begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - my net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

sf - automatic sinking funds transfers scheduled for 7/11/23

cash - cash for the next 2 weeks

Citi MC - the balance this time includes a tank of gas and some eating out

CarMax - a payment towards my car loan.  The new balance is $21,008.23

house DP - a contribution towards my house down payment.  The new balance is $2,002.92.

end - ending checking account balance

begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - my net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

cash - cash for the next 2 weeks

sf - automatic transfers to sinking funds scheduled for 6/27/23

Citi MC - this payment includes my Verizon bill, my Netflix bill, my Sirius XM bill, a co-pay for prescription refills at $58.32, a donation of $55.84 (details below), and $12.58 for a fast food lunch out.

CarMax - my car payment.  the new balance is $21,221.94

house DP - a contribution to my house down payment fund.  the new balance is $1,696.05

life ins - my monthly life insurance premium.

water club - my tab for the water club at work

end -  ending checking account balance.  I have $750 set aside for dental expenses which are estimated to be approximately 1k.

Donation - I have a niece who is really in to cat rescue.  This niece is my ex-husband's sister's daughter.  Currently, she and her long-term boyfriend are saving up to move (the house they rent is being sold) and she is having trouble affording cat supplies.  She has a wish list on Amazon; I bought her some cat food.

Begin - beginning checking account balance ($0.27 interest paid on 5/31/23)

pr - net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

cash - cash for the next 2 weeks

sf - automatic sinking funds transfers scheduled for 6/13/23

Citi MC - the balance this time includes a $250 payment to the endodontist and $52.88 for gas (I had Gilligan with me and wanted to pay at the pump)

CarMax - a payment towards my car loan.  The new balance is $21,434.24.

House DP - a contribution to my house down payment fund.  The new balance is $1,537.31.

end - my ending checking account balance.  And that is it, my paycheck is spent.

I have $650 saved for my dental expenses, and have already paid $250.  I need approximately another $350.   When I went to the endodontist, he discovered that I had a fistula.  He did the root canal and treated the fistula.  I have to wait 5 weeks then go back so he can check if the fistula has healed before he is done with me.  Maybe the costs will rise because I will have another office visit.  They didn't say and I didn't ask, but it won't surprise me.  

begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - my net payroll check

SB - my contribution to our joint living expenses

cash - cash until next payday

SF - automatic transfers to sinking funds scheduled for 5/30/23

Citi MC - the balance this time covered 3 bills:  Verizon, Netflix, and Sirius XM.

CarMax - a payment towards my car loan.  I thought it would be fun to add another dollar every time, so that's what I did. The new balance is $21,645.14.

house DP - a contribution to my house down payment fund.  The new balance is $1,398.71.

life ins - monthly life insurance premium

water club - my tab for the water club at work

end - ending checking account balance.  I now have $550 set aside for my pending dental bills.  

And that is it, today's paycheck is spent.

begin - my beginning checking account balance

pr - my net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

cash - cash for gas, personal, and misc

sf - automatic transfers to sinking funds scheduled for 5/16/23

Citi MC - the balance this time included $52.68 for gas, $33.33 for Papa Murphy's, and $27.54 for groceries at Safeway.  We house sat last week, plus Birth Mom was here for a visit.  We spent more than usual for groceries and take out.

WF Visa - the balance included $51.35 for Gilligan's flea meds and $8.45 for a set of 4 drinking glasses at Wal-Mart.

CarMax - my car payment.  The new balance is $21,854.65.

house DP - contribution to my house down payment fund. The new balance is $1,332.53.

Broad - the last $50 owed, expected next Friday 5/19/23

end - my ending checking account balance.

I realized that I have longer to save for my crown than I had thought at first.  It will take 2 appointments to complete the crown, then they will bill my insurance, then finally after the insurance pays they will bill me.  I will use my Citi MC to pay the dentist then have at least 1 paycheck, possibly 2, before the statement due date.  I have not even had the first appointment yet.  $200 is enough to set aside from today's paycheck.

And that's it, today's paycheck has been spent.

begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - my net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

cash - My budgeted amount is $260, but I only needed $220.  I forgot to adjust before I made my House DP transfer, so I ended up with an extra $40 in checking.  I just left it there, because I will have a big expense to pay beginning with the next paycheck.  More on that below.

sf - automatic sinking funds transfer which will happen on 5/2/23.

Citi MC - the balance on my Citi MC.  It included $149.35 for a meal out, and $16.91 for Sirius XM.  The meal out was dinner and drinks for 3.  I have a couple of girlfriends from work, we all now work in different departments in different buildings.  We meet up every month or two at a particular restaurant.  We take turns paying, and it was my turn.  The restaurant has gotten a bit pricey, as you can see.  The Sirius XM is a new expense.  When I bought the Tucson, 3 months were included free.  Then I received an email offering me an additional 3 months for $2.  I accepted that.  And I have found that I really enjoy it.  My promotional subscription ended on 4/14/23, I downgraded the membership from premium to music only and kept it.

CarMax - I rounded the half-payment up to $250 as that is the amount I was saving towards my next car out of each paycheck before purchasing the Tucson.  The new balance is $22,062.52.  Edited to Add:  On 5/5/23, while clearing my checking account transactions, I noticed that this payment had not hit my bank account.  I logged on to CarMax, and there is no record of this payment.  So annoying!  I scheduled it again for today, and of course there is now more interest due.  I just hate debt.  The new balance is higher than it should be, at $22,086.68.

house DP - the amount I had available to contribute.  The new balance in the fund is $1,161.51.

Broad - a loan repayment.  The loan balance is down to $50 now.

life ins - my monthly life insurance premium. 

end - the ending balance in my checking account.

So I went to the dentist on Monday for my bi-annual cleaning and it was time for x-rays.  Bad news, I need a crown.  My share of cost for that is $610, plus I will owe something for Monday.  I will pay the dentist with my Citi MC, and then will have 2 paychecks to get the balance paid in full.  Of course, this will impact my savings efforts which is frustrating, but it is what it is.

begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

cash - cash for expenses over the next 2 weeks

sf - automatic sinking funds transfers

roth - contribution to my Roth IRA

Citi MC - my Verizon cell phone bill and monthly Netflix subscription

CarMax - my latest attack on my car loan.  The new balance is $22,270.24

house DP - a tiny contribution towards my house down payment fund

Broad - a loan repayment; $200 still to go

end - ending checking account balance 

Hello Everyone.  😀

Begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - my net payroll check.  This being the 3rd paycheck of the month, it is a bit larger than usual.  There are no deductions for medical on 3rd paychecks.  A bit of extra money is, of course, always welcome.

SB - my contribution towards our joint household expenses.

cash - cash for gas, personal, and misc for the next 2 weeks.  I still had $140 in my wallet, so only needed an additional $120. I have been teleworking so frequently that I just haven't been spending as much gas money.  Plus, I used my credit card once for gas for the sake of convenience.  I had Gilligan with me and wanted to just pay at the pump.

sf - automatic transfers to my sinking funds.  These will occur this coming Tuesday.

roth - a Roth IRA contribution

Citi MC - the balance on my Citi MC.  This includes a tank of gas ($56.64), credits used to solve puzzles on Conceptis.com ($12), and a quick lunch at Jack in the Box ($13.59).  Can we just pause for a moment to say that fast food prices are getting quite high?  I ordered a chicken sandwich, a medium lemonade, and a small plain hamburger for Gilligan. $13.59! I did not use cash because they were only accepting cards at the time.

WF Visa - hygiene products SB picked up for me at the grocery store. 

life ins - monthly life insurance premium

CarMax - I was able to send $637 to my car loan!  This amount includes an additional $405.99 towards principal.  The new balance is $22,759.03.

house DP - a tiny contribution to my house down payment fund

Broad - a loan to a friend.  This woman and I call each other "Broad".  She was having a bit of a financial crisis, asked me for a loan, and I chose to lend it to her.  I do feel confident she will repay me.

end - ending checking account balance.

And that is it; no more transactions until next payday.

Begin - beginning checking account balance

pr - net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards our joint living expenses

cash - cash for the next 2 weeks

sf - automatic sinking funds transfers

roth - contribution to my Roth IRA

Citi MC - payment for my Verizon bill ($50.38), Netflix ($15.49), prescription co-pays ($57.76), less redeemed cash rewards ($27.32)

CarMax - payment towards my car loan.  This payment includes an additional $195.99. The new balance is $23,351.69.

house dp - A tiny contribution to my house down payment fund

Water Club - At work, we have a Water Club to pay for bottled water.  It was time to pay.

begin - checking account previous ending balance ($1,500) plus interest ($0.38)

pr - net payroll check

SB - my contribution towards joint household expenses

cash - coming in low again, mainly due to gas savings from teleworking

sf - automatic sinking funds deposits

house DP - a tiny house down payment fund contribution

roth - Roth IRA contribution @10% of gross income

Citi MC - the balance on my Citi MC.  This amount includes a pen for Gilligan ($300.25), a collar and leash for Gilligan ($27.68),  pizza ($40.00), and an Amazon order for toiletries ($41.85).

WF Visa - some items SB picked up for me

HBO Max - subscription fee for March

obedience - I found a local dog trainer with 30 years of experience.  She is currently offering only private lessons at $65 per pop.  I am setting aside enough for 3 lessons and I think that will be enough.  We had a lesson scheduled for last Sunday, but the weather had other plans.  Hopefully by next weekend we will be able to start.

CarMax - and that left $420 to throw at my car loan.  I need to pay at least half of a payment ($231.01), so this amount represents an extra $188.99.  It is progress, just not as much as I would like.  The new balance is $23,733.63.

end - checking account buffer of 1k which just sits there

And if anyone is interested in trying Budgeting-By-Paycheck for themselves, I found this free printable template online:  16 Free Budget Printables to Save More Money - The Krazy Coupon Lady  You have to scroll a little bit to get to the Budget By Paycheck template.

begin - my beginning checking account balance.

pr - my net payroll check.

fed refund - my federal income tax refund.

Mom - reimbursement for Netflix.  It's been several years since she paid me anything for Netflix, and I really don't mind if she never pays a cent.  She mailed me this check, so I deposited it.

SB - we agreed to increase the amount from $250 to $300.  SB buys our groceries, buys our propane, pays the electric bill, pays the garbage bill, and pays for Starlink internet.  This $300 is my contribution towards those costs.

cash - this is my cash allowance for gas, misc, and spending money.  My budget for this is $260, but I had cash left from last time so reduced my withdrawal to $180.

SF - the automatic transfer to my sinking funds.

Gilligan SF - an initial deposit to save ahead for Gilligan's expenses.

house DP - a tiny deposit to my house down payment fund. 

Roth - a contribution to my Roth IRA.

Citi MC - the balance on my Citi MC.  It included Gilligan's adoption fee ($120), a visit to PetCo ($175.29), a bath for him in one of those dog wash vending machines ($10.00), dinner for two at The Olive Garden ($59.70), and then my Verizon and Netflix bills.

HBO Max - this is a new subscription so I can watch "The Last of Us".  We have Amazon Prime which SB pays for, and this add-on automatically bills his card.  I will reimburse him for this monthly.

life ins - my life insurance premium.

CarMax - the amount of money I had left to throw at my car loan.  This payment brought the balance down to $24,107.86.

ending balance - I am holding on to an additional $500 as I am still shopping for a dog pen and obedience classes.

Here is yesterday's paycheck and budget:

With yesterday's payment, my car loan is down to $24,739.24.   Still such a huge number, but moving in the right direction.

Maybe a year or so ago, I stumbled across a You Tuber named The Budget Mom.  She has a website and sells some products and recently wrote a book.  She promotes a budgeting method called Budget By Paycheck.  I started using it and find it simple yet effective.  It is just a zero based budget for every paycheck.

Here is my planned budget for my paycheck this coming Friday:

I am just using Excel.  I had been throwing the odd dollars and cents leftover into a sinking fund called "House Down Payment".  As you know, both of my kids have purchased homes in southern Illinois.  I don't have a definite time line, but there is no question in my mind that my fondest wish is to be where they are.  However, the new recipient of every spare cent I have will now be my car loan.

Edit:  A few words about the line items in my budget ~

begin - I keep a 1k buffer in checking, just in case I need some quick access.

pr - My net payroll check.  My share of my health insurance premium and a 5% contribution to my 457 plan are already taken out.

from sf - Transfers in from my sinking funds to cover expenditures.

SB - I give SB $250 every payday.  He buys all of our groceries, buys gasoline for the generator, and pays our electric bill.  And Starlink internet.  Seeing this in writing, perhaps he and I need to discuss if this amount is sufficient.

sf - Automatic transfers to sinking funds, which happen a few days after payday.

cash - This is spending money, gas money, and misc things from the drug store (hair products, vitamins).  I don't always make it without putting a tank of gas or other item on the Citi MC.  

Roth - I contribute 10% of my gross to my Roth IRA.

life ins - Automatic deduction for my term life insurance premium.

WF Visa - I don't use this card, but SB has a second card in his wallet.  He uses it on occasion when I ask him to pick something up for me, or if he has run errands for me and I wish to buy him some gas.  It's just a convenient way for me to pay without us trading money.

Citi MC - This is the payment I will be making on payday.  Unfortunately, it is not the entire amount currently owed.  However, I have not yet been billed for these charges so I have some time yet to pay without owing interest.  I try to pay my balance to $0 every payday, whether it is due or not.  My phone bill, Netflix, and now Discovery Plus all are on autopay to this card.

CarMax - A car payment; the first of many.

end - The 1k buffer for next time.