May 2012 Budget

A lot of things have happened this month that are disrupting my finances (and life in general) and will continue to do so throughout the next month as well.  While April hasn't ended, I've started looking forward at creating my budget for the next month and would like to share what that looks like.

In the last month, Emily at EvolvingPF directed my attention to the concept of living wage (http://www.livingwage.geog.psu.edu/).  It's an interesting idea, although I live well below those numbers for my area.  I've just been trying to find a way to work my thoughts on that into a future post.

Now on to May's Budget:

Apartment: I'm not entirely sure what this will cost this month.  I'm paying for the full month of May in my new apartment (cheaper rent) but I'm also paying for a week of rent in my old apartment.  I'm not entirely sure what that will end up costing, so this is an estimate.  Hopefully next month I'll be able to use more firm numbers!  Having this up in the air makes me nervous...

Utilities: With the possibility of owing utilities in two apartments and not being totally sure what utilities will cost in the new apartment... well, this number is also a little shaky.  I tried to leave some room for error.

Random: I'm planning on going on a road/climbing trip the last weekend of May to celebrate  finishing my candidacy exam (regardless of the result.)  So there is a bit of money here for things related to that.

Food: Standard food budget.  I rarely eat out, but if I'm super careful with groceries there is room for more fun.

Cell Phone: This is the first month of the reduced plan, so this is also an estimated expense.

Transportation: Setting aside some money for the road trip gas as well as a zipcar rental for a doctor's appointment.

Fun: Climbing Membership.  The new apartment comes with roommates who also desire the internet so I have transferred that cost into utilities.

Health: I have to pay a medical bill and my insurance payment is due.  I pay for my health insurance three times a year, so this is an expected expense.  I have the money set aside to cover this, however, I'd prefer to try to pay for it out of my monthly budget and force the overall monthly costs down a bit more.

E-Fund:  The usual.  Part of my paycheck is sent to a savings account at a credit union.  Out of sight, out of mind.  I'd like to up contributions to this after I get settled in the new apartment.

Slush Fund:  This is just a hope.  Most months I manage to put a bit more aside, but to be honest this also doubles as my travel fund and I'm going on a vacation!  I couldn't be more excited about this!