Another budgeting blog post, already? Yes, I regret to inform you that I’m getting extra cozy with my budget this fall. Now that my rent is too high for my liking and groceries cost the same amount of money as going out to dinner, it’s time to get real.
I’m also revisiting my budget since a few things have shifted in my expenses and income. My power bill is still going to be in the $40 range in October (the email came through yesterday, thanks to ComEd’s impeccable timing), but I got a call from Xfinity with an offer to lower my monthly internet bill for the next year! I’d rather look up the phone number of who’s calling me than actually answer the phone, but I know when Xfinity calls that it means money, honey! My internet will cost around $61 per month instead of $72, with no change in service. At this point, I’ll take any discount I can get.
My utilities for October still come out to just over $100, but with a lower base price for my more expensive utility, I know I’ll have more breathing room in the winter months.
I checked in with the budgeting zeitgeist for any new tips surfacing and stumbled on this article from the Good Trade. One of the hacks suggests asking your utility company about budgeting plans: “If you have very high electricity bills in one season and very low bills in another, reach out to your utility company to see if they offer budget plans. During a particularly cold winter in a basement apartment surrounded by concrete, our heat bill came out to nearly $400. We were able to pay closer to $120/month through a budgeting plan, rather than $400 chunks in the winter and $80 bills in the summer.”
My most expensive power bill in the summer has been close to $60, while the low end in the winter is around $20. This isn’t quite drastic enough for me to be on a budgeting plan, but if the horrors persist and costs increase over time, it’s something I can keep in my back pocket. It just strikes me as another thing that falls on the individual to take action in order to live comfortably, rather than the companies with the money and services making things easier for their customers from the get-go.
Another piece of advice from the Good Trade is to “make checking your budget a ritual so that it doesn’t cause you stress.” The article recommends having your budget with a side of wine or dessert to trick yourself into enjoying the process. Reviewing your budget more often also increases your tolerance for dealing with it. I wish I could say the same for grocery shopping, but I still have to mentally prepare myself before leaving the house and make sure I don’t accidentally spend $80!
The main reason I need to redo my budget is that I recently took out a loan to buy a new mattress. (It was so worth it, and I’m sitting on it as I write this—getting my money’s worth!) Since I’ll be paying it off each month for the next year, I added the loan payment to my fixed expenses:
Much of the budgeting advice I have found pushes you to prioritize paying down debt whenever you can, and I intend to follow it. Especially since my monthly loan payment will be coming from my checking account, I have to literally be tighter with the purse strings to ensure I have enough funds without overdrawing.
Though it’s not included in my monthly budget, I received a sizable one-time payout from being involved in a litigation claim with a skin care company. I used the brand’s platform that analyzes your skin and recommends corresponding products to treat acne, discoloration, etc. Apparently, my biometric facial data was stored by the website and exploited elsewhere. In addition to the payout, I received a voucher that can only be redeemed for buying the company’s products. I put this payout directly into my emergency savings account and will be sharing the skin care wealth with friends and family. Stay tuned for a post where I figure out how taxes work on this income!
All of these changes led me to make the tough decision of lowering the monthly amount I’ll be putting into savings until my mattress is paid off. My monthly expenses are now over 50% of my income, so something had to give (in September, they were just under 50%). I determined my savings amount by subtracting the loan payment from what I was previously saving per month and rounding it down to $500. However, I have been able to build up my emergency savings with the payout, so anything I save going forward will be allocated to my high-yield savings accounts that are making me more money than my regular savings account.
The more familiar I get with my budget, the more I realize that everything is temporary and in flux, and there’s always something I can do to make the numbers work for me. Now that I have a few different investing vehicles to take advantage of, it makes me feel less trapped by this monthly loan payment. I have the freedom to save a little less since I was consistent with my savings. My present self would like to thank past Anine, and you all, for encouraging me on this journey. I hope it inspires you to get your finances in order so you can do the things you love!
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