Let's talk budgets!

[amberbamber]

I am about to revamp our household budget and would like to see all the things you all put into your budget, I'm sure I'm going to forget some things!

Thanks!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Known budgets
Mortgage
utilities - cable, internet, phone, cell phones, heat, electric (I have budget billing for heat/electric, it's easier for me)
Property Taxes
HOA
Car Insurance
Home Insurance
Federal/State taxes
Medical, vision, dental Premiums
401k/Roth IRA
Home Repairs - 1% of home
Car Repairs - $1200/year
Vacation

Variable Monthly Expenses, but budgeted annually

Medical Co-pays and Prescriptions
Clothing
Groceries
Eating Out
Entertainment
Gifts
Personal Care
Home Furnishings
Public Transit
Gas for car
Work Expenses

[Radiance]

Here is mine

http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/personal-finance/48317-budget-born-thank-you.html

[MonkeyMama]

I try to keep mine simple:

Mortgage/HOA
Health Insurance
Utilities (various kinds, can be broken out)
Groceries
Gas (Auto)
Blockbuster Online
Gym
Miscellaneous ($150/month to spend as we wish - sometimes unforeseen "needs," sometimes, "wants.")
Extra-Curricular Activities
ROTH Contributions
Other Retirement Contributions
Other Savings (for house maintenance/repair, car purchases, orthodontia, and other inevitable big purchases).

All of the above are a set monthly amount. (Why I break out a few smaller items).

The only other category in my budget is "Short Term Savings." WE save up enough monthly to cover all of our insurances, property taxes, estimated car maintenance/repairs, vacations, dental/medical expenses, etc. Plus, anything small - like ordering school pictures, swim lessons in the summer, subscriptions, and whatever else may pop up. We set aside about $1500/month for all of the above, and then we are never scrambling with "surprises." It would drive me nuts to have a separate category for every purchase. (I also have a monthly misc. budget item - about $150/month - for things around the house, or fun activities, etc. That one is more to have some flexibility in the budget).

For my savings, I put away $1500/month for the short term (as mentioned), and $400/month for the long run. It covers all the little categories, but I'd go nuts tracking every little category or purchase separately. I just make sure we have enough set aside to cover any forseeable expenses. (& some unforseeable ones too!)

[zakity]

I have:

DH's allowance

my allowance

eating out

fuel (for the cars)

utilities (includes house loan, phone, cell, natural gas, electricity, garbage, and internet)

groceries

homeschool activity money (social activities, field trips, etc)

misc (for anything that isn't edible like co pays, prescriptions, car parts, salt pellets for the softener, etc)


Right now, we also have "ortho" as a category.

[amberbamber]

Do you guys have any categories for your savings?

Right now I have about 12 different categories and I'm thinking I need to add about 2-3 more!!!

[gertymac]

We try to keep our budget as simple as possible by using big categories with more specific subcategories.

Housing
-Mortgages
-Utilities
-electriciy
-gas
-water/trash/sewer (every 2 months)
-internet/land line
-cell phones
-home maintence/improvements

Allowances for my partner and I

Food
-Groceries
-Eating out

Cars
-fuel
-repair
-registration (annually)
-insurance (every 6 mos)

Savings

Entertainment

Pets
-food
-supplies
-medical

Misc

I think we're rather bad at budgeting though. It normally ends up more as spending tracking than budgeting.

[Caoineag]

Our budget

Water
Electric
Gas for car
PITI (mortgage, taxes, insurance)
Car Insurance
IRA
Irregular expense savings
TV/Internet
Netflix
Allowance
Student Loan
Credit cards

That's it for now, it will change again when the last of the debt is gone. Allowance covers groceries, misc objects and out to eat. We really don't care how much is spent on what so its a lump sum of cash that is spent until it runs out. It works well for us.

[ceejay74]

Set aside for home insurance annual bill ($240 on Feb. 26)
Set aside for NT bus pass ($84 per semester)
Spending money
Savings
Set aside for NT DL student loan interest ($300 twice a year)
Rental car
16th-31st groceries/household
Spending money
Barber
AS student loan #2
AS student loan #1
Cell phones
Credit card
Cable/Internet
Medical expenses
Mortgage
1st-15th groceries/household
Spending money
Savings
Misc. entertainment
AS retirement
AS health insurance premium
Condo association
Spending money
Netflix
Set aside for NT FM student loan interest ($60 quarterly)
AS student loan #3

[JustDave]

Our monthly bills include the following:

• Mortgage (+ insurance + property tax)
• Roth IRA (me)
• Roth IRA (wife)
• Additional investments
• Car Insurance
• Cable + Internet + VOIP
• Netflix
• Cell phones
• Electric

We also save every month towards:

• Oil (we do our own budgeting throughout the year for the large winter bills)
• Car repair fund
• Emergency fund (Slowed down a bit since we've hit our goal)
• Dogs (vet bills, medication, etc.)
• House/general savings (for non-emergency repairs and household purchases)
• Vacation/fun

We leave the rest in checking for food, gas, bourbon, etc.

[wincrasher]

Personally, I don't budget. I know what I spend money on, and will cut things I don't think I'm getting fair value for.

But if you are going to budget, the best way to get started is just to go down your check register and start adding it up. I think you'll find alot of unaccounted for cash thru ATM withdrawls. That is usually a big budget leak.

[buildmybudget]

Wincrasher, how do you make sure you are on track to your financial goals. If you don't budget, you don't know if you're making your hard earned money work as hard as it can for you. You also don't know where your money is going either. I know people who couldn't realize they were spending 10% of their income on car parts. Just a thought..

[wincrasher]

My total monthly spending is less than 1/3 of my income, so I'm not trying to shift monies around from one category to another.

Utility bills are pretty much a constant, so there is not much managing them.

So you work on your discretionaries like food, gas, entertainment, etc, to keep the waste down.

But often you find good deals and buy things in bulk, which is probably difficult for budgeting purposes.

So I'm more interested in getting good value for money on what I spend, my natural cheapness will govern how much I spend.

[skydivingchic]

My budget categories are as follows:
Mortgage
HOA
Gym Membership
Gas (for car)
Car Registration
Vehicle Maintenance
Insurance (Condo Owner's and Vehicle)
Electricity
Cell Phone
Groceries
Roth IRA
Spending Money
Gifts (Christmas, Birthdays, etc)
Medical (Copays, Prescriptions, etc)
Personal Care
Cat Care
Life Insurance

I also save a set amount each month in what I call "personal savings." This covers whatever my short and mid-term savings goals are. Right now that is vacations and a new to me car, but I occasionally use it when I have other larger wants. For example, I recently bought a laptop to replace my aging home computer. My EF is now fully funded, so I don't have a separate line item in my savings budget for it anymore.