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For year , Austin and I lived on less than $ 1500 per month . My web log post showing our average monthly budget at $ 1500 per monthis my most popular post , calendar month after month . Well , life has alter quite a scrap since I save that post . Prices have gone up 17 % in the last three geezerhood ! ( 2021 - 2024 )
Austin also finished his arcdegree and got a job in his grade field . Because of his new job , we moved to a bigger ( more expensive ) city . Our budget has increased importantly , so I wanted to share what our current budget looks like now .
Local hikes help keep our entertainment budget low
Like before , I ’m still not sharing what our genuine income is . Any income that we clear above our monthly budget list below gets saved to an hand brake fund , go towards paying off debt , or gets used on house projects .
How to Live on $2500 Per Month
Mortgage: $1,010
We move to a slimly bigger metropolis with more expensive housing . Our mortgage has doubled ! ( Granted , our first home base was a foreclosure which is a big reason why it was so cheap . ) We are also a small lucky that we bought our young home when interest rates were reasonably low .
Utilities: $140
We ’re still line up to the utility bills at our new firm . I budget $ 140 for gas and electric . Since gas is higher in the winter and electric automobile is high in the summer , I think it will even out to about this much per calendar month .
Phones: $80
We expire with Google Project Fi and are happy with it so far . We paid for our phones up front and pay$80 per monthfor divine service for two on the pay - as - you - go datum plan . We ’re extra deliberate not to practice much information . Since Austin has WLAN at work and I ’m always on wifi at home , it ’s not too hard at all .
Internet: $50
I ’m reasonably sure we do n’t know how to make it without net any longer 🙂
Health Insurance: $402
Our late wellness insurance was brainsick - cheap through the political science taxation reference because our income was so modest . Our current insurance is through Austin ’s work and costs a mess more . It ’s good insurance policy though , which is decent . I do n’t retrieve too much about the monetary value since it comes out of his paychecks .
Dental Insurance: $20
This is also through Austin ’s work .
Car Insurance: $97
We ’ve shared one car since we got married seven years ago and it has save ussomuch money . It ’s decidedly not always convenient , but we ’ll keep making it work for as long as possible .
Car Payment: $0 – finally
It was crucial for us to stay put out of debt . So , we decided to purchase a used car that was affordable and practical . We have done everything we could to devote off the loanword cursorily . It helps that we only need one gondola and have been able-bodied to devote it off after years of monthly railcar payments .
Gas: $110
We exist pretty close to everywhere we on a regular basis go , which keeps this amount low-spirited . Plus , a minor efficient railroad car help oneself too ! That really aid with gas terms hitting almost $ 5 a gal …
Household Stuff: $25
I wish to budget separately for intellectual nourishment and other household material ( like razors , toilet paper , wish-wash bags … ) . It ’s easier for me to keep a handle on our spending when I keep these class separate . We are shop around a caboodle more than we used to because some price have really pass up .
Eating Out / Entertainment: $80
This is pretty scummy . Since moving , we ’ve go back and forth on how much to spend on eating out and entertainment . $ 80 seems to be a good number right now . We can go out to eat a couple of meter and maybe see a matinee movie with this much . If eating out too much is a major weakness for you , find outhow to break the habit !
It ’s amazing how creative we ’ve become when it comes to finding ways to entertain ourselves for free ! interpret ourbig listing of innocent amusement ideas .
Local hikes help keep our entertainment budget low
Local hikes help keep our entertainment budget low
Groceries: $330
Can we all just agree that setting a budget andsticking to that budgetare two very different affair ? I attempt to stick to a max of $ 70 per hebdomad for groceries . It can be so hard to stick to this budget and weoccasionallyspend a fiddling more , for representative for limited meals . Remember , this is just food and does n’t admit any household supplies or eating out .
The two things that aid me stick to my food market budget most are meal provision and shopping at Aldi . Here are some popular post that will help oneself you meal programme and stick to your budget :
I also useIbottato get money back on our grocery . They have discount for fruits , veggie , and store stain foods ( just search “ any ” in the app to get these rebates ) . If yousign up with my referral nexus , you will get $ 10 add to your accountwhen you glance over a reception for your first rebate . You may have a reception in your wallet right now that will wreak .
Sinking Funds: Why They Matter
To keep our budget fairly much the same calendar month to month , we use multiple savings news report . Each calendar month , money is automatically deposited into each of the separate explanation name below . Then when we need to expend money from one of the account , I transpose it into our checking account .
These sink monetary fund avail us economize up all year rung for Christmas , quarterly posting like our water bills , or yearly bills like our life insurance policy bill . Sometimes we go month without needing to do anything to our auto and the money progress up . Then it ’s there when we need it .
If you need more info about sink funds , these posts will help :
Water & Trash: $40
We get a quarterly water broadsheet and transfer money into a trash collection score when needed .
Small car expenses: $20
This is enough to shroud oil change , maintenance , and our yearly adjustment fee . Any magnanimous fix call for to amount from any extra money we make or our mergency investment company .
Gifts: $25
We save $ 25 per calendar month to go towards natural endowment throughout the year , like for birthday , Mother ’s Day or Christmas . It ’s not a huge amount , so we usually do n’t spend much on each event . you’re able to say my list ofgifts under $ 10 that people will loveor50 + chintzy natal day ideasto keep your gift budget low .
We save for Christmas throughout the yr so that December does n’t become a super expensive calendar month . It ’s really nice to buy the gift we demand and then directly be able to transfer the money to make up off the credit card ! Debt free Christmas is the fashion to go .
Medical copays: $30
We save money monthly in this account to help pay any copays that come up . We also use it for over - the - counter medical specialty because cold medical specialty is kind of expensive and incline to gas my budget when one of us generate sick .
Small house repairs: $25
The money in our house store goes toward any low mending . swelled repairs are usually unexpected and come from our emergency fund . Bigger house projects ( non - emergency ones , like redoing a bathroom ) get paid for with any extra money we make above our monthly budgeted amount .
Clothes: $30
This is a new category for us . We used to only buy clothes when absolutely necessary and if we had extra money . $ 30 is n’t a gross ton but we found a gravid thrift stock to help us stretch out the money . I ’ve get sometips for shopping at thrift stores here .
Allowance: $30
Austin and I each get an “ allowance ” of $ 15 per month . It ’s not much but we used to not have any , so it feels like a number of a luxury . It ’s enough for each of us to grease one’s palms something merriment or we can save it up for a few months for something bigger .
Total: $2594.00
get ’s now look at our emergency fund .
Our Emergency Fund
I mentioned our emergency brake fund a few times but it ’s not name in our budget , so I want to explicate . We keep a separate depository financial institution account with our emergency fund in it . Ideally , it would have six calendar month ’s Charles Frederick Worth of disbursement save up in it , but right now it ’s closer to three . If our emergency investment trust is full , we do n’t worry about it and let it sit around as it is . If we call for to add up more to it , we do that with any superfluous money we make above our monthly budgeted amount .
We all have unlike reasons for spending what we do . I think it ’s important to substantiate that those reason are all choices , though .
We could have spent a lot more on our mansion and had a much higher mortgage but we choose not to . It would be nice to have a high tolerance or a expectant grocery budget , and we credibly could wreak that out , but our priorities are elsewhere . It can be passing inconvenient to deal a motorcar but we make it form to keep our expenses down . It ’s all about choices and priorities .
Tips on how to stay on track with your budget
Even if you have a number in your mind , stay on the monthly budget is not promiscuous . Simple cravings a few times a calendar month can interrupt your budget . And if you make an impulse leverage , it ’s plot over . Here are a few tips that I espouse to stay on track .
Sort out your savings first
With budgeting , you know how much money you ’re spending every calendar month and how much you’re able to afford to save . Even before you start spending , limit aside the savings and direct them to your savings story .
If you do n’t know where to start , follow the 50/30/20 linguistic rule for budgeting . It helps you check how much to spend and salve . The 50/30/20 method country that you disunite your income into three categories : needs , wants , and saving . 50 % for needs , 30 % for wants , and 20 % for preservation or paying off debts .
Use cash
practice immediate payment for your week ’s expenses ( grocery and takeouts ) instead of your acknowledgment card . We can all agree that credit card is used a chip too raffishly and we tend to drop money that we do n’t have . When all you have is $ 60 in your notecase , it ’s hard to spend it on things that you do n’t really take .
Keep receipts and review them every week
We do n’t realize which direction our disbursal habit are go until we ’re hit with the credit card pecker . Keep all your receipts in your bag and sit down to retrospect them at the end of every week . If you ’ve overspent , you ’ll be able to adjust it through the rest of the calendar month .
Use an app to help with budgeting
or else of using a pen and paper and then losing it later on , use a budget app . There are many peachy innocent budgeting apps out there like Mint and Zeta that help you have control over your money .
Share the responsibility
You should n’t be the only one in the crime syndicate worrying about your finances . Make trusted that the other family penis are also on the same Thomas Nelson Page . If your spouse and children are making an adequate effort and snub back a little , it can make a huge difference .
Look at the bigger picture
temptation are arduous to avoid . But when you feel like giving in , remind yourself why you started and what your goals are . Make your goal optical . If you want a motorcar or a theater , baffle a pic of it on your fridge to remember the end game .
Treat yourself occasionally
You ’ve been holding yourself back for a month now or perhaps month . It ’s okay to address yourself on occasion . Give yourself a pat on the back . It can be as belittled as a pizza takeout food or as big as buying that jacket you ’ve been wanting . An occasional splurge is better than a frustration - stimulate spending fling .
Each person ’s budget looks very unlike base on location , income , wellness concerns , priorities … There are so many variables !
I do n’t share our budget cogitate that ours is the right way to do it . I portion out it as an model of how to live on $ 2500 per calendar month .
