New to budgeting! Monthly Budget April 2022

#budget #budget2022 #budgeting #debtfreejourney

[thomaschew]

Ok good
I have a few comments I'm trying to not to sound harsh but here goes...

General statement most if not all people find money when they do a written budget. So far so good.

One thing we have found helpful and this isn't easy but try to save enough to pay 1 month bills on the first of the month that way you will not overdraw your account. What that means is you should strive at some future point to have a minimum in your checking of $6000 or there about. Once you have this you will no longer be living "paycheck to paycheck".

OK to the fine points:

We have 5 cats and a dog (a sheltie), plus chickens and pigeons. I can tell you plainly that the hardest budget items to figure out are the pets. So, I would further break those items down into sub lines (food, vet and so forth). For food we buy 100 pounds dry and 120 cans wet (costco/sams club) at a time and keep at least 2 months supply on hand, same with cat litter. That way you are not running around in a panic when you discover you are out of dog food. So we have budget line items for chicken feed, pigeon feed, livestock misc, pet care (vet fund), dog food, cat food, cat litter. If I add all this up it is $190.00/month. You are budgeting (total) $300/month for 2 dogs. Big difference.

So my advice is to look at this very very very closely. My wife has a side gig, it happens to be dog grooming. Either find a less expensive groomer or learn how to groom your dogs it is not that hard. My wife charges way more for dog owners that do not brush out their dogs coats frequently because it is way harder to groom those dogs. Not saying you don't but something to consider. You are paying a total of $1700/year for pet insurance. I assume that pays for routine office visits and some procedures but that is way too much to spend. Find the cheapest vet for routine visits and set up a savings account for emergencies and save some money.

On your fixed expenses you budget subscriptions $119, Apple $56, Cell $162, Internet $169 Total there is $506 One word...WOW! We pay $30x2-$60 cell, $80 internet no tv, $10 net flix $10 amazon prime total $160 the difference is $350.00/month. Yes, we used to spend that kind of money before we started working on being debt free.

You have your 52 week savings which is good but you should consider a household emergency fund $1000 for you and you need to put something into general savings even it it's $50/month to start

I missed the paleton. I ride bikes 150 miles a week. For inside I use a smart trainer mine is a Kinetic wheel on you can get one of these or similar for about $500. They need a regular bike though. For on-line I use Zwift that costs $16/month. My opinion is paleton is way over priced way way over priced sometimes I think I have too much in my set up but nothing like a paleton.

Sorry i don't mean to sound mean but if you want to master this thing you need to look at literally everything on your budget. I can hear it in your voice that you are concerned and you should be but the very good news is your and your husband are headed in the right direction. 5 years ago we were in your shoes so I know somewhat how you feel and I can say you can fix this but it is hard work. You can do this!

[missmrice]

You will find it so freeing and less stressful when you don’t have so many payment s going to credit cards and other debts! Keep up the good work

[christyjones]

You are doing good!! As you get going you will know and learn how to cut costs.

[judiashley]

Some suggestions Cut the cell phone bill if you can. I did the pay as you go plans like Cricket you can get monthly for 30.00 so you have an extra 100.00. Get rid of Peloton. Exercise is important but you can do it for free. Cut the internet down shoukd not be that high. Can you do your own pet grooming? That would save alot. Not sure why rent varies but seems some extra money there could be used toward debt if rent ends up less. You could definitely cut the 100.00 each monthly spending back some even if just briefly.

[BudgetingwithTracey]

I’m new to your channel. Great video!!

[angelicavasquez]

Internet at that price?! Omg dear you need to shop around because I get my high speed internet for $55 😦

[oldschoolbudgets]

Hey. New subscriber here. Thanks for sharing. I’m a budgeter too

[wunderwriter]

I would consider adding the Apple phone bill to debt, so you can pay it off and snowball the payment.

[erinmaldonado]

New subscriber here. I look forward to seeing more videos 😀 I am new to budget binders and cash envelopes. Where can I find the budget sheet you are using?

[maryrock]

Hi! New subscriber here. Just a point I saw on a great girl I'm following" a good mid life crisis" she is doing the 52 week challenge but doing week 1 with week 52, then week 2 with week 51 and so on. Everytime it comes to 53.00. Easier to budget b/c same amount everytime and also 53.00 is an easier amount to part with! I told her she was a genius!! 😁😁

[amandam]

I round my numbers up too. I can’t stand dealing with cents- too messy looking lol

[qq]

Mint Mobil for phone service, girl ! SOOO much cheaper at $20 for unlimited everything and bring your own phone. I would also consider taking the money you are paying on the student loans and throwing it all at your credit cards until such time that you are required to pay them. They are typically at a much lower interest rate and you have a ton of high interest credit card debt to get out from under. I wonder if you have calculated how much interest you are paying per month on your credit cards just paying the minimum payments? Cuz if you knew, you would be cutting everything except essentials out of your budget to pay those off as quickly as possible. I do realize you have just started and kudos to you for taking the first step, but your budget needs to be cut WAY back to essentials so that you can hammer that debt before some other "thing" comes up that you need to charge cuz you havent got a 6 month all expenses emergency fund. I hate to be so frank, but you owe more in debt than we owe on our home loan and if you dont hit it harder than you have planned its going to take you 20 years to pay off all that deb and to start saving for your home. What state do you live in?

[mompookies]

Hi. I have Verizon. I found out it was cheaper to buy the prepaid phone card than to go through them for a monthly bill. I was able to have them deduct it from my checking account which saved me more money. I still get the same great service, but I pay less. $50 a month. I'd definitely spend time the month before renewal on car insurance, pet insurance, internet, etc. looking for a better deal. I can't remember if I saw your water/trash bill included in your budget. Is that included in rent? Are you planning on doing sinking funds?