January marked my fourth whole month of using the YNAB software* and but only my first month of recording all of our household expenses.  In previous months I’ve tracked all of my expenditures, but only some of The Husband’s.  On the income side, I tracked our salaries and any supplemental income I brought in (ie. survey income) but none of our dividend or interest income and none of The Husband’s other misc income (ie. Disabled Vet, pension, or Social Security).

I’m really quite excited to be taking our budgeting to the next level and including every single bit of income and all expenses — his and mine.  Because I’m responsible for the vast majority of our monthly spending (and what I didn’t spend personally I at least knew about — our mortgage, car payment, tuition payments, etc), our new “whole picture” budget reflects only slightly higher monthly expenses.  On the other hand, our income was woefully under-represented in my previous months’ budgets — I’m glad to finally see the reality of our income v. expenses.

The expenses outlined below are categorized just as they are in my YNAB budget. The first number is the amount spent in that category in January. The second number is the difference (+ more) or (- less) between January’s number and December’s.

I only had to add two new categories to our budget now that I’m tracking The Husband’s expenses — his Cash and Misc Expenses. The data I get from The Husband come in the form of copies of all five of his bankbook registers. The Husband doesn’t want to be bothered with turning in each individual receipt — and I have no trouble respecting that. He’s busy, he knows we spend less than we make, and he never makes silly or frivolous or even large purchases. His expenses cover things like meals, groceries for the office or occassionally for something at home, dry cleaning, gas, and the occassional gift for my birthday, our anniversary, or Valentine’s Day. He also buys office supplies, etc. but all of those go onto his expense report and he periodically issues himself a reimbursement check.

In January, we spent a total of $6,843.10 (that’s $731.50 more than in December — if you’re comparing this month’s budget overview to December’s posted overview, these numbers might not vibe due to minor changes and corrections made since posting December’s review post).

Here’s the breakdown:

Auto Expenses — $1,212.27 (-331.13)

• Gas — $305.62
• Loan — $904.15
• Other — $2.50

Charity — $60.00 (-305.00)

• Offerings — $60.00

Food — $690.60 (-114.67)

• Groceries — $593.55
• Eating Out — $97.05

Gifts — $26.39 (-743.15)

• my family — $10.72
• other — $15.67

Household — $489.70 (+359.53)

• Consumables — $167.78
• Durables — $286.89
• other — $14.98
• Postage, Shipping, Supplies — $20.05

Housing — $1,650.74 (+10.64)

• Improvements — $10.64 
• Mortgage — $1,640.10

The Son — $73.24 (-11.86)

• Allowance — $6.00
• Clothing — $67.24

Kids — $366.92 (+318.26)

• Books & Materials — $61.92
• Equipment & Rentals — $35.00
• Lessons & Activity Fees — $270.00

The Daughter — $134.39 (-11.96)

• Allowance — $24.00
• Clothing — $62.89
• School Lunches — $47.50

Medical/Health — $863.85 (+594.64)

• Alternative Care — $355.00 
• Co-pays & Deductibles — $240.00
• Prescriptions & Meds — $81.67
• Vitamins/Supplements — $187.18

Personal — $589.15 (+532.32)

• Books & Music — $24.27
• The Husband’s cash — $200.00
• The Husband’s misc expenses — $222.26
• Other — $118.11
• Toiletries — $24.51

Recreation — $403.78 (+356.50)

• Entertainment — $145.28
• Vacation — $258.50

Utilities — $359.16 (+154.53)

• Cable & Internet — $60.59
• Phone — $210.21
• Water — $88.36

Well, that’s it for January.   I’ll be back next month for another budget review 

December marked my third whole month of using the YNAB software* and I really feel as if I have a handle on the program.  I’m looking forward to taking my budgeting to the next level in 2008 where I’ll be tracking all of our expenses, including The Husband’s, and our actual income not just an estimated average.

Just in previous budget overview reports, Included in my numbers below are ALL of my expenses plus whatever expenses The Husband told me about or gave me copies of invoices/receipts for. Again, not included are his everyday expenses (dry cleaning, the occasional grocery stop, his prescriptions, gas and car expenses, and his lunches). I’d estimate his expenses this month at about $150 - 200.

The expenses outlined below are categorized just as they are in my YNAB budget. The first number is the amount spent in that category in December. The second number is the difference (+ more) or (- less) between December’s number and November’s.

In December, I/we spent a total of $6,090.63 (that’s $2,461.43 more than in November).

Here’s the breakdown:

Auto Expenses — $1,543.39 (+450.65)

• Insurance — $387.40
• Gas — $193.03
• Loan — $904.15
• Maintenance, Repairs, Tires — $58.81

Charity — $365.00 (+179.00)

• Offerings — $365.00

Food — $805.27 (-9.85)

• Groceries — $660.92
• Eating Out — $144.35

Gifts — $748.57 (+269.47)

• Immediate family — $109.71
• his family — $261.58
• my family — $256.86
• other — $120.42

Household — $130.17 (-18.76)

• Consumables — $31.47
• Durables — $27.19
• other — $71.51

Housing — $1,640.10 (-331.54)

• Mortgage — $1,640.10

The Son — $85.17 (-46.13)

• Allowance — $6.00
• Clothing — $79.17

Kids — $48.66 (-91.34)

•  Books & Materials — $11.66
• Equipment & Rentals — $35.00
• other — $2.00

The Daughter — $146.35 (-2,789.40)

• Allowance — $24.00
• Clothing — $122.35

Medical/Health — $269.21 (+117.55)

• Co-pays & Deductibles — $233.70
• Prescriptions & Meds — $10.00
• Vitamins/Supplements — $25.51

Personal — $56.83 (-57.59)

• Other — $17.05
• Stupid Tax — $23.60
• Toiletries — $16.18

Recreation — $47.28 (+21.00)

• Entertainment — $47.28

Utilities — $204.63 (-154.31)

• Cable & Internet — $60.59
• Phone — $144.04

Well, there you have it.  See you next month — with what I hope will be an even more accurate look at our monthly financial details.

November marked my second whole month of using the YNAB software* and I feel as if I’m getting a firmer grip on what the software can do for me and how to get the most out of it.  The Husband willingly sat down with me on the last day of the month and looked over the results of our November spending/budgeting.  This was an exciting step forward in my plans to become more involved and informed in our complete financial picture.

Included in my numbers below are ALL of my expenses plus whatever expenses The Husband told me about or gave me copies of invoices/receipts for. What are not included in these numbers, like last month, are his everyday expenses (dry cleaning, the occasional grocery stop, his prescriptions, gas and car expenses, and his lunches). I’d estimate his expenses this month at about $150 - 200.

The expenses outlined below are categorized just as they are in my YNAB budget.  The first number is the amount spent in that category in November.  The second number is the difference (+ more) or (- less) between November’s number and October’s.  If you’re comparing these numbers to the ones I published in my October overview, things might not come out perfectly — I found one or two instances of expenses that were recorded but not saved and a few things that were miscategorized, etc.

In November, I/we spent a total of $8,552.06 (that’s $2,008.09 more than in October).

Here’s the breakdown:

Auto Expenses — $1,092.74 (-1,232.72)

• Gas — $184.89
• Loan — $904.15
• Maintenance, Repairs, Tires — $3.70

Charity — $186.00 (+98.68)

• Offerings — $185.00
• Miscellaneous — $1.00

Food — $815.12 (+11.86)

• Groceries — $764.27
• Eating Out — $50.85

Gifts — $479.10 (+388.68)

• Immediate family — $296.39
• his family — $32.09
• my family — $111.98
• other — $38.64

Household — $148.93 (-20.43)

• Consumables — $72.22
• Durables — $13.79
• other — $17.16
• Postage, shipping, supplies — $45.76

Housing — $1,971.64 (+157.06)

• Improvements — $331.54
• Mortgage — $1,640.10

The Son — $131.48 (+93.60)

• Allowance — $7.50
• Clothing — $123.98

Kids — $140.00 (-198.43)

• Equipment & Rentals — $35.00
• Lessons & Activity Fees — $105.00

The Daughter — $2,935.75 (+2,710.62)

• Allowance — $30.00
• Clothing — $90.00
• School Lunches — $23.75
• School Tuition — $2,792.00

Medical/Health — $151.66 (+40.03)

• Co-pays — $25.00
• Prescriptions — $72.42
• Vitamins/Supplements — $54.24

Personal — $114.42 (-109.74)

• Books & Music — $13.97
• my Clothing — $34.27
• Other — $15.82
• Toiletries — $50.36

Recreation — $26.28 (-26.00)

• Entertainment — $26.28

Utilities — $358.94 (+94.88)

• Cable & Internet — $38.84
• Gas & Electricity — $103.30
• Phone — $143.24
• Water — $73.56

Well, there it is in it’s full glory.  You really can’t ask for more transparency than that, can you?  Could we live cheaper?  Most definitely.  I think we can cut our expenses to some degree without feeling a pinch.  If drastic measures were required, we could make drastic cuts.  But for now, they aren’t needed.  My goals in the next year are 1) to continue to track and anticipate/budget our expenses using my YNAB software* and 2) to see how many pennies I can pinch before my family says “ouch.”

It’s been busy around here so my monthly overview/wrap-up took longer than I’d hoped. I wanted to make sure my numbers were as accurate as possible so I took the time to reconcile my YNAB budget with my three credit card accounts, Paypal, and my checking account before posting this overview.

This was my first whole month of using the YNAB software* so I don’t have any numbers to compare this data to. But I think it will prove an interesting and helpful baseline for the future. Included in my numbers are ALL of my expenses and whatever The Husband told me about or gave me copies of invoices/receipts for. I’m still working on introducing the YNAB budgeting software to The Husband; he’s been very open to it but these things take time. What is not included in these numbers, then, are his everyday expenses like dry cleaning, groceries he buys (minimal), his prescriptions, gasoline in his car, car maintenance (which I know he did this month) and his lunches. I’d guess that his monthly undocumented expenses are in the $200-300 range.

So, are you ready for this? It’s positively scary! I/We spent a total of $6,484.90 last month.

Here’s the breakdown:

Auto Expenses — $2,325.46

• Insurance (Impreza, 6-mos.) — $503.31
• Gas — $270.22
• Loan — $904.15
• Maintenance, Repairs, Tires — $647.78

Charity — $87.32

• Offerings — $75.00
• Miscellaneous — $12.32

Food — $783.03

• Groceries — $712.33
• Eating Out — $70.70

Gifts — $90.42

• Immediate family — $37.86
• my family — $44.06
• other — $8.50

Household — $169.36

• Computer Software — $39.95
• Consumables — $56.49
• Durables — $21.16
• other — $20.81
• Postage, shipping, supplies — $30.50

Housing — $1,814.58

• Improvements — $174.48
• Mortgage — $1,640.10

The Son — $37.88

• Allowance — $6.00
• Clothing — $31.88

Kids — $338.43

• Books & Materials — $6.71
• Equipment & Rentals — $35.00
• Lessons & Activity Fees — $255.00
• Other — $41.72

The Daughter — $255.13

• Allowance — $24.00
• Clothing — $101.47
• Cosmetics — $71.16
• School Lunches — $28.50

Medical/Health — $96.14

• Co-pays — $25.00
• Prescriptions — $15.59
• Vitamins/Supplements — $71.04

Personal — $224.16

• Books & Music — $54.41
• my Clothing — $86.12
• Other — $58.09
• Toiletries — $25.54

Recreation — $52.28

• Entertainment — $52.28

Utilities — $225.22

• Gas & Electricity — $96.58
• Phone — $128.64

I wonder how this compares to other families in our area. How do these numbers compare to your?