My very own sexy budget.

I've been using a budget for a little over 5 months now, and i gotta say i am feeling pretty damn good about it! And although it doesn't look as good as it should - I have a plan, i'm stickin' to it, and i'm saving money.

The calculations don't lie: Budgets = Confidence = Sexy.

Here's exactly what i have to play with every month after taxes, ss, medicare, and 401k at 19% (holler!):
- Paycheck #1: $1807.86
- Paycheck #2: $1807.86
- Quarterly bonus': $2k-ish

My budget, however, only factors in the bi-weekly paychecks I get. The bonus' are GREAT, but it's not something i can definitely count on 100%. So, when/if these come in every 3 months, i either apply it to our open credit cards, the Emergency Fund, or to cushion my checking acct. a bit.

Here's my bi-weekly budget:
(Some of this may look familiar/redundant from my recent "Where does my money go" post, as I budget using "clumps" of money)

- Mortgage $$: 1/2 of my share of the mortgages
- House $$: 1/2 my share of the monies for "house stuff". this includes all utilities & all groceries eaten @ home. i use a separate house budget to track this which i'll post soon.
- Wedding Fund: for our wedding!
- My Credit Card: the amount i alot myself each month. Gets paid off on time and no interest accumulated. i also use a credit card budget to keep track of this separately.
- Cash Withdrawal: always gotta have cash on you.

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- Mortgage $$: the other half of my share.
- House $$: the other half of my share.
- Condo Investment: the amount to my brother for help.
- Insurance: auto: actually covers my car, our 2 laptops, and the engagement ring. billed together.
- Insurance: life: gotta have that life insurance!
- Auto loan: the biggest non-necessity (price-wise that is).
- Emergency Fund: the least amt. i put in...if i save in other areas, i drop that into here as well.
- Cash Withdrawal: trying not to take out more. it's hard :(
- Roth IRA: i used to put in at leat $100/mo until i realized i don't have the money to be doing that! i'd like to re-contribute on an automated schedule once i get this budget in check.

As you'll notice, my lifestyle costs me around $3,900/month on average, and i only bring in $3,600/month. Soooo, according to my budget i'm down around $300 from the get go :( On the plus side, however, i stick to this budget pretty hardcore and haven't gone over since starting. The last 2 months i've actually shaved off a good $200 or so each time (thanks to all my challenges!) so i'm really losing around $100 per month.

None the less, I need to get my average spending down so that i'm at least breaking even each time. This is why i will more than likely sell my car, and pick up a way cheaper one.

It's good to remember though that budgeting is a continual process. So as long as we're all indeed working on it, we're already better off!

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PS: I keep track of all my budgets using a simple excel spreadsheet i've been polishing up. Feel free to use it! Click here for the actual file, or here for the google-ized one.

More budgety posts:
- My "Credit Card" budget
- My "House" budget
- Budgets are a man's best friend.
- Where does my money go?

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Uncle Sam suuuure likes my money.

As i'm sure i've mentioned before, i have a pretty unique workplace. Not only is the work itself freakin' awesome, but our benefits are simply incredible. One of the *best* ones are what i like to call the "good mood bonus!"

Good Mood Bonus: (n.) A sizable chunk of money your boss hands out to each and everyone at the company when he's in a helluva good mood! Bonus not to reflect profits, project completion, nor work performance... simply random.

How BAD A$$ is that? I was given a cool $1k for just "being" :) This isn't the first time my widened eyes have seen this, but it IS the first time i've sensed the evil lurking of Uncle Sam around so quickly. It's funny how every time i get my hands on some dollah dollah bills, that good for nothing beast snatches a handful of it before my very own eyes. I honestly believe the gov't enjoys being Debbie Downer. He's like our money shadow...wherever your money goes, he goes!

Although i'm not exactly sure how our accounting handles these extra "lump sums" of money, i am fairly certain they treat them as simply that. Extra "lump sums" on top of our regularly salary. Instead of the $3125 (gross) bi-weekly check i'd normally get, it magically turns into $4125 (gross) for that paycheck only; the next check turns back to $3125. So although this extra $ is still taxed, i'm thinking it's taxed as "salary money" instead of "bonus money"? At least that's how it was sorta-kinda explained to me by a senior here.

At any rate, that evil uncle took out a chunk of my $1k, and spit the rest back at me. I'm not totally complaining here, don't get me wrong. FREE money is FREE money, no matter how you slice it up. I just find the whole experience a bit interesting when it comes to the tax side of things ;)

So, out of the original $1k, how much do you think i got back from it after all taxes, ss, 401k withdrawals, etc? A chunkity chunk of $467.47! haha...all i have to say is, MAN that guy is good.

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i forgot to mention what i'll be doing w/ this extra money: straiiiiiiiiiiight into my Emergency Fund!

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Where does my money go?

That's where it all goes! To be honest, this is the first time i've actually sat down and calculated this, and i'm not liking it :( Especially that 43% and 11% up there...i'm gonna have to work on that. These #'s are based on the following categories, and the amounts spent on them each month. Here's a breakdown of everything, from high to low:

Mortgage $$ ($1676.48): My portion of our monthly mortgages. It comes out to about 2/3 of the total mortgage payments we have each month (naturally the rest comes from my fiancée), and it covers our 1st mortgage & our 2nd mortgage (our HELOC). Had i ran these #'s BEFORE purchasing our townhouse, i would have probably gone a different route, aka purchase a cheaper place, BUT what's done is done, and it's all a learning experience. Plus, the lake in our backyard doesn't hurt the eyes ;)

My Credit Card ($800.00): This is the amount budgeted for each month. It covers all my personal spending, eating out, shopping, etc, and is paid in full each month. Lately it's only been around $650, but considering how i am a good $270 OVER what i bring in each month, this only helps me to work on breaking even.

House $$ ($500.00): This covers 1/2 of all our food, utilities, house credit card, and home owner fees each month.

Auto Loan ($443.49): Covers my SUV payments each month. I DEFINITELY need to work this out in the near future, as this is a ridiculous amount. I'm still considering selling it and then picking up an older car and having no more payments (i'd just pay it off in full). Either that or at LEAST halving the amount each month. This should be easier to do now that winter is coming up so i won't *need* the suv... although she's a beauty!

Condo Investment ($120.00): The amount i pay my brother each month to help him pay his mortgage. It's a loan at 5% and should end over the next few months. He's now comfortable w/ his payments and $ situation, so he doesn't really *need* it anymore. Good job buddy!

Wedding Fund ($100): We both put in $100 a month, plus any extra savings we make from going under our "house budget" (soon to be posted). We'll turn this into a "vacation fund" or something of that sort once we're married. 3 more months to go, and then it's marriage time!

Cash Withdrawal ($100): This is an average amount, as sometimes i end up taking out around $80 or $120 depending on how much i eat out and splurge :) That, and I am adamant of carrying around at LEAST $5-$10 on me at all times.

Insurance ($119.26): This covers all of my auto, life, and some personal property insurance. not bad, right?

Emergency Fund ($20.00): It's not exactly 0% as depicted in the graph, but pretty close! I just started this last month when i opened up a money market account. Although $20 is def. added each month, i also tend to put in any extra savings, bonus', etc that may flow down the pipeline.

That's the whole kitten caboodle! I *SHOULD* allocate my 401k deductions in here, but since it's pre-tax and not factored in to my spending budgets, it didn't feel right adding it. BUT, just so i get it out there, I put in a whopping 18% each paycheck!!! Thumbs UP & thumbs DOWN.

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