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.