[MonkeyMama]

2 adults, 2 kids, a cat. California (Just as a side note because housing is crazy expensive out here).

4,950 Take-Home Pay
(1,300) Mortgage
( 650) Health Insurance (I turn 30 in December - eeks - this will RISE)
( 400) Preschool/Gymboree
( 350) Property Taxes
( 200) Personal loan. When paid in a few months, will go back to extra
$150/month to mortgage – pay off 7 years early
( 170) Car Insurances
( 120) Dental for 2 adults/Life Ins/Dis Ins (haven’t budgeted for kids
dental yet)
( 100) cable/internet – hubby’s luxury
( 80) Gardener (my luxury – I’ll work Overtime any day rather than do
yard work - hehe)
( 100)Garbage & Water – this is fixed – not metered (sucks)
( 100) Gas/Electric (bill is rarely over $50 but gets to 100/150 3 or 4
months of year so I budget flat 100)
( 69)Homeowners Fees
( 100) 2 cell phones + land line
( 500) Groceries (+ toiletries, diapers, formula, etc.)
( 300) Gas
( 50) Diaper Service (just got one kid out of diapers and only saved
$12/month – I miss the economies of scale)
( 100) Eating Out (gotta splurge once in a while…)
( 100) Miscellaneous (subscriptions, unexpected small things, etc.)
( 150) Entertainment (getting out, concerts, clothes, whatever we want
that month. Or forego if need be.)
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**Employer contributes 10% of my pay to profit sharing plan. Fully vested.

Our taxes are pretty even but usually get around $1500 back from state & I get a decent overtime bonus every May. So that money we use for emergencies/IRAs/savings. Plus we make a little extra money here and there, as other things arise. Pretty breakeven.

We plan to switch to a high-deductible medical plan on my birthday. New rates are not out yet but currently it would be $350/mo. vs. $700/month. We would put the $350 savings aside for medical emergencies/deductibles. This is the part of the budget that my pay does not really keep up with me and blindsided me when we had kids. It is ridiculous. Someday my hubby will get a job just for the health benefits probably, it would save us a TON!!

I thought we were pretty frugal with our groceries, but maybe we could do better. We shop generic, clip coupons, eat-in 95% of the time it feels, no junk food, but this is one area I Want to tackle and get down our bill. This site has inspired me.

I know we could give up a lot more, but after years of living on a shoestring sometimes I Feel you gotta just live a little. IT's certainly a balance. I am working on putting $100/month in a high-yield savings. It's a start.