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Evaluating the Budget

Sunday, June 2, 2024 8:02

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A budget analysis is a good thing from time to time. Things go up, things go down, and that makes it a good idea to make sure income and spending stay on track. This recent analysis is prompted by a notice from our internet provider that our internet bill was going up $30 per month starting in June. This is because Congress has refused to renew the Affordable Connectivity Program. That means this is a prudent time to take a serious look at how we’re allocating and spending our money.

When expenses go up, there are either two options: increase income or decrease spending. There could be three, if one considers buying on credit an option. Dan and I don’t, so I don’t include it on our list of options. Because we are in a so called “fixed income” category, increasing income isn’t a sustainable option. This makes our budget limiting in some ways, but actually keeps it pretty simple.

We basically have two spending categories: bills and household spending. We’ve averaged our monthly bills, and this amount is kept in the bank to pay as they are due. Household spending is on a cash basis. Since we’re paid once a month, we make a cash withdrawal once a month.

To keep track of household spending, we have a set of envelopes with the weekly cash in each one and open them when the new budget week starts. Anything left over from the previous week is put in the “extra” envelope. Granted, this system isn’t practical for most people, but it works for us.

A budget analysis looks at our two spending categories versus our income. With prices going up, I’m still working within our original household spending amount because there’s no way to increase it. But I’ve had to stop making some formerly regular purchases plus switch to lower cost alternatives for others. When I’m at the store, I now keep a running tally of what I select from my shopping list, because I know I’ll have to make some decisions before checkout. Some items must wait until another time.

The bills category is a little more concerning, because there is less “fudge factor.” I can’t hold off paying one bill this month in favor of another, like I do with grocery items. Everything goes up, so we have to look to lifestyle changes to keep costs down. Things we’ve already cut out include: stopped using our HVAC for heating and air conditioning, not having more than one old vehicle, not making more than 2 – 3 trips to town per week, no eating out, no going to movies or shows, no television or streaming service, no subscriptions (of any kind), no buying new clothes, no dry cleaning, no cell phone, no travel and vacations, etc.

All of that leaves only one other category we could give up if we had to – internet. It’s sincerely something I’d like to keep, but with a $30 a month jump in cost, it’s on the chopping block. So far we can manage, but if prices and other costs keep going up, that will have to be the thing to go.

Hopefully, everybody else out there is doing better than us! Yes, it could be the springboard for a lot of complaining, but complaining won’t change anything. Especially, if the country’s top tier of leadership thinks the economy is doing great and that we commoners are just too stupid to realize it. I don’t mean for that to sound disrespectful, but honestly, the disconnect between the top and bottom tiers of society can be rather incredulous at times.

Evaluating the Budget © May 2024

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Source: https://www.5acresandadream.com/2024/06/evaluating-budget.html

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