Miscellaneous Budget Audit

It's been about a week since writing a post, and since then, we have gone over our miscellaneous budget with 9 days remaining in February.  In addition to going over, we've also gone over our grocery budget by $27.59.  On what?  Food, obviously.  But food is a necessity.  Might be time to fiddle with the budgets so we can increase our grocery budget while decreasing miscellaneous because Eli eats sooo much!  His nickname at the church nursery: Food Monster.  He's the only toddler who uses the high chair to eat the whole hour while the other kids run around and play.

Anyway, this post is about our miscellaneous budget.  Although we've gone over, I'm still proud of the progress we have made so far.  If I have gone over our budget in the past with 9 days to go, I would have just given up and forget about our budget until the next month.  But since we have a plan and goal in place, I need to be honest with myself and continue to categorize and keep track of where our money is going.  So what I'm going to do below is list all of our miscellaneous transactions for February to see where the leaks are.  Here goes:



FEB 19
ATM 217 Rock Road
Misc Expenses –$20.00
FEB 19

Had to take our $20.00 in cash at the ATM because Subway's POS system was down.  Got hit with a $2.00 ATM fee.  That's 10% interest just to take out my own money.

Macy's
Misc Expenses –$88.99
FEB 10

Bought a new winter coat because my wife HATES the one I have now.  Took advantage of the President's Day sale.  originally $250 or $270.

Closter Nj
Misc Expenses –$47.25
FEB 18

Gas for the mini van.

Chase Quickpay Transfer
Misc Expenses –$10.00
FEB 18

Chipped in for my friend's birthday present.

Livingsocial Dc
Misc Expenses –$14.00
FEB 14

Went to the World of Wings in Teaneck, NJ with some friends.  Eli was free because he's under 2.  2 adults would have cost us $32.00 but Living Social was having a deal so we paid 2 adults for $14.00.

A&P
Misc Expenses –$62.38
FEB 14
A&P
Misc Expenses –$28.59
FEB 14
Fresh Mkt Mo
Misc Expenses –$53.48
FEB 14

I categorized these three transactions as miscellaneous because I applied an additional $180.02 credit to miscellaneous cause of extra income my wife brought in as you can see below for the FEB 12 credit.

Amazon
Misc Expenses –$28.58
FEB 14

My wife ordered lotion.

Haworth Board Dir
Misc Expenses $180.02
FEB 12

Credit applied to miscellaneous.

Exxon
Misc Expenses –$45.01
FEB 11

Gas for my car.

Zendiggi Kebab House
Misc Expenses –$28.33
FEB 10

Take out dinner.  At least we were able to take leftovers to work the next day.

Transfer to Visa Signature
Misc Expenses –$99.01
FEB 10

Credit card payment.  $0.00 balance as of this post and we plan to keep it at $0.00.

Withdrawal
Misc Expenses –$6.00
FEB 10

Withdrawal to add to my 52 weeks savings challenge.

Worldpantry Com Ca
Misc Expenses –$81.27
FEB 10

My wife's facial product/cleanser.

A&P
Misc Expenses –$6.26
FEB 10

Candy to fulfill my wife's craving.

Hooters
Misc Expenses –$18.00
FEB 10

Went out with my brother, nephew, and friend after playing basketball.

Island Carousel
Misc Expenses –$2.00
FEB 10

Carousel ride for Eli at the Palisades Mall.

Sbarro
Misc Expenses –$9.20
FEB 10

Lunch at the Palisades mall.

Coco Moka Cafe
Misc Expenses –$1.54
FEB 10

Forgot Eli's milk so had to buy a cup at the Palisades mall.

Uniqlo Palisades Us
Misc Expenses –$13.46
FEB 10

Present for my friend's birthday.

Ob Gyn Asso
Misc Expenses –$10.00
FEB 10

Co pay for my wife's doctors visit.

Amazon
Misc Expenses –$25.62
FEB 7

Something my wife bought on Amazon.  I think it was the Lincoln book for my birthday.

Interest Charge Purchases
Misc Expenses –$8.83
FEB 7

Interest charged for credit card.

Chewy Com Fl
Misc Expenses –$44.19
FEB 4

Juliet's dog food.

ATM Withdrawal Becton
Misc Expenses –$40.00
FEB 3

ATM withdrawal to get a hair cut.

eBay
Misc Expenses –$42.18
FEB 3

eBay fees for selling my Galaxy S4 smartphone.  Stupid 10% fee.

Aqu Aquasana Water
Misc Expenses –$48.00
FEB 3

Auto-renewal for our Aquasana water filter system.  Comes every 6 months.

PayPal
Misc Expenses –$2.99
FEB 3

App purchase for my iPhone 5s.

Chase Quickpay Transfer
Misc Expenses –$100.00
FEB 3

Birthday present (cash) for my friend's daughters 1 year birthday.

Target
Misc Expenses –$54.78
FEB 3

Diapers and miscellaneous stuff at Target.

Amazon
Misc Expenses –$10.97
FEB 3

Baby wipes.

Stride Rite
Misc Expenses –$29.99
FEB 3

New shoes for Eli.

Amazon
Misc Expenses –$10.97

Baby wipes.

FEB 3
Dunkin Donuts
Misc Expenses –$1.99

Cup of coffee at Bergen mall.

So our total miscellaneous budget for the month is $800.  As of today, we spent $925.80.  Over $125.80.

Just by knowing every single miscellaneous transaction shows us where all our money is going and where we need to rein things in.  Even though we're already over, I'm still encouraged and motivated that I'm keeping track.  Like I said before, I would have given up a long time ago and just wait until it resets in March.  There are some transactions we could have done without to stay under budget but things come up.  So what I'll do is cover the overages of miscellaneous and grocery with our tax refund and put the rest in savings.

Can't wait until it resets in March.  The challenge is we already have three birthdays we know of in March we need to account.  Plus, March is a long month so we're going to have to be extra frugal.