July 2012 Budget

First of all, my budget has a lot of breathing room right now in comparison to the last year and a half.  Maybe that's how lifestyle inflation begins but right now I'm appreciating the breathing room that moving has given my budget.  I have decided that I won't change my direct deposit until September because I'll be switching funding then and will have to deal with that whole situation again.

Bills (Apartment, Utilities, Cell Phone): Nothing new here, but these categories have balanced out now so I don't expect this to change in the near future. I think my estimate for utilities is still a bit high, but I'll leave it here for now.  I have two more months left on my cell phone contract.  I suppose I could switch to a cheaper plan but I really do appreciate my smartphone.  This is probably a splurge I will keep.

Food: The same as usual. As long as I rarely eat out I can keep within this number.

Health: Usually a good chunk of this category is designated towards my short term savings to pay for my insurance each term.  This month I didn't leave any extra; instead, I've allocated the extra amount towards airline tickets.

Random:  The last couple months were the first in a long time that I gave myself a bit of spending money.  It left my hands a bit more quickly than I expected...  I'm not sure this is a good way of doing this.  It is something that I'm playing around with in my budget to see what will work for me.

Transportation: I just bought a new bike!  I think I'm excited enough with my new toy that we'll stay within biking distance for a little bit.

Airline Tickets:  I have several trips that I plan on taking.  I'm going to visit two family members (in opposite parts of the country) and attend a friends wedding (also far away).  This month I've squeezed enough out of other categories that I think I can purchase some of these plane tickets without dipping into my slush fund.

Emergency Fund:  Normal direct deposit from my paycheck. I have actually just finished filling up my emergency fund but I'm planning on transferring a bit of money out of this account to take advantage of a higher interest rate (I will talk more about this opportunity later.)  Therefore I'll keep this direct deposit as is for the moment.