November 2014 Budget

November was a normal month with prepping for winter in the beginning and then enjoying Thanksgiving towards the end.  I have much to be thankful for.  For one I have not gone in debt any further this year.  That I am proud of considering I took a 10% pay cut in February from a career change.  Another thing to be thankful for is my family's good health this year.  No broken bones, surgeries, etc.  Even with my insurance if something were to happen health wise I would have gone into more debt.  The reason being is I used my company funded HAS to get Lasik done on my eyes (another thing to be thankful for) and help pay for my son's braces.  Lastly I am thankful I had some money to invest this year by investing in dividend paying companies who raise dividends over the years. 

Expense Breakdown

In short I had a net loss of $425 dollars this month.  We will see in my expenses that car maintenance and fuel jumped again to 12%.  My wife's tires were bald and after she took a near collision from some ice it was time to hunt for a good bargain on decent tires.  

Food was a big help this month.  Over $200 less than last month.  This is one of those variables that helps me keep things in check.  Utilities remain high (water bill was over $300 and next month is $300+ sewer bill).  I have this leaky bathroom faucet I need to deal with this weekend.  Next year I am considering a water saving washing machine.  I think that is where most of the cost is.

I need to get this post more organized.  I think I like how I am breaking down categories like Miscellaneous.  What do you think?  Easier to read & understand my expenses?

Miscellaneous (8%)

Household is the high one in this category.  My wife was utterly thrilled to finally get a new vacuum cleaner.  I was able to pick up a $130 vacuum for $80 from Amazon warehouse deals.  It was a return/open box but other than that it was unused and in new condition.  No more dealing with taping up your vacuum to keep it together!

Childcare was up this month vs. last month from several clothing purchases.  This is the time of the year to pick up clearance on summer/fall clothing.  The only challenge is trying to figure out how much the kids will grow by next year and buying that size.

Expense	Amount	Vs. Last Month
Childcare	$135	J
Household	$291	K
Personal Care	$57	K
Clothing	$2	K
Healthcare	$10	K

Guilt Free Spending Money (10%)

I do not have a formal budget item any longer for this buy I still track it.  I have to correct last month still but the backpack blower I spoke of ended up being reconciled this month and not last month.  That accounted for half of the spending in this category.  Another 25% was dining.  A big chunk of that was in celebration of my son's 5th birthday.  For birthdays the kids get to pick their favorite restaurant. 

Investments

Everything was reinvested automatically.  You can see the year on my dividend page.  I will post about income for this month in my next post.  I think I am switching Windstream back to reinvesting until my portfolio income is over $500 a month.  Doesn't make sense to have cash just sitting there not working for me for months on end until I build up enough to buy something.

Savings

Well you need tires.  That is about all I will say regarding my savings rate this month.  I hope your rate was better than mine!

Savings rate for the Month = 0%!

Image By Mister GC and courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net (Yes I am lazy and reused the same image from last month)