D.I.Y. Budgeting with a SAHM

As a new stay at home mom, we've had to really watch our spending and stick to a stricter budget.  I thought since I've spent so much time on the finances the past few weeks I could share our budget, how we make it work and some tricks to cut back spending.  We are making the choice to cut out excess materialism to do what we think is best for our lil' Cupcake and that choice isn't for everyone but for those who think it can't be done, it can.  And it can be done for less than $40,000 a year!

I know money is supposed to be a taboo subject, but I'm all about taboos.  So here's the breakdown:

Between Husband and myself we make 3460.00 a month.

We also have a live in house mate (Brother-in-law) who pays $400 a month.  His $400 a month paid for the home birth and now it's going into savings every month, so I'm not including it in our "budget" since we don't really see it.

Right away $400 is taken out monthly for health insurance for the family.

Our Mortgage is $1004.00 a month, but I pay a little extra towards principle so each month we pay $1050.00 for our house.

So, that leaves $2010.00
$80    Electric (APS)
$40    Gas (Southwest Gas)
$70    Water and Waste (City of Phoenix)
$47    Internet (Cox)
$110  Credit Card no. 1 (Netflix, Massage Envy, LA fitness Memberships)
$200  Credit Card no. 2 (Debt from College and Europe 0% interest)
$343  Car Payment
$100  Car Insurance (Husband)
$110  Car Insurance (Me)
$30    Cell Phone (I'm still on my mom's plan, but I pay for my "data" package)
$480  Groceries ($120 a week)
$200  Gas ($50 a week)
$50    Student Loan
$60    Coffee/Mommy Money

Any extra money left over goes into savings or towards a dinner out to eat.

We do a lot with family so that helps save money.  We're home bodies, so we hardly "go out" but we like having people over, which is cheaper, anyway.  If you notice there is no entertainment budget.  We don't really go to movies (it's hard with a baby) and we don't eat out a lot (few restaurants use organic or pesticide-free food).  We like going outside (FREE) and our dogs are pretty entertaining.  I also grow a lot of our herbs and am trying to grow veggies.  That will, hopefully, cut back our grocery budget, allowing for more spending and savings.  It also helps that our family does so much, my mom buys Sonja clothes sometimes and I shop 2nd hand with my Mommy Money.  Also, I hardly buy people gifts for their birthdays.  I make a lot of stuff so that helps.  Whenever we get gifts or money we save that money for emergencies or something that we've had our eyes on for a while.  We also don't pay a babysitter, luckily, Sonja is with family when I teach my art class.  Honestly, we couldn't afford a babysitter if I was working full time, it's cheaper for me to just stay home.

Click Here for my Excel Budget (it's based on 2 people but if you just fill in the blanks it will total it automatically)

You can also call your utility companies to request "budget billing" so every month is the same amount.  They average your usage or the previous owner/renter's usage for your dwelling.


Happy Budgeting!