Monthly Expenditures

INCOME





I would have to earn $407 to get the net income I need to pay these things myself, whereas, if I only earn $221, that is money I can put into savings.













Social Security $1,032.00 Set Expenses: -623.40 Electric & Water - 96.66 Miscellaneous - 50.00

Total $ 261.94



Since I will have over $200 left, I will put $100 into savings, use the other $100 to buy some needed items, and put the $61 back into Miscellaneous



Some months, I don't earn $221, so any unspent Miscellaneous money is saved on the side as cash to make up for it.



Where Is The Food?



I get $164/month in SNAP benefits presently. That would work out to $41/week, but since I get them all at once, it allows me to make them stretch further by taking advantage of weekly sales and stockpiling. I'll talk more about that and my menus in future posts.



What Is the Miscellaneous Money Spent For?



I'm an extremely frugal person. I live and breath "reduce, reuse, repurpose,and barter" so I don't have to spend as much on needs as some people. More about that later.



Since I don't own a car, part of my miscellaneous money is spent for transportation. How much depends on where I have to go, the weather, and my health. I'll talk more about that in another post on living without a car.



The rest goes for



household items

personal items

gardening supplies

clothing

prescription co-pays

paying for help with chores I can't do alone

This month, since I will have an extra bit of money, I'll probably go to Goodwill and look for some new summer clothes, because my old ones are getting raggy, and nothing matches.



So that's it for February. Future post will cover how I budget for food, how I save money on needed items, and how I survive without a car.













Total $ 261.94Since I will have over $200 left, I will put $100 into savings, use the other $100 to buy some needed items, and put the $61 back into MiscellaneousSome months, I don't earn $221, so any unspent Miscellaneous money is saved on the side as cash to make up for it.I get $164/month in SNAP benefits presently. That would work out to $41/week, but since I get them all at once, it allows me to make them stretch further by taking advantage of weekly sales and stockpiling. I'll talk more about that and my menus in future posts.I'm an extremely frugal person. I live and breath "reduce, reuse, repurpose,and barter" so I don't have to spend as much on needs as some people. More about that later.Since I don't own a car, part of my miscellaneous money is spent for transportation. How much depends on where I have to go, the weather, and my health. I'll talk more about that in another post on living without a car.The rest goes forThis month, since I will have an extra bit of money, I'll probably go to Goodwill and look for some new summer clothes, because my old ones are getting raggy, and nothing matches.So that's it for February. Future post will cover how I budget for food, how I save money on needed items, and how I survive without a car. Since I am self-employed and on SS, special tax rules apply to me, but right now, because of my age and low income, I do not have to pay any income or FICA taxes. I am allowed to save up to $1500 towards burial expenses with no penalty on my benefits.

Since I have so little money, I need to know where every single penny goes. I have an OpenOffice Calc (great free program to replace Microsoft Office) spreadsheet that lays out what money I take in, and what money I send out. I always know exactly how much money I have to spend, and write down my balances so I don't overspend.I use my bank account only to receive money. I write one check for rent, and pay my bills through a 1-time bank draft. I rarely use my debit card for local shopping, and I have a prepaid debit card I use for shopping online. What I do is to give myself a spending budget for the day when I go shopping locally, and take enough out in cash to cover it. Whatever is left, I put into an envelope and keep it for the next time I need to shop.I dont have credit cards, because I don't trust myself with them. I've thought of getting a prepaid card where I know I can only spend what is on the card, also to build my credit, but I've gotten into credit card trouble before, so I haven't done that yet.I live in a cheaper area of the country, in a cheaper area of town. I was lucky to get this apartment when I did, because the current new tenant rent is $50 higher, and my rent only gets raised about $10 a year.Unfortunately, we only have two choices for internet: Cox and AT&T. AT&T would be cheaper because of their low-income senior plan, but I work online so I need reliability, and AT&T isn't very reliable. I have the lowest speed plan Cox has, and they raise the price every year. If they keep raising it $10 a year, I may have to go to AT&T out of financial necessity.Rent - $590Internet - $53.40Electric/Water - $75 to $125 depending on the season and weatherMiscellaneous - $50-100 - changes depending on transportation costs and personal needs.Savings - $100-200 depending on my income that month. More on this in the Income section.Social Security - $811Earnings - $221I cannot earn more than $221 or I will lose my medicaid, which pays my Medicare premium, co-pays, deductibles and prescription supplement. Since I have lupus, I can't lose that benefit.