Budget!!!

Drum roll please............... I have finally created what I think is a working budget!

Now sticking to it will be the hardest part. ( Don't look at me that way. I like to shop as much as you do.) (oh and I also like to stock up on items. I have this horrible habit of buying things when I'm only halfway out of the other package/bottle/case/barrel/trailer load that I have at home. Seriously, if a snowstorm or an atomic bomb happened and they closed all the stores for a month, a girl should be prepared. Not that a snowstorm would happen in August but where I live, it's ALWAYS a possibility folks)
Whew. That was a long side note there.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Here is the budget that I've created. The first column is what I've allotted myself per month to spend, and the second one is a weekly breakdown of what I will spend in each area. If this works I should get an award.

Weekly Bills

Eating Out	$60.00	$15.00
Entertainment	$60.00	$15.00
Gas	$150.00	$37.00
Groceries	$300.00	$75.00
Orion	$75.00	$12.00
Misc.	$50.00
(Unexpected expense)
Household expenses:	$50.00
				Total:	$745.00
				Overbudget:
				Savings:

Now this is a just the weekly bills section of my budget. I didn't include monthly bills, since those are not part of this experiment.  Although in that section I did include a personal allotment of money that my husband and I can spend on whatever we want per month. When it's gone, IT'S GONE!!! ( just a little tip for you gals who might overspend a little- ok a LOT while shopping, this is a great way to get it in check).

The unexpected expense area is where I will add something we didn't plan for...a FLAT TIRE, or something of that nature. I didn't budget it because unexpected means.....WEll, unexpected!
Household expenses include anything from cleaning products, personal care products, to things like mulch or sprinklers for outside.

Keep in mind that these are the MAX totals of what we should spend in each area per month. The goal is still to keep it as under budget as possible.
At the end of this month I'll fill in what we actually spent in each areas, and then see if we went over budget or had any savings!

What do you guys think? Is this budget realistic or to over the top? What kind of budget to YOU have?


***Went to the commissary yesterday......$13 over-budget! So that's $13 LESS that I get to spend next week. However, (and no, I'm not giving myself an excuse, this IS legitimate!) there were some sales on things we use on a regular basis that were 50% or better discounts, so I did get a few items not on my list. This being on a budget thing isn't going to be easy.....but POSSIBLE!***

60 day challenge: Part two!

Today is August 7th....which means that the first part of my own little 60 day challenge has come to an end! Let me just tell you.....the Horrors!!! You may honestly think you are being completely frugal with your money, but until you actually break things down and add up all expenses, there is no way you can actually know the beating your wallet is taking.
If you haven't taken part in this challenge with me over the past 30 days......get yo butt in gear and do it! I'm excited to see how much money I will have saved by this time NEXT month, but for now, the dreaded moment of truth. *GULPS* (Thankfully, my husband didn't kill me....He was as shocked as I am that we had actually spent this whopping amount of money IN JUST 30 DAYS.) I'm tellin ya, $20 here and there ADDS UP.

Here is a breakdown of what we spent in each area.


Groceries: $512.57   (for two people...WHATT!??)

Gas:  $192.02

Eating Out:  $215.51

Entertainment: $109.99

Shopping: $387.50

Orion: $237.07 ( We did have a vet bill, plus a fence to patch where he and the neighbors dog tore a hole through it, and those two totaled up to $150.00)

Household Items: $115.77

Misc. $101.84


Now, keeping in mind that these amounts don't include monthly bills, of which we have 6, (and two more that we will be adding next month) plus tithe, I'm thinking WE HAVE NO MONEY LEFT! (exaggeration, obviously, but you get my point.) Deployment money is pretty good, but it doesn't last forever when you spend it away. So, here is the total of money that we spent last month.

$1,872.27. Don't judge, I bet you spend just as much without realizing it.

So, the lowdown is that next month, I am going to cut that amount in half by at least 50%. I've been working on a master budget, and I will hopefully get that posted within the next few days so you can see how much I am allotting myself per area. that way, I can keep myself accountable, and give you guys an idea of what a realistic budget might look like for someone on a regular income.

What do you guys think? Have any of you ever given budgeting a shot?


****FYI, I've been budgeting since the second or third month of our marriage, but as my job has recently taken a new turn and put me in charge of money matters, I decided to take on some new approaches to budgeting and try and re-work a few things in hope of getting better at my job. ***