Checking In With My August Budget

Since we’re halfway through the month—a little over halfway, now—I decided that this week’s financial goal would be to check in with my income and expenses and make sure I wasn’t overspending.

I know I’ve “overspent” a little this month, in terms of that budget I set for myself at the beginning of the summer. I don’t really have an explanation for that, except that it was a very tight budget and by August I was ready to loosen it up a little.

I also earned a little more money than I predicted this summer; I anticipated earning $24,313.84 between May 1 and August 31, and, assuming I get all the checks I anticipate this month, I’ll end up earning $25,033.37 total.

Which means that in August, I’ll earn $8,738.23 and put $2,184.56 in taxes and $1,310.73 in savings. That leaves $5,242.94 in discretionary income, of which $3,000 should go to the “checking account buffer” I spent down at the beginning of the summer.

This leaves $2,492 for overhead/business/personal spending, and so far I’ve spent $1,943 of it. I don’t anticipate any major expenses through the end of the month, and I’ve got plenty of groceries, but I still need to pay $995 in rent, $294 in health insurance premiums, and $15 in renters insurance. So… yeah, I won’t be repaying the full $3,000 checking account buffer until mid-September. I did the math, and I should be able to put back $1,500 this month and $1,500 next month, which seems fair enough for what is essentially a loan I took out on my own earnings.

I should also explain that this $1,943 includes planned expenses like my book readings in Portland and Missoula, as well as unplanned expenses like those charitable donations I made last week as well as an $109 Amazon Prime membership renewal. (I should have been able to plan for that one, and I’ve made a note to include it in next August’s budget.)

But it also includes stuff like a $206 massage, which is totally discretionary. (And also kinda necessary. I’ve been working a lot this summer.) It also includes a few expenses related to that plane ticket I bought on points earlier this month, which… is another story for another time. 😉

Anyway, that’s where I am with my summer budget, and I am fine with it. I spent a little more than I expected, I earned a little more than I expected, and I’ll pay back that $3,000 loan I took out against myself in September. I’m good for it, and I don’t charge interest.

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