CarrieDaway

It’s the end of the month and time for the budget report.

This month we entered new territory with a new man by our side. Baby Sam is perfection and will inevitably result in some changes to our budget. The chaos of a hospital stay got us off our A game but technically we managed to keep to a budget.

March Income
Our income in March was bolstered by a tax refund but that money is reserved for a big insurance payment due in the summer and not included in these numbers. I did include the FSA reimbursement which gave us a bigger number to work with.

If you looked at the budget template, I break down our spending into two broad categories Monthly Bills (the things we are definitely paying for – mortgage, car payment, utilities, daycare, etc.) and Variable Expenses (the spending we hypothetically have more control over). Here’s how those areas shaped out:

March Bills
An interesting thing happened this month – we paid for daycare three times. It never occurred to me that since we pay bi-weekly there would be months that we pay three times. This was one of those months. A perk is that Lucas changed rooms so the rate is $36 less each charge.

March Expenses
Thankfully I budgeted to get my hair done in March but didn’t get it done otherwise we would have exceeded our budget.

Our grocery budget went over by $32 – a lot of energy drinks and vending items were needed by the men of the house.

The gas budget was just under which is alarming because I barely drove anywhere and Danny didn’t work the final days of the month, although we did make a lot of trips to the hospital.

The boys expenses also went over by $22, diapers were a big thing and money spent for Lucas’ birthday.

Household was also over by $55, mainly due to gardening supplies to start a vegetable garden.

Some carelessness due to Lucas’ birthday, the flu and Sam’s birth meant we weren’t as successful as I’d hope but we did stay within the budgeted amount.

March Overview
It was a big life changing month and I think we did the best we could.

Looking Ahead

• Adjustment period – Danny goes back to work at the start of the month and I go back to full-time work mode at the end. The stress and strain of this will make things a bit more challenging this month but I’m hoping we can keep on budget.
• Water bill – Our water bill was never delivered and since we were three months in the year I knew something was up. I called the water department and learned this is not uncommon but they don’t send additional notices so if you don’t call or get your next bill you won’t know until they turn off your water. So that had to be paid (with an at least minor late fee) and the next water bill will also be due in April.
• Easter – I’m not getting outfits for any of us but I am getting a few things for their baskets.

April Budget Breakdown
We’re continuing to enter new territory for our budget. I increased our household budget by a quarter as a result. I’ll leave the rest as it were and see how we do. Without any extra income this month we don’t have a big margin for error and very little that can go towards savings.

Laying out our budget like I did in the original post here’s how things shape out.

• • • 32% – Variable expenses
      • Food, gas/car, boys, household, misc.
    • 18% – Mortgage
    • 24% – Bills
      • Car payment, gym, and utilities
    • 13% – Daycare
    • 8% – Digital Expenses
      • Phones, cable, internet, Netflix, Spotify, Google, Amazon
    • 5% – Savings