I printed out my statement for February and here is my Tale of the Tape. The Zero Based budget did not work out well at all for the first go around and it most definitely needs work. A couple things were out of my control, escalating utility costs, missed medical payment, rising cost of gas and yup, just some un needed spending on my part. BB was a bad girl.
Expense Budget Actual Difference
Mortgage $555 $555 $0
Health Insurance $200 $317.43 $117.43
Utilities $170 $398.51 $228.51
Food $200 $205 $5
Phones $60 $31.20 $28.80
Internet $15 $15 $0
Misc $100 $213 $103
E fund $200 $200 $0
Car Insurance $90 $187 $97
Student Loan $174 $174 $0
Additional Income $0 $70 $70
Transportation/Gas $110 $173.84 $63.84
What killed my budget was the following:
Gas: A trip to the Jersey Shore and two trips to the NY metro area to see the aged relative in the hospital.
Food: I forgot to renew my Costco membership in January and it was an additional $50 unplanned for. plus I shopped for road snacks for my drives to and from NY/NJ. I probably would have been closer to $150. Giving up beer for lent has been a good thing! No little trips to the store for a quick six pack! Food included all animal food and liquor purchases for the month.
Misc: Money needed for parking, tolls, meals in the city, a long overdue hair cut, and yup, a couple cups of Starbucks. How fast that all added up.
Utilities: I just did not bank on my extra ordinary high electric bills, and that really took a chunk of money.
Medical: My share of my Health Insurance payment for January went missing, so I had to double pay for February and I had my share to pay of a doctors visit. I have the HSA and I keep forgetting to put money in it so I can deduct from that account instead of my main account.
Car Insurance: Found out my car insurance payment never made it to the company either, I'm begining to wonder if someone pilfered the mail. I had a late fee as well as the regular payment to make.
The excess was money designated for my E-fund and the little extra I made photographing houses. Last month was a mess. This has to improve. Has to.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Two No Spend Days and The Lunch Plan is Working
Because I actually PLANNED my lunches and dinners this week, I've had two no spend days and have packed my lunch three days in a row. Actually, the boss surprised us with pizza today, today's soup will be tomorrows lunch.
I'm very excited to go home and make a meatloaf and a stir fry for my dinner tonight! Doesn't my evening sound exciting? But in a way it is. I'm not spending money. I'm using food out of my cupboard and I'm not fighting the urge to go out at lunch and grab a soda or a snack. I'm looking forward to putting my feet up on the couch and watching one of my $5.50 DVD's tongiht on my TV. Another good start to the month!
I'm very excited to go home and make a meatloaf and a stir fry for my dinner tonight! Doesn't my evening sound exciting? But in a way it is. I'm not spending money. I'm using food out of my cupboard and I'm not fighting the urge to go out at lunch and grab a soda or a snack. I'm looking forward to putting my feet up on the couch and watching one of my $5.50 DVD's tongiht on my TV. Another good start to the month!
A Paper Clean Out
One of my goals for 2008 is to put my files in a pdf format and save them to either a disc or hard drive. I want to eliminate as much paper as I can.
I went through my files and shredded old and unneeded credit card statements, really old tax returns (from the 1990's), old insurance policies (cancelled, no longer use that company,no claims to that company) that were more than 5 years old. Piles of old household receipts for things like potting soil (I kept any receipt for a large repair), home improvement quotes etc. I borrowed a paper shredder from work and spent a happy couple of hours shredding the paper.
It then went neatly bagged to the neighbors who will use it as bedding for their pet ferrets and the soiled bedding will eventually make it's way to their compost pile. They have a compost pile that is just used animal bedding (shredded paper, sawdust), leaves and grass. At some point all those old papers will come to some good use as mulch for the garden.
I then re-organized my files and took the first two months of 2008 papers and sorted them. I had previously set up a file box with about 4 sections for different items, but until I can find an inexpensive scanner, I'm still feelig the urge to file everything in it's own file. It was nice to have a bit of a paper purge AND to be able to see the top of my desk and the bottom of my in box. Yes a little obsessive, but I can see my desk top!
I went through my files and shredded old and unneeded credit card statements, really old tax returns (from the 1990's), old insurance policies (cancelled, no longer use that company,no claims to that company) that were more than 5 years old. Piles of old household receipts for things like potting soil (I kept any receipt for a large repair), home improvement quotes etc. I borrowed a paper shredder from work and spent a happy couple of hours shredding the paper.
It then went neatly bagged to the neighbors who will use it as bedding for their pet ferrets and the soiled bedding will eventually make it's way to their compost pile. They have a compost pile that is just used animal bedding (shredded paper, sawdust), leaves and grass. At some point all those old papers will come to some good use as mulch for the garden.
I then re-organized my files and took the first two months of 2008 papers and sorted them. I had previously set up a file box with about 4 sections for different items, but until I can find an inexpensive scanner, I'm still feelig the urge to file everything in it's own file. It was nice to have a bit of a paper purge AND to be able to see the top of my desk and the bottom of my in box. Yes a little obsessive, but I can see my desk top!
Some Really Good News!
I've been a bit absent from blogging as I deal with a family issue and some "things" at work. Work has been interesting the past few weeks, we lost one employee to early retirement and one fairly new employee "jumped ship" to another company. My boss decided in this current economy NOT to replace them right away and really do a job search to find a suitable candidate. Since we rely on these employees to bring in revenue, I was a little nervous, could my job be on the line. My E-fund is sorely lacking and I'm just getting my act back together.
I work as a cross between a project manager, office manager and a bit of a personal assistant for a small company in New England. Pretty much we all wear many hats and do what has to be done to get the work done. My boss takes out the trash, I shop for office snacks, we both do filing, answering of the phones, computer work and lots of customer care and contacts.
The good news is my job is OK and the even better news is I got a small raise! My boss is not a man of many words and I was surprised and pleased about the raise. He said it was in recognition of the additional work I've been doing and the way I've redefined my position at the company making things run smoothly and enabling him to do what he does best.
Wow, it's probably the best news I've had in the past few weeks. Now to focus on the second job
I work as a cross between a project manager, office manager and a bit of a personal assistant for a small company in New England. Pretty much we all wear many hats and do what has to be done to get the work done. My boss takes out the trash, I shop for office snacks, we both do filing, answering of the phones, computer work and lots of customer care and contacts.
The good news is my job is OK and the even better news is I got a small raise! My boss is not a man of many words and I was surprised and pleased about the raise. He said it was in recognition of the additional work I've been doing and the way I've redefined my position at the company making things run smoothly and enabling him to do what he does best.
Wow, it's probably the best news I've had in the past few weeks. Now to focus on the second job
Monday, March 3, 2008
Some Extra Income
I'm starting off the month with three property photo requests. $45 to be added to my new to me car fund. I just have to remember to transfer the money from my main checking account and put it into my ING account.
While I don't have any real estate clients, at least I can pick up a little money on these property shoots.
While I don't have any real estate clients, at least I can pick up a little money on these property shoots.
Meal Planning Week one of March
To go along with my monster food shop, I've done a tentative meal plan for the week so I don't lose focus and let all that food go bad in my fridge. I'v done that before and it's not good as they say.
Breakfasts: Cereal or bread product with egg or cream cheese and veggies.
Dinners: Meatloaf, Soup, Stir Fry, Rice and Vegetable Pilaf, Pasta.
Lunch: Dinner leftovers, interspersed with Salads.
Snacks: Fruit.
I did re-organize my food cupboards on Saturday so I could get a sense of what I had in them and to give me some inspiration in my meals. I have a lot of staples that I need to start using up. Even dried beans have a shelf life!
Breakfasts: Cereal or bread product with egg or cream cheese and veggies.
Dinners: Meatloaf, Soup, Stir Fry, Rice and Vegetable Pilaf, Pasta.
Lunch: Dinner leftovers, interspersed with Salads.
Snacks: Fruit.
I did re-organize my food cupboards on Saturday so I could get a sense of what I had in them and to give me some inspiration in my meals. I have a lot of staples that I need to start using up. Even dried beans have a shelf life!
Starting Off The Month With A More Optimistic Look and a Lot of Shopping
Not having reliable Internet access at home means I'm way behind in my posts. Even though Friday was still February, I did start on my March food shopping. On my way home I stopped at the Aldi and spent $23.33 on a lot of staples (sugar, flour, eggs, pasta, canned beans, dairy items, tortillas) that I needed for my food cupboards.
I also went to Target, I needed my Method cleaning products and some toiletries. I found two great airtight storage containers for my flour and sugar. The old fashioned metal sugar container is not airtight and my sugar has been getting damp. I got two nice sized containers for $4.99 each and each holds 5 lbs of flour and at least 5lbs of sugar. I like being able to see what's in the containers in my cupboards. I did give myself a little treat, I spent $5.50 on a DVD-actually two DVD's for $5.50. Not a bad purchase! Total spent at Target $40.46
Grocery Shop for fruits, salad items, meats, grains, at Ethnic Grocery Stores: $35.72 (includes some laundry detergent as well)
Costco Shop: $83.31-Includes new car charger and blue tooth headset for phone ($30.00), I'm just not getting the hang of the new phone with the speakerphone option, I keep disconnecting callers.
I've spent $122.36 of my food budget ($175) and the month is three days old. I did however, get a ton of things I can use for my lunches (Part of Costco shop, meats, fruit and veg) and I have meats in the freezer that I can use for my meal planning.
I made a huge pot of chicken soup yesterday, some to be eaten, most to be frozen for soup and stock. The actual chicken itself will be turned into chicken salad tonight and some chicken kept aside to make a chicken pot pie. I restocked my flour and grain supply and have plans to make more interesting breads in the bread maker, make some pizza dough for pizza or calzones, make some Indian and Chinese inspired meals. I'm thinking about a noodle stir fry tonight!
Part of my shopping was geared towards having alternative foods for my lunches. By alternative foods, I mean pre-made/ready made food that if I forget to pack my lunch, I will have at work or be able to grab and toss in my lunch sack on my way out the door. Some of these pre-made meals are high in sodium and I've been searching for ones that are not 30% of my daily requirement.
I also went to Target, I needed my Method cleaning products and some toiletries. I found two great airtight storage containers for my flour and sugar. The old fashioned metal sugar container is not airtight and my sugar has been getting damp. I got two nice sized containers for $4.99 each and each holds 5 lbs of flour and at least 5lbs of sugar. I like being able to see what's in the containers in my cupboards. I did give myself a little treat, I spent $5.50 on a DVD-actually two DVD's for $5.50. Not a bad purchase! Total spent at Target $40.46
Grocery Shop for fruits, salad items, meats, grains, at Ethnic Grocery Stores: $35.72 (includes some laundry detergent as well)
Costco Shop: $83.31-Includes new car charger and blue tooth headset for phone ($30.00), I'm just not getting the hang of the new phone with the speakerphone option, I keep disconnecting callers.
I've spent $122.36 of my food budget ($175) and the month is three days old. I did however, get a ton of things I can use for my lunches (Part of Costco shop, meats, fruit and veg) and I have meats in the freezer that I can use for my meal planning.
I made a huge pot of chicken soup yesterday, some to be eaten, most to be frozen for soup and stock. The actual chicken itself will be turned into chicken salad tonight and some chicken kept aside to make a chicken pot pie. I restocked my flour and grain supply and have plans to make more interesting breads in the bread maker, make some pizza dough for pizza or calzones, make some Indian and Chinese inspired meals. I'm thinking about a noodle stir fry tonight!
Part of my shopping was geared towards having alternative foods for my lunches. By alternative foods, I mean pre-made/ready made food that if I forget to pack my lunch, I will have at work or be able to grab and toss in my lunch sack on my way out the door. Some of these pre-made meals are high in sodium and I've been searching for ones that are not 30% of my daily requirement.
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