seriously! No wonder I am overweight!
Anyway...any help would be appreciated.
My Budget- The Cold Hard Numbers(please look at and help me)
July 24th, 2012 at 09:25 pm
July 24th, 2012 at 09:49 pm 1343162940
What is the deal with the rental? Can you just let it go? That is a lot of money to be losing every month AND it hasn't caused you anything but *stress* for several years (which may be even more to the point). Or like Baselle said, can you move into it? I'd start thinking long and hard about your options there.
Food is the next biggie. I'd stop eating out altogether. I don't care if you buy all frozen food and processed food, it's got to be better than all that eating out. (Cheaper and healthier). I know people get a mental block with home cooking and such but it's only as complicated as you make it. Check out "taste of home" (google it) for easy/fast meals. Just buy lunch meat and sandwich fixings for lunch, cereal for breakfast, and start making dinners with lots of leftovers. Go buy a pound of hamburger and make your own hamburger instead of getting the fast food. Just start SMALL - the cost savings and weight loss will motivate you to continue. Seriously, when my "underweight" spouse lost his job and we switched to all home-cooking back in 2002 I think he lost about 10 pounds in a month or two - it was absurd. (I was pregnant and lost weight because I was puking 24/7 -HA). But, literally these days I can't walk into a restaurant without gaining weight. Eating at home is so much cheaper and better for you. I am not much into organic/coupons or any of that stuff that makes it all complicated. It doesn't have to get all complicated to work.
July 24th, 2012 at 10:24 pm 1343165068
Well, it is always a big eye opener when you look at the reality of spending versus what you think it should be based on your budget
I don't see rent from the rental property listed in income. Is your place currently rented? If not, I'd try to get someone in quickly. You're income will increase and your expenses decrease. Tenants should be paying the power bill. Have you looked into increasing your deductible on the policy? Can you see about a cheaper policy with a different company?
Can your ex help out with insurance for your daughter? I am assuming that she is his. If not, forgive and ignore.
Definitely can improve with grocery spending and dining out. I'd try to reduce the groceries by 10% and the dining by 25% to start with.
Good luck!
July 24th, 2012 at 10:48 pm 1343166492
July 24th, 2012 at 10:51 pm 1343166688
July 24th, 2012 at 11:10 pm 1343167831
If I'm reading this correctly, minus the one-time tax refund and the one-time savings transfer, your predicted monthly income is $3222.92, correct? (I'm not 100% sure because you have another set of "income," "expenses" and "rental expenses" near the end that don't match the ones above.)
And, if I leave out variable expenses of Misc., Vet, Auto service, Dining out and Amy Misc., I get total expenses of about $4072. Even without your own mortgage/utilities and the variables mentioned above, you are in the hole about $850.
If you got rid of the rental and the expenses that goe with it, your total expenses minus the variables mentioned would be $3274, much closer to your $3223 income.
That's assuming you fix the eating out problem, so you would still need to cut something else to come into balance. It seems your cell/phone/internet/cable bill of $400 is a problem area to be addressed. Though I think you mentioned there aren't cheap options in your area?
When you get that credit card paid off and have $50 less in expenses, your expenses would get to $3224, so if you were very very careful and didn't smoke or eat out, your budget would be in balance. However, I'm concerned that your depression will hinder your willpower in these areas.
I'm not sure these calculations are correct because I'm a bit unclear on some of the info you provided, but I hope it gives you a starting point for thinking about bringing your budget to a more manageable state.
July 24th, 2012 at 11:10 pm 1343167848
Also, your cell phone bill is REALLY high. I'm not sure if that's several phone bills lumped together.
With a little redirection, you can knock that credit card balance to the curb!
July 25th, 2012 at 12:19 am 1343171956
Weight Watchers can get pretty expensive ... are you actually going to meetings or using the website and following the program? If not ... that may be something you could cut. You could take a look at sparkpeople . com which is a free diet/healthy eating website. They have multiple weight watchers groups there (and everything the WW site has plus more!)
July 25th, 2012 at 12:45 am 1343173535
July 25th, 2012 at 01:14 am 1343175248
Your are getting 'subsidies' of $ 1058.00 from EX & mom. I wish I could figure out the right words to use that will motivate you to take action to fix your finances.
Short term, what expenses will you reduce/remove? What will you do about ghastly tenants who will take advantage of you for as long as you permit it. Long term...What happens when child support ends? What is your plan for retirement?
July 25th, 2012 at 02:50 am 1343181002
Also, your food bill is out of control as I am sure you know. You have got to find a way to reign that in. Any way your kids can help out with meal planning and prep/cooking? They are certainly old enough.
One more thing...on your medical you mention prescriptions....not sure what you take but have you looked into some assistance for your meds? Your doctor's office might have some info, or you can possibly contact the companies online to see about getting free or reduced cost meds. Some companies may even give you up to a year's worth of refills free. I work in a doctors office and have seen patients that are in financial distress do this. You could check with your doctor's office or even look the company/manufactur up online to see if they have the forms available.
Glad you are back! Hang in there!
July 25th, 2012 at 05:01 am 1343188873
July 25th, 2012 at 02:35 pm 1343223320
I had the same idea - if they can help it will teach them better eating habits and cooking skills while lessening your load. One more tip on the food front...
July 25th, 2012 at 02:50 pm 1343224242