Roothy's Bare Bones Budge for the Year

So each one of us is doing this for her own reasons. (Roothy wants to save money and increase the proportion of her charity giving; UncleSam wants to reduce the amount she puts into landfills, and Kipsy is doing it because she tolerates the hare-brained schemes of her sisters and wants to be in on the fun.)

Each of us has her own rules, as well, which we'll spell out in turn. But what unites us is that we all vow to make major changes to our habits over the next year (2009). Tips, successes and misadventures will be blogged along the way.

As for me, Roothy, my goal is to increase my charitable giving until it is 10% of my total post-tax expenses, but to keep my overall expenses the same. For the last few years, I've spent about $2000/mo., or $24,000/year. My goal, then, is to spend $2400 on charity, and $21,600 on everything else. I just back-of-the-enveloped my "core" expenses, and they total $18,456. I therefore have wiggle room of 21,600 - 17,916 or $3144 per year to cover unexpected expenses and indulgences (like travel), in order to make my goal. That's an average of $262 a month.

I'm going to list my estimates of my core expenses. And by "core" I don't mean "essential." I could *easily* cut out many of the unambiguous luxuries (French sunscreen? Twice-monthly house cleaning?) . But here's the thing--I live in a spider-ridden basement, and drive an eight-year-old car. Because I sharply cut some expenses that I don't really value, I *get* to indulge myself on other stupid shit that I do. It's like this 75 year old friend of mine, who has never driven a car in his life. He uses paper towels for EVERYTHING: to dry his hands, as napkins, to wipe the counter, double-thick as placemats, you name it. His argument is, look, I have done my part for the environment ten times over by not driving; I get to use as many damn paper towels as I want. And hey, I have to say I agree.

So here goes, my total annual expenses:

Car: $3426
Repairs and maintenance: $300
Insurance: $904
Gas: $528
Registration and License: $130
Parking tickets and event parking: $100
Parking at work: $1464 (ugh...)

Housing: $5328
Assessments (covers tax, gas, heat & HOA): $1331
Electricity: $360
Insurance: $514
General maintenance (like cleaning supplies): $500
Housecleaning: $1440
Phone (includes cell service plus internet): $643
Home security monitoring: $540

Food: $4260
Groceries: $3000
Dining out: $1200
Paper supplies, etc.: $60

Beauty: $1680
Salon services: $1000 (shut up)
Fancy sunscreen: $200 (SHUT UP)
Beauty products: $60
Gym membership: $420

Health: $1292
Vitamins, OTC meds, sundries: $240
Medical insurance: $852
Dentist, eye dr, whatever: $200

Entertainment: $1420
Movies and rentals: $120
Other: $1200

Clothing: $300
Purchasing: $250
Laundry: $50

The cat: $750
Food and litter: $150
Vet: $600

GRAND TOTAL: $18,456 or $1538/mo.


I am in the process of fashioning my rules, but here are some:
1. If I buy an item that is tax-deductible (like out of my HSA), then I only "charge" against my expenses the actual cost to me (so, the price minus my marginal tax bracket, which is 31%). Similarly, if I get "cash back" on, say, my credit card or my Costco membership, I get to credit that amount against my expenses. Rebates/coupons will also get deducted. For instance, I negotiated with the ADT dealer to give me a $300 cash rebate on my monitoring, plus a $100 gas card, before I signed up with them. So those amounts, when I receive them, will we credited against my expenses.
2. If I "earn" money by, or even while, spending other money, I get to "credit" that amount. So, for instance, if I rent out my apartment while visiting Alaska--a goal for next summer if I can swing the trip--then I get to credit that rent against the cost of Alaska. Similarly, if I sell something I already own, like on ebay or at a garage sale, then I get to credit that amount against my expenses. (If I just earn random income, though--like by house sitting or getting an honorarium for attending a conference--then I don't get to credit it. That's just income, which I invest like everything else I earn above the $24,000.)
3. One solace for remaining in my spider-ridden basement is that I have decided to renovate my kitchen, and do a few other minor repairs to make my home livable now, and sellable later. On the excuse that this is a capital expense anyway, I'm not going to count those expenses against my general budget. I will, however, keep track of them, and I'm going to try to keep them below $10,000--but I will only try. It's not part of the game for me.