by Hope
I have settled on a Winter budget. I anticipate sticking to this budget for the first quarter of the new year.
I really appreciate your comments and suggestions when I posted my first draft. And I really considered them all.
Without further ado, here is my budget for the beginning of 2019.
Hope's Winter 2019 Monthly Budget
| Description | Monthly Budget |
|---|---|
| Rent | $650 |
| Groceries | $600 |
| Household (hygiene, cleaning, etc.) | $10 |
| Auto - Gas | $120 |
| Health Insurance | medicaid ($305) |
| Auto/Rent Insurance | $100 |
| Utilities (gas, electric, water, trash) | $290 |
| Life Insurance | $23 (paid quarterly) |
| Buffer | |
| Kids Activities | $50 |
| Entertainment/Clothing | $150 |
| Auto - Maintenance/Fees | $30 |
| Debt Payments - minimum payments | |
| Car Payment | $400 |
| Collections #2 | $246 |
| Credit Card | $0 |
| Collections #3 | $0 |
| Student Loans | $100 |
| Total Personal | $2,769 |
Things to Note
- I’ve cut my personal hygiene budget after reviewing my numbers from this past year.
- I left my Kids’ Activities and Entertainment and Clothing budgets as they were. I looked at the numbers, what is coming for us all in this coming year and feel they are reasonable.
- I cut the Auto Maintenance numbers after reviewing this past year, and with continued hopes that my car will hold up with minimal expenses this next year.
- I removed the budgeted money toward my credit card debt as I continue to use it as a revolving line of credit.
- BIGGEST CHANGE – I have decided NOT to payoff the tax debt (Collections #2) this month. Instead, I am adding that $1,000 to my existing EF, bringing the total to $2,000. This means, I will have to continue to pay the $246 for 4 months (unless I have a fantastic month during the first quarter.)
- Finally, I am going to pay a $100 towards my student loan debt. It just doesn’t make sense to me to be decreasing all my debts, but this one grows by $70+ per month. It seems counter-productive.
Hopes
My hope is that as my business continues to grow in the new year, I can stick to this budget and pour any additional income to paying off my debts. But worse case, I will have Collections #2 paid off before my full payments for my student loans kick in. And will hopefully, also have Collections #3 settled and paid.
So my debt priorities as we start the new year are as follows:
- Grow EF by $1,000 – done
- Pay off Collections #2 – no later than April, possibly sooner.
- Pay off Collection #3 – as soon as Collections #2 is closed out.
- Credit Card.
- Car.
- Student Loans.
