Where Does Your Money Go?
This is a list of expenditures. Of course, this is not everything. It is a starter list. Please leave a comment if you can think of something that needs to be added to the list. We don’t have all the answers or all the questions. We do encourage anyone with suggestions to contribute as our goal is to compile a comprehensive list of expenses and expenditures, to work together to help one another recreate our family budgets and increase our family savings.
Expenditures:
- Mortgage
- Car payment(s)
- Electric bills
- Gas or oil for home heating, cooking, etc. costs
- Water and sewer bills
- Home insurance
- Car insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Out of pocket medical expenses (including vision and dental)
- Food costs (supermarket)
- Restaurant expenses
- Gas (for the car) expenses
- Clothing
- Dry Cleaning
- Club or professional dues
- Subscriptions (magazines, newspapers)
- Entertainment (movies, plays, etc.)
- Credit Card payments per month
- Dance lessons, piano lessons, etc. for the children
- Tuition for private schools or college
- Miscellaneous school expenses
- Vacation
- Transportation such as air fare, etc. for holiday visits
- Home repairs
- Replacement cost for appliances (break down a large expense such as a refrigerator into monthly costs)
- Other household expenses, such as items you would pick up at WalMart or Targets that are not food.
- Automobile upkeep and expenses (license, tires, oil change)
- Allowances for the children
- Housekeeper (if applicable)
- Lawn care
- Add other expenses that may have been overlooked
Total your average monthly expenses. Some expenditures may not be monthly, but in the case of replacing a stove or refrigerator, if paid in full, what was the cost per month if spread out over the year?
What is your total credit card debt? In other words, if you could pay off all your credit cards today, how much money would you pay out?
If you don’t have the answers, find them. You can’t do a budget if you don’t know how much you pay out each month. Do it now!
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