by Hope
I made a budget in May. Both personal and business.
I made it before the house sold, before I moved to Texas and in with my parents. And before I knew what life would be like here.
It’s time for some revisions.
You can see those budgets here: Personal and Professional Budget.
I’ve been rolling things around in my head that have been mentioned in the comments and in response to my various posts.
Things to Review
Here are some of the things I need to address with my new budget:
- Life Insurance – cancel it? That’s the way I’m leaning. I have until next month to decide as I’m paid up through then.
- Savings – I really appreciated a recent comment about how my buckets on Ally give me an excuse to spend my savings with a bucket for Christmas and Travel and such. I need to rethink how to handle those shorter term savings vs longer term savings and keep them seperate.
- Saving on Business Expenses – I’ve already cut a good number of my business expenses so really just need to revise this to what’s happening now. Expenses like Zoom are gone. While others have been converted to annual so saving me some $$.
- Travel – I had fully planned to travel for 4-6 weeks this fall in addition to the wedding. Now I don’t plan to travel at all outside of the wedding related travel. Do I keep saving toward that some day or dump that money into my retirement or house savings?
- Hearing Aids – I’ve got to invest in new ears. I go see an ENT specialist next month after some unusual results with my last hearing test. So I’m trying to hold out til then. But new ears are going to have to be in the budget for every 3-5 years, and they will range from $2-5K. So I’ve got to prioritize saving for those as an ongoing expense.
So you can see my point in revisiting my budget. And as BAD is quick to point out and I fully recognize, I need the boundaries and guidelines to live by, else I do have a tendency to spend more impulsively. Although I feel like I’m doing much, much better with that. Seeing my savings accounts grow every week has been very motivating.
I’m going to tackle this after I return from Georgia next week.
Anything else I should consider? Additions? Changes?
Hope is a resourceful and solutions-driven business manager who has spent nearly two decades helping clients streamline their operations and grow their businesses through project management, digital marketing, and tech expertise. Recently transitioning from her role as a single mom of five foster/adoptive children to an empty nester, Hope is navigating the emotional and practical challenges of redefining her life while maintaining her determination to regain financial control and eliminate debt.
Living in a cozy small town in northeast Georgia with her three dogs, Hope cherishes the serenity of the mountains over the bustle of the beach. Though her kids are now finding their footing in the world—pursuing education, careers, and independence—she remains deeply committed to supporting them in this next chapter, even as she faces the bittersweet tug of letting go.
Since joining the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015, Hope has candidly shared her journey of financial ups and downs. Now, with a renewed focus and a clear path ahead, she’s ready to tackle her finances with the same passion and perseverance that she’s brought to her life and career. Through her writing, she continues to inspire others to confront their own financial challenges and strive for a brighter future.
Hope you should not travel except for maybe 3 days for the wedding and no other travel. How can you help with your mom when you are always not there?You owe money on your student loans and that is what you should spend extra money on. So many told you about the hearing aids but surprisingly you didn’t listen but wasted money on air buds.
I am kinda dreading this post for you because I already can possibly see additional debt in your future for the hearing aids and you know that everyone is going to be screaming at their computers that you just sold your house for a profit so why are you having to add new debt. Your line item for health insurance is $75. I am going to guess that does not cover hearing aids at a discount? Suggestion :Costco has hearing aids discounted. It might be worth it to bring a list of the products to your appointment and consider getting a membership to cut your costs.
In addition to the line items you intend to change, I highly recommend you calculate an “Actual vs Planned” for the past 3 months to inform additional needed updates. Whether categories are above, below or on target, you should have 3 months real data to work with. Including May.
I do think it’s good that you are working with a therapist. I don’t know if you are fully grasping how perilous your financial and retirement situation is. If I were you I would absolutely not be traveling any more than needed and would be trying to max out a retirement account instead.
Does your health plan qualify for an HSA (not to be confused with an FSA)? If so, I think that should be one of your top savings goals for your health expenses and hearing aids. Aim to save the annual maximum contribution this year and every year going forward. And then have a mid-term goal of saving up whatever the out of pocket maximum amount is for your health plan. It gives you a ton of peace of mind to know if an emergency happens you already have money set aside for it.
If it does not qualify for an HSA, and only an FSA, then you’d want to contribute to an FSA only for the year you plan to buy hearing aids.