Budget August 2015 ~ Over the Ridge
August budget: We are labeling August Over the Ridge(line). We sold the Ridgeline to Steve's brother and we couldn't be happier! We're down to the CTS and the motorcycle and we've decided that's where we are going to stay.
Ever since we decided that the path for us is out of the rat race and into an early retirement of our choosing, the Mr. and I have been keeping an eye on our finances and scaling down our spending. Neither one of us were complete clowns, but we certainly weren't looking out for our future selves at anywhere near the level we want/need to be.
So in comes the budget. Budgets don't work for everyone and in the future it may not be necessary for us but for now it is the way we are buckling down and meeting the tough goals we've set for ourselves. Read more about how we budget here.
We are labeling August Over the Ridge(line). We sold the Ridgeline to Steve's brother and we couldn't be happier! We're down to the CTS and the motorcycle and we've decided that's where we are going to stay. Given our timeline, we don't want to risk getting a new-to-us car that might need maintenance in the next 1 1/2 years. We know the CTS and it's running great, so we'll keep it. Meanwhile, like everyone else we saw, our net worth decrease with the market this month. We were lucky enough to have money to invest at the right time when the stocks were on sale though ;). So we'll keep on keeping on.
Meanwhile two small notes.
- We're changing how we do our budgeting a bit so expect a slightly different format next month. Nothing major just more in line with what we want our ER budget to look like.
- The Food article has been pretty boring so we've decided to combine it here. Two birds...
On to the numbers!
- Fixed Costs (Mortgages, HOA, Loans) $2497.43/ $3054 Yay no more car loan!
- Utilities (electricity, gas, water etc.) $16.67/$370 (expected) WHAT? This is a bit misleading. We ended up getting refunded from a previous trash service and insurance. So it looks like a really really good month. In truth everything else was average.
- Monthly Costs (phones, internet, gym, pets, car maint, etc.) $223.18/ $600 Not only did we stay on budget in all categories this month but we also sold a bunch on Craigslist which goes toward our home repair fund. So again a bit misleading but it means more money to spend on home repairs later.
- Food (groceries and restaurants) $400/ $500 Groceries were high again this month. I went wheat free this month and we both went low carb. I'm hoping it will help with my never ending migraines and so far so good! This did mean eating at home all but 3 times this month and having to buy a lot more cauliflower and broccoli. You can see the breakdown of grocery costs down below.
- Fun (Travel, Mr.'s fun money, Mrs.'s fun money, Mr.'s camera fund, gifts) $697.67/ $825. More spent on travel and almost nothing in our fun money accounts this month.
- Additional Income: $4242.90. Payment for the Ridge along with our normal random assortment of checks, interest and other sundries that came in this month. Unexpected money is a plus! We reinvest all our dividends, etc. so those don't get counted in this roundup.
Another great month on the books.
Now, let's take a look at the money-shot numbers.
Total August 2015 income: $17,082.45 (bonus, overtime, and Ridge Payment)
Total August 2015 expenses: $3,835.74 (love this number!)
This means our total August 2015 Take Home Savings Rate came in at: 78%.
And our August 2015 Total Savings Rate: 76% (includes maxing out our 401ks).
Our net worth: $626,489. Let's see this number grow!
Our Personal Capital net worth graph for the month
We're doing great! Just gotta keep on keeping on.
Another adventure awaits!
-- Groceries: $347.55--
Fruits and Veggies: $214.01
Canned Goods: $41.62
Vegan 'Meat': $18.06
Meat, Seafood and Dairy: $16.81
Dry Goods: $57.55
Minus 50 cents from our bag credits. Gotta love a little extra savings ;)