I expected this month's budget to come in a little higher than I would like, and I think that is probably going to be true once we take a look at the numbers. So without further interruption here is my budget for July...
As you can see I came in over budget this month but that was partially planned. I had about $1300 of 'unspent' money from last month from my student loans switching providers so if that gets factored in I actually still came in under budget for this month. I paid $2600 total towards my student loans this month, and as you saw from my July results about $2000 of that ended up going towards principal. I at least did not spend more money than I earned and I haven't dipped into my savings account. I'm starting to think it might be time for that though - it's way too much money to be sitting in the bank with my huge student loans.
My parents gave me a break this month on my "rent", which was pretty awesome. I was thankful for that as it gave me a little extra money to put towards vacation. Some of it balanced out, because I did have to buy some groceries while my parents themselves were away on vacation for a week - but that was more like $15 worth of food compared to the $100 I normally give them each month for that. This will also be the last month without a car insurance payment, those will start up again next month.
Gas money was much higher this month which was from all the extra travelling, as well as the increase in gas prices throughout the month. At least it's started to flatten out and go down a few cents the past week. The rest of my extra spending and entertainment budget mostly consists of spending on vacation, concert tickets for later in year, and a waterpark ticket. I also spent money on some computer games this month, it was the Steam Summer Sale and I couldn't resist! I never buy games at full price though, I'm usually the last person to play that particular game.
My dining out this month consisted of getting pizza one night, and the rest would be food purchased during the ride to and from Ocean City. We actually only ate for dinner on the 4th of the July. We packed lunch to the beach and ate in for breakfast and dinner the rest of the days from groceries we bought beforehand or while down there. I'll be heading back down for a week in August so I expect my spending to be a little higher next month as well.
| Item | Budgeted | Actual | Difference |
| Income | $2,920.00 | $2,920.00 | $0.00 |
| Rent | -$100.00 | $0.00 | $100.00 |
| Car Insurance | -$110.00 | $0.00 | $110.00 |
| Cell Phone | -$20.00 | -$20.00 | $0.00 |
| Gas | -$100.00 | -$167.00 | -$67.00 |
| Gym | -$20.00 | -$20.00 | $0.00 |
| Dining Out | -$50.00 |
-$47.00
|
$3.00 |
| Entertainment | -$100.00 | -$100.00 | $0.00 |
| Total Income After Fixed Expenses | $2,420.00 | $2,566.00 | $146.00 |
| "Extra" Spending | $0.00 | -$225.00 | -$225.00 |
| Total Income Before Student Loans | $2,420.00 | $2,341.00 | -$79.00 |
| Student Loan Payments | -$2,200.00 | -$2,600.00 | -$400.00 |
| Total Remaining | $220.00 | -$259.00 | -$479.00 |
As you can see I came in over budget this month but that was partially planned. I had about $1300 of 'unspent' money from last month from my student loans switching providers so if that gets factored in I actually still came in under budget for this month. I paid $2600 total towards my student loans this month, and as you saw from my July results about $2000 of that ended up going towards principal. I at least did not spend more money than I earned and I haven't dipped into my savings account. I'm starting to think it might be time for that though - it's way too much money to be sitting in the bank with my huge student loans.
My parents gave me a break this month on my "rent", which was pretty awesome. I was thankful for that as it gave me a little extra money to put towards vacation. Some of it balanced out, because I did have to buy some groceries while my parents themselves were away on vacation for a week - but that was more like $15 worth of food compared to the $100 I normally give them each month for that. This will also be the last month without a car insurance payment, those will start up again next month.
Gas money was much higher this month which was from all the extra travelling, as well as the increase in gas prices throughout the month. At least it's started to flatten out and go down a few cents the past week. The rest of my extra spending and entertainment budget mostly consists of spending on vacation, concert tickets for later in year, and a waterpark ticket. I also spent money on some computer games this month, it was the Steam Summer Sale and I couldn't resist! I never buy games at full price though, I'm usually the last person to play that particular game.
My dining out this month consisted of getting pizza one night, and the rest would be food purchased during the ride to and from Ocean City. We actually only ate for dinner on the 4th of the July. We packed lunch to the beach and ate in for breakfast and dinner the rest of the days from groceries we bought beforehand or while down there. I'll be heading back down for a week in August so I expect my spending to be a little higher next month as well.
Monthly Budget Review - July 2013