Mastering Monthly Budgeting: Achieving Record Savings on a Modest Income

Welcome back to my budgeting journey! This marks the third installment of what I hope will be a successful 12-part series. Each month, I aim to save $700, which accounts for approximately a quarter of my modest income. Here's how my budget for this month looks:

I made some adjustments this month. I had to increase the housing budget because the air conditioning worked extra hard during the summer. Additionally, I had to allocate more funds for tolls as alternative routes to my job are excessively congested and pass through a rough area of town. The entertainment budget saw an increase from last month due to a $157 rollover from my savings goal.

At the halfway mark of the month, I've earned a total of $1508, putting me on track to meet my projected income of $2800 for the month.

Here's a breakdown of my current bills:

Things are going relatively smoothly. I am in the red currently but one paycheck left and I will easily surpass it. It seems like my grocery expenses will be higher this month, but everything else looks stable. I haven't encountered any unexpected expenses yet, so I'm making good progress. I even treated myself to a night at a hotel with a team member discount, making some cherished memories while being mindful of my spending.

Here are my projected expenses for the remainder of the month, totaling $1969.45:

I have a trip planned later in the month that straddles two months, but I anticipate being able to balance the costs between them, especially since most of it is covered by family arrangements. According to my projections, I should have around $150 available to roll over into the next month, but I'll keep you updated.

Two Weeks Later

As the month comes to a close, I'm feeling fantastic. The only unexpected expense was renewing my vehicle registration, which was a manageable $40. I'm on track for a record-breaking month of savings!

My total earnings for the month exceeded last month's due to rollover cash, which I'll be carrying over again into the next month. Additionally, my income exceeded my projected amount by $134.

Here's how my expenses shaped up:

I was able to come remarkably close to my projected expenses, missing the mark by only $6 for a total of $1951.56. Here's the breakdown of my predetermined expenses by category:

With a net profit close to $1000, I've surpassed our goal of saving $700 by a significant margin. Our initial budget was only off by $5.44 compared to actual expenses.

This month went largely according to plan, with only minor unexpected expenses like family dinners and vehicle registration renewal. I'm excited to roll over $282 into next month. Budgeting has been incredibly satisfying, and hitting my goal for two consecutive months proves its power. Despite my modest income, I managed to save 33.48%, exceeding my expectations. I'm entering June with a similar budget, confident I can continue this successful trend. I also put $200 of those savings into my Roth IRA making another contribution outside of my 401(k).