I’ve taken many different approaches to budgeting over the years. Right now, I start the month by reviewing all of the previous month’s expenses. Then I look at what my planned expenses are for the coming month. I try to find areas where I can cut back on costs. Then I review my income and budget accordingly. Here’s what my planned 2022 expenses look like.
Rent
Obviously, rent is the biggest expense every month. Luckily, at least, it’s always a consistent payment. Therefore, it’s the first thing that I budget for. I pay $1925 monthly in rent.
Dog Expenses
After rent, my two biggest spending categories are food and the cost of being a pet owner. Here are my dog’s February 2022 planned expenses:
- Daily dog walkers: $600
- Fresh/frozen food delivery from Nom Nom Now: $200
- Kibble delivery: $50
- Barkbox toys and treats subscription: $20 (special six month deal)
- Chewy treats delivery: $30
- Additional treats and toys subscriptions: $100
I chose to pay his pet insurance annually this year in January, so there are no additional expenses for that this month. Total February dog expenses: $1000
Phone, Internet, Gas, and Electric
I pay my phone and Internet bill together. That costs about $140. I also pay my parents’ Internet bill for them, which is an additional $100. And I pay both my gas/electric bill and theirs, for a combined total of about $200.
Food Deliveries
I subscribe to HungryRoot, which I spend about $200 on per month. I also subscribe to Farm Fresh to You deliveries. However, I’ve put that on pause for February as part of my budgeting plan.
Various Subscriptions
In addition to the dog’s food and mine, I also subscribe to a variety of different deliveries throughout the month including:
- Amazon Subscribe and Save for various household items: $100
- Dollar Shave Club: $8
- Hubble contacts: $33
- Netflix: $11.99
- Spotify: $9.99
- Peacock: $9.99
So almost $175 on these
Work Expenses
I also have regular monthly expenses for web storage (Dropbox and Google Drive), website fees, etc. That costs about $50 per month.
Debt Repayment
I’m working hard to repay outstanding debt before the 0% interest rate expires on a few balances. Therefore, I’ve had an aggressive repayment plan in place. I’m paying about $3000 per month to that for the next few months. So, assuming that I can work it out as planned, that will take up $3000 of my February budget.
Additional Expected Costs
I’m working hard not to spend a lot of money outside of what’s already set and scheduled above. However, there are certain things I do anticipate spending money on in February:
- Additional groceries to supplement HungryRoot: $200
- A planned birthday dinner with a friend: $100
- Additional dining out: trying to keep this under $200 (this is a weak area for me that I’m working on)
- Dentist: Unfortunately, I have to pay about $400 for services I need this month.
- Entertainment: I have two events I might like to go to which would cost about $100 total if I follow through.
- Massage: $200
I’ve been suffering from pretty bad back pain so I’m not sure I can skip the massage. However, I might be able to substitute a more affordable option, which is something I’ll look into.
Summary of February 2022 Planned Expenses
Without the debt repayment, my current planned expenses are about $4000. With debt repayment, it soars up to $7000. I’m unlikely to earn $7000 in income this month. Therefore, I have to cut back. Some ideas I have for that:
- Put the dentist on a 0% interest credit card to repay later when other higher interest debt is paid off
- Find the cheaper option for a massage
- Skip the entertainment costs and do free activities instead
- Cancel several of those “additional subscriptions” because I don’t need most of them this month
- Cancel the dogs extra treats and toys as he can go without those this month
That would save me about $700. If I can’t find enough to cover the $3000 in debt repayment, then I’ll just pay as much of that off as I can then. After that, I’ll restructure next month’s repayment plan accordingly.
What do you typically spend in a month?
Read More:
- How to Prepare a Month of Meals on a Budget
- Can You Sail Around the World on a Budget?
- I Don’t Budget and It’s OK
Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.