Current budget

Recently I shared that we have a big goal to pay off our mortgage within five years. Here’s the budget that is helping us get there.

You’ll see that we have $1,000 of savings budgeted towards the house each month, which we put into a Vanguard index fund (a fund that is not actively managed and tracks with the stock market).

With the help of Mint we try to make our budget reflect real life. That’s why we have nearly $100 worth of miscellaneous medical expenses and pharmacy costs even though I consider us a really healthy family. But considering that a typical month could include one of Cedric’s routine appointments plus an eye exam for me plus some over-the-counter allergy medication for Chris and this budget is not far off.

Changes from our last budget:

+ Daycare costs reflect two children in daycare. $1,950 is actually an average monthly cost. Because we pay our daycare bill weekly the total cost fluctuates a bit month to month depending on how many weeks there are in the month.

+ Recently, we had my iPhone unlocked and Chris and I are both on plans with Net on the Run, an MVNO service (which unfortunately I think only takes new business customers now). Our total cell phone bill is $50, down from $100. Feels so good.

+ We increased my Orange Theory membership. Chris and I each have 8x/month memberships.

Questions? Please ask in the comments or email me!

And if you’d like more budget conversations, on today’s episode of Matrimoney Chris and I are sharing how we did sticking to our budget in August with the help of Mint to keep us honest. 

11 responses to “Current budget”

  1. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    I’m surprised that your eating out/coffee budget is so low—only because I know how much we spend per month, yowza!—but it makes sense when you have a big financial goal you’re working towards. How often would you say you eat out? And do you find it impacts your social life? I think the two biggest reasons we eat out are convenience and hanging out with friends.

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      You know what cuts your eating out budget a ton? Having two small children – ha! But honestly, we definitely used to eat/drink out more often but now our whole social circle has small children and going out is not fun, it’s stressful, so we do at-home get togethers. Our individual entertainment budgets (each $150) also go towards some eating out, like lunch, etc when we are at work although we do usually bring our lunch.

      It’s tough when going out is a social thing, I get it! We probably eat out 2 – 3 times/month but it’s usually not a full meal, something like coffee and quick breakfast. Being vegetarian and trying to eat really healthy we tend to cook for ourselves a lot. You could try having people over more often for potlucks if you really wanted to cut down or try to commit to eating at home when it’s just the two of you, or even just saying let’s only eat out X amount of time per month.

      Reply
    2. Amanda Avatar
      Amanda

      That’s true about the kids; I never thought of having kids as a way to save money haha! We’re not in that stage of our lives yet, but someday!

      Reply
  2. Leanne Avatar
    Leanne

    I was going to get jealous of your electric bill until I saw childcare! I am fortunate enough to have childcare for our 2 kiddos at my job a can its significantly discounted. I am trying to cut our $170 cell phone bill currently and struggling. We need data and text messaging but I cannot find a carrier that offers that without charging a ton! I hate that bill but it is more necessary for us than cable- we cut that in May!

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      For reducing a cell phone bill I would highly recommend looking into MVNO plans! Republic Wireless is one, although I don’t think that serve iPhones but I’m sure there are others that do serve iPhones. To use an MVNO you have to have your phone unlocked and be out of contract with one of the big carriers but for a total of $50/month Chris and I each have unlimited talk/text and 1 GB each of data. We are on wifi at home and work so we do not have problems with that data plan. Getting rid of cable is so liberating, awesome!

      Reply
    2. Dawn Avatar
      Dawn

      I know this post is a little older but I am only just now looking into MVNO plans. Do you still like yours? Are there any downsides I should factor in? The savings look amazing. Thanks for sharing the tips about phone being unlocked and out of contract.

      Reply
    3. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      Hi! I was JUST thinking that I need to do a 2017 budget post! On the MVNO plan – we still LOVE ours. It’s still just $50/month for BOTH of us, great coverage, data, etc. To unlock my phone I seem to remember it being fairly easy – I think actually Chris was handling it, but it was when I was already out of a contract. Chris had broken his contract and had it unlocked and it took a while and was a pain. Basically if you can find a way to use an MVNO I would highly recommend, that’s been a huge savings for us.

      Reply
  3. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    I love how openly you share about your finances. It is comforting to see that you are spending a lot on groceries, because we are too! We regularly spend between $700-800, which seems like a lot. But then I think about that fact that we are spending less than $30/day to feed four people breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. We very rarely eat out–less than once a month–so it seems natural that our budget reflects that. At the same time, I see people trying to spend $75/week or $100/week on groceries and it makes me question our spending.

    Neil is very pro spending a lot on food. He likes to shop at the farmers’ market and the local co-op and sees it as one way to live our values. I agree, but can’t help being a little horrified whenever I see our total.

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      I also have these conflicting budget/grocery thoughts! On the one hand it feels excessive when we have a $150 bill at Trader Joes each week plus buy extras here and there. But on the other hand we really value healthy, quality food and we eat at home for just about every meal. I also want to support local farmers and be aware of the “true cost” of food. The $7 farmers market eggs reflect the real cost of producing the eggs in a manner that is better for the animal and for the earth, compared to the $2.50 basic eggs or even the mass produced $4.50 free-range, organic eggs.

      Anyway, it is comforting to know I’m not the only one! And when I do reflect on it, as you said, it seems like a good place to put our dollars where our values are, even if it can seem pricey!

      Reply
  4. Anne Avatar
    Anne

    Thanks so much for sharing this, Kelsey. I love the new podcast, and it’s really helpful to see how your budget breaks down.

    Would you ever be willing to share what a weekly grocery haul looks like for your family? We are also vegetarians, and it is a struggle (vegetarian or not) to come up with new meals to eat and easy staples to have on hand. We’re getting a Trader Joe’s in our town in two weeks (AT LAST), and I am beyond excited. This is adulthood, I guess. 😉

    Reply
    1. Kelsey Avatar
      Kelsey

      I’m so glad this is helpful, and thank you for tuning into Matrimoney! Oh man, I’m so excited for you to get a Trader Joes!! There was definitely some adjusting coming from shopping at a regular grocery store but give it time and I bet you’ll be a convert, too. I’d love to consider a post about our typical grocery shopping trip as well as what we’re eating lately, let me think on that and I’ll hope to share that post! In the meantime, Chris wrote a post on his blog and did include a typical Trader Joes trip for us, it might be helpful.

      http://www.middlepathlife.com/grocery-shopping/

      Right now we try to keep things SIMPLE and eat lots of the same meals, lots of lentils or quinoa with roasted veggies, or tacos/quesadillas or salads.

      Reply

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