March Spending Report
We had big plans for March. March is a month of three paychecks so we planned to finish paying off the Subaru and sock away as much money as we could for a possible cross country move. We were able to do both of these things but looking at where the money went, I think we could've been tighter and the pile of cash could have been bigger. I think because we knew there were three paychecks, things felt looser, we felt more comfortable spending a little here, a little there. Well...that adds up quick! We need to get back on track for April and reviewing our March spending really threw that into focus.
This month we decided to add House Projects and Car Maintenance as a category because they were taking a large chunk of the miscellaneous. If there are other categories you'd like to see broken out, please let us know!
Tithing & Offerings
In March we paid $708 to tithing and offerings ($10 for fast offering). The percentage is a little low because the last paycheck we received, tithing wasn't drafted from our account until April so it'll be in that spending report.
Mortgage
Last spring we had escrow released to our management and had our home reappraised to remove PMI. Our Mortgage payment is solely for the mortgage and nothing else. We paid $883.83.
With house values rising right now it might be a good time to have your home reappraised to have your PMI removed. At the very least, you can contact your mortgage holder and ask them what the process is for getting PMI removed.
Utilities
This includes our power ($79.60), natural gas ($108.74), comcast internet and basic cable ($79.80), water ($69.80), and phones ($97.92)
Sinking Funds
We have four sinking funds; car registrations ($36), life insurance ($64.02), escrow ($210), and car insurance ($143.62)
Food
The food category includes our groceries (which actually includes more than just food - it includes paper products, baby items, beauty, cleaning supplies), eating out, and Ben's breakfasts at work.
We spent $897.11 on groceries in March! That's practically THREE months of groceries on our regular budget. March was caselot so we planned on spending more than usual, but this grand total is way higher than I was expecting. We went to Costco twice, which impulse buys there aren't just $1 or $2 it's $10 or $20. We also had several small trips. I'm convinced that cutting your grocery trips to as few as you can is going to save you big bucks!! You can see our grocery trips HERE and HERE.
Ben's breakfasts came to $9.32 We keep that down by preparing breakfast items for Ben at home and packaging leftovers for him to take.
We spent $139.54 at restaurants, mostly pizza and fast food. Some of this is from Ben's trip to Tennessee.
Kid's Activities
Every year for St Patrick's we do a rainbow clover scavenger hunt where the kids find chocolate coins and gold dollar coins at the end of the rainbow. This came to $14.61.
We rented a couple of Redbox DVDs with codes to get the cost waaaay down $0.81
We went on a field trip to Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake. We had already paid for tickets back in September, but parking was $4.18.
Gas
$298.48. We were right on budget!
School Travel
$674.64. This was Ben's flights, rental car, gas, and luggage fees for his 3 day trip to Tennessee to interview for grad school!
Clothing
$20. I couldn't resist the clearance at Target on kid's underwear and socks. I bought more!
Gifts
$17.92
Home Projects
$54.34. We bought a $50 Home Depot gift card from Smiths during their 4x Fuel Rewards Promo. We also had to buy an extra board to finish the window frames in our master bedroom.
Car Maintenance
$161.92 Our Suburu, that we also paid off this month, has been having issues with the power steering. Ben fixed it though because he is Mr. Handyman!
Miscellaneous
$359.79. We bought pet supplies, chicken food, lawn fertilizer, a haircut, etc.
$120 was our allowance. We each get $20 per paycheck to spend however we'd like.
Debt
$2,475.79. We finished paying off the Subaru this month!! We also made regular payments to our windows ($164.64) and Credit Card ($140). We have officially paused the debt snowball and are starting to lay up our money in case Ben gets accepted to grad school and we get to experience a cross country move! We saved a grand total of $175 for March ;-) .
Entertainment
Zip. Zilch. Nada. But we definitely weren't bored this month! You don't have to spend money to have fun!
