Sorry that this post is a little later than usual, but I was down at the beach for a long July 4th weekend with the girlfriend :) You will also notice that I ditched the weekly spending posts - I had only planned on doing that to see how my spending was going on a running basis. After realizing it's pretty much in control and much lower than I was expecting (maybe it was posting it on the internet that did this?), I've decided to just stick to monthly budgets. If I notice my spending inflating or starting to get out of control again I will bring back the weekly spending posts for myself.
Now let's move onto the numbers, so here is what my budget for June ended up being:
As you may have noticed, I had additional income this month compared to the usual $2,800. After talking to my grandma about student loans in general and then my student loans, she wanted to help me out with my loans this month for my birthday - and would not take no for an answer. I feel extremely fortunate to have her help and I am very thankful and grateful that I have someone in a position like that to help me. I absolutely do plan on putting all that extra money I received towards my loans next month after the confusion this month with my federal loans switching services.
You will also see that because of my camping trip, I ended up spending more on gas than was budgeted for that category - but I expected that because of all the extra driving. I also ended up spending more on my entertainment and extra spending categories, from buying groceries while camping as well as buying my Dad a gift for Father's day. I managed to only spend $20 going out to eat this month - I didn't include the groceries in this category as I considered them to be entertainment and extra spending to go along with camping.
I really don't think I broke my budget too bad if any at all. I went over by $20 in gas and over by almost $100 in my extra spending category. But I also saved $30 on going out to eat this month, and I still didn't have to pay car insurance which will continue until next month. I'm pretty satisfied with my spending this month, especially with the camping trip being included! I expect next month to be about the same with our trip down to the beach this past weekend, but it may look "negative" after using the extra $1,328 from this month to pay even more on my loans in a few weeks.
Now let's move onto the numbers, so here is what my budget for June ended up being:
| Item | Budgeted | Actual | Difference |
| Income | $2,800.00 | $3,300.00 | $500.00 |
| Rent | -$100.00 | -$100.00 | $0.00 |
| Car Insurance | -$110.00 | $0.00 | $110.00 |
| Cell Phone | -$20.00 | -$20.00 | $0.00 |
| Gas | -$100.00 | -$120.00 | -$20.00 |
| Gym | -$20.00 | -$20.00 | $0.00 |
| Dining Out | -$50.00 | -$20.00 | $30.00 |
| Entertainment | -$100.00 | -$100.00 | $0.00 |
| Total Income After Fixed Expenses | $2,300.00 | $2,920.00 | $620.00 |
| "Extra" Spending | $0.00 | -$92.00 | -$92.00 |
| Total Income Before Student Loans | $2,300.00 | $2,828.00 | $528.00 |
| Student Loan Payments | -$2,000.00 | -$1,500.00 | $500.00 |
| Total Remaining | $300.00 | $1,328.00 | $1,028.00 |
As you may have noticed, I had additional income this month compared to the usual $2,800. After talking to my grandma about student loans in general and then my student loans, she wanted to help me out with my loans this month for my birthday - and would not take no for an answer. I feel extremely fortunate to have her help and I am very thankful and grateful that I have someone in a position like that to help me. I absolutely do plan on putting all that extra money I received towards my loans next month after the confusion this month with my federal loans switching services.
You will also see that because of my camping trip, I ended up spending more on gas than was budgeted for that category - but I expected that because of all the extra driving. I also ended up spending more on my entertainment and extra spending categories, from buying groceries while camping as well as buying my Dad a gift for Father's day. I managed to only spend $20 going out to eat this month - I didn't include the groceries in this category as I considered them to be entertainment and extra spending to go along with camping.
I really don't think I broke my budget too bad if any at all. I went over by $20 in gas and over by almost $100 in my extra spending category. But I also saved $30 on going out to eat this month, and I still didn't have to pay car insurance which will continue until next month. I'm pretty satisfied with my spending this month, especially with the camping trip being included! I expect next month to be about the same with our trip down to the beach this past weekend, but it may look "negative" after using the extra $1,328 from this month to pay even more on my loans in a few weeks.
Monthly Budget Review - June 2013