How I Spend My Money | A Look At My Monthly Budget

I always like posts by bloggers that show a day in the life or how they do certain things, especially if it’s something I take their advice on. So in keeping with that theme, since I’m always doling out personal finance tips, I wanted to share an up close and personal look at my monthly budget.

I do a monthly budget that I break down into biweekly amounts since I get paid generally twice a month, just in case that background info is useful!

Mortgage and Bills

I pay my half of our mortgage as well as my half of the cable, sewer, and insurance bills. Since my husband makes more than I do, he pays for the electric and water bill all on his own. He also pays for the oil to get filled 3 times a year.

Pet Fund

I put around $200-$240 in a pet fund each month that gets used for emergency care, food, regular check ups, and Rocky’s 6 month heart check ups.

Hair and Nails

The two splurges I maintain are getting my hair done every 3-4 months and getting my nails done every 4 weeks. I set money aside each paycheck into my cash envelope categories for these expenses so by the time they occur, I have the money.

Fun Money

I put $80 aside in an envelope each month for fun expenses like dining out, entrance fees to events, and any other kind of fun activities. If I want to buy a candy bar at the gas station, that comes out of my fun envelope as well.

Groceries

I buy my own groceries (breakfast, lunch, and snacks) and my husband and I split the costs of dinner ingredients.

Medical Costs

For copays and prescriptions, I set aside $40 a month. This covers everything including a last minute doctor’s appointment if I’m ill.

Business Expenses

For blogging I pay for a couple subscriptions for my email newsletter service and a social media scheduler.

Monthly Subscriptions

I only have 3 of these. I have Pandora without adds which is only around $5 a month and I also pay for my Nest security system footage. The third is good old Netflix which I love.

Cell Phone

I pay for my cell phone bill on my own because my husband’s phone is paid for by his work so it’s not an expense we share.

Parking

Yes, sadly I have to pay monthly parking for my job because I work in the city.

Car Costs

I set about $40 aside each month for upcoming car expenses like registration, oil changes, and general maintenance or inspections. Since I have a new car I don’t expect to have much maintenance the first few years but that being said, the money adds up fast which is nice by the time I do need to buy something big like tires.

Gas for my Car

I pay for gas only 2 times a month. I work so close to my house and I barely put any mileage on my car. In fact in the first year of ownership I didn’t even hit 5,000 miles. Plus I drive a Honda and it’s very fuel efficient.

Savings

Anything dollar that isn’t going to a specific category goes right into my savings. I don’t have credit card debt so I don’t have to worry about those payments.

So overall, I don’t have many crazy expenses. Remember, I don’t have kids and I didn’t go to college so I have no student loans. I got out of credit card debt YEARS ago and I am a major homebody so I don’t go out and spend much money on the weekends. I also don’t put money aside for clothing anymore because I don’t need it. If I need underwear or socks or something basic, I’ll set money aside for it but I should be good for a while on those things.

What does your monthly budget look like?

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