Oh boy, I have tried budgeting so many times, and I have kept it up as long as I was able to keep it under control, to what I was happy with. But I always ended up failing my goals and gave up, not wanting to see my failures in black and white!
So I want to try to do it here, at least for six months or so. Until I learn better habits with my money.
My monthly fixed expenses are (on average):
House insurance - 45 e
Phone and internet - 30 e
Electricity (includes heating) 140 e
Property tax - 40 e
Water - 75 e
Trash pick up - 20
Donation to my church - 100 e
Car insurance and other car related costs- 70e
This comes to 485 e per month, on average.
On top of this, we spend about 550 euros on food including cat food, toilet paper etc., and 80 euros on gas.
Then there are some medicine (one of my meds is really expensive!) and doctor bills, vitamins, personal hygiene products and household cleaning items I get at specialty stores as things I use are as non-toxic and natural as possible, while still working well for their intended purpose. I also make some of my cleaning products with simple vinegar, baking soda and essential oils, and dilute bought ones with water. But I need to budget about 150 euros for all these, as I am not quite sure how much it will end up being per month.
So all in all, I can expect to spend 1300 euros on necessities each month.
My reliable income at the moment is about 1600 euros. On top of this there is occasional income from selling my art and what I get when my pattern book is borrowed from the libraries, plus any flea market sales.
So this tells me I pretty much have 300 euros per month out of my fixed income for any extra expenses, gifts, clothing, home decor, gardening. The extras I get should go to savings, an emergency fund for the next six months. I'm well set up for painting, as I recently got new paints, mediums, brushes and canvases.
After six months I will revaluate and perhaps will start putting half of the extras to the emergency fund and half to my "hobbies" account - which is basically for anything that is not a necessity. Like, you know, rose bushes and tulip bulbs.
I usually have donated a lot, and I still donate (just gave away another 3 large bags of fabrics to friends) but since I'm on my own, I have to think about money a bit more carefully and I also try to sell things I no longer want. I just booked a flea market table and have gone through a lot of items, pricing and labeling. I'm making myself do this as a little bit of a lesson, to remind myself what a hassle it is to get rid of things, and how much money is wasted with an attitude of 10 euros here and 20 there, no big deal.. but it adds up, whaddyaknow. It's like I have brain damage in the area that should be able to process this simple math. So, even if I'm never able to grasp this basic financial math, at least my dislike of clutter, and the trouble it takes to get rid of it, should make me run away from bringing any more stuff to my home.
Food is getting really expensive. The electricity was crazy last winter, and I now got a 24 month contract for 8,8 cents/ kWh, which is quite reasonable. I don't trust at all the coming winter is going to be any better necessarily, so I decided to free myself from having to follow the electricity price daily and even hourly.
There is not that much I can do about food. Due to a Crohn's flare I need to eat in a specific way. DD is very picky about what she eats, having sensory issues about the textures of foods, as well as a sensitive stomach. I try not to waste food, so I will freeze leftovers if I know we well not be able to finish them before they go bad. I chop all kinds of fruit into pieces to freeze for smoothies, whatever is cheap, and whatever is in danger of not getting eaten fresh.
I cut my own and DD's hair so that is a big saving. The shampoo and conditioner we use are pretty expensive natural ones, but I don't have to wash my hair very often. I use very little make-up, basically I only need four items.
The places I have spent the most are our garden (though this has been a hobby, not just consuming, and I imagine that a nice garden raises the property value as well), home decor after the renovation was finished, and clothing. I prefer to own fewer clothes that are good quality and that I really love, I don't care what brand they are and don't want any visible labels, but I do see a danger of going overboard there and I have done so before. Our limited storage space for clothes is good for keeping this under control though. We only have one rack and one small cabinet to share. Most of my clothes are on the rack, most of DD's are in the cabinet.
I'm trying to sell our large antique cabinet that housed miscellaneous stuff, as it has become unnecessary after I decluttered. It's lovely cabinet, but it takes up so much space from our small living room which doubles -or triples- as my painting studio and office. It wouldn't matter so much otherwise, but I host our church' women's group at our place, and our living room is just too crowded. I can't get rid of any of the four easy chairs, or people would not have anywhere to sit. We need to borrow the kitchen armchairs as it is...
Things that are on a to buy-list? Well, I do need reading glasses at some point. I can manage without still, but I notice that my sight is not the the same as it used to be. My sewing machine is at the shop, which will cost some, but I plan to sell it after I get it back. I have another machine that used to belong to my mom, and grandma before that, and I really like that machine. I just recently got it back from loan.
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