I think it’s time to re-evaluate the amount I put away for bills each week. As time passes, companies like to up their prices, sneaky sneaky! Also, I have other things that I’d like to put into this category, like pet expenses. Technically it’s all money, and it’s all coming out of our account, but I’d feel better knowing that say, flea treatments and heartworm tablets are allocated to the Bills Expenses each month. Then I know it’s there, and it doesn’t eat into our other funds. Ya know what I’m sayin?
So, currently I put aside $180 a week for bills. This covers, on my guesstimations:
House & Contents Insurance:
$69.56 (monthly) $834.72
Life Insurance:
$53.67 (monthly) $644.04
Phone & Internet:
$79.00 (monthly) $948.00
Mobile Phone:
$55.00 (monthly) $660.00
Electricity:
$240.00 (3-monthly) $960.00
Gas:
$100.00 (per bottle - approx 6 monthly) $200.00
Car Rego:
$1058.00 (2 cars, yearly) $1058.00
Car Insurance:
(1 car, yearly) $478.00
RACQ:
(yearly) $62.00
Car Repairs:
(yearly approx) $1000.00
Property Rates:
(yearly) $1900.00
Bank Fees:
$395.00 (yearly package fee)
Total Estimate for Yearly Bills: $9 139.76
Here are the actual figures for last year:
(NB: the brackets show how much less or more we spent based on the initial budget)
House & Contents Insurance: $763.46 ($71.26 less)
Life Insurance: $684.01 ($39.97 more)
Phone & Internet: $1131.83($183.83 more)
Mobile Phone: $645.17 ($14.83 less)
Electricity: $886.43 ($73.57 less)
Gas Bottle:
$0.00($200.00 less*)
Car Rego: $1058.00 (on budget)
Car Insurance: $383.90 ($94.10 less)
RACQ:
$70.00 ($8.00 more)
Car Repairs: $2063.92 ($1063.92 more**)
Property Rates: $2240.21 ($340.21 more)
Bank Fees: $409.05 ($14.05 more)
Actual Total for Yearly Bills:
$10 335.98 ($1196.22 more)
* The tenants who lived in our house before us filled the gas bottle up before they left (part of their tenant agreement) and we hadn’t used it all up by the time the stove/oven broke. J
** Some of the car repair expenditure went to fixing up DF’s project car, which I forgot to itemise L So this could mislead the figures a bit. However, with hindsight it’s probably a good idea to put some money in the bills budget for that anyway, seeing as eventually it will become his daily drive.
Does anyone have any other things they put into the Bills category that I am not currently putting in there?
(Note: I do not have: heating or cooling expenses, parking expenses, gym membership, water expenses, cable television, magazine subscriptions.)
My Bills Expenditure for an ENTIRE YEAR
April 6th, 2010 at 04:41 am
April 6th, 2010 at 12:55 pm 1270554937
April 6th, 2010 at 02:57 pm 1270562278
April 6th, 2010 at 10:33 pm 1270589633
Have you budgeted for medical & Vet bills that could come up over the year. May be a float so if used you need to resave it again.
April 7th, 2010 at 01:07 am 1270598875
these are just 'bills'.
our mortgage, fun money, petrol, grooming & health, house maintenance etc come out of our every day account, mainly because we can cut back on all of these at the first sign of trouble, but with bills they will always be a set amount each week/month/year, so it's easier for me to calculate the costs on a weekly 'put money aside' manner.
kitty, water and sewerage is still in our rates. (though i noticed it hiked a bit in the last six months, *sigh*)
I think the main thing I will be adding is vet expenses. Healthcare for us is free (at the moment), and we do not have any education loans at this time. Home Improvements we usually take out of the EF or any budget surplus for the month.
Haircuts is an interesting point though. DF's costs $16 a cut and he gets one every 2-3 months, and mine is roughly $65 which I get every 6 months (every time I go, I get a disapproving look from the hairdresser "Your last visit was SIX months ago *cough*") LOL