April was a pretty typical income month (click on spreadsheet below) and a reasonable month in terms of expenses.

My wife’s paycheck was reduced because she began her 5% 401(k) contribution and a $50/check HAS contribution. She also received $66.80 Citi cc reward, $100 wife’s internet and cell reimbursement, and $14 state tax relief check.

After spending too much last month, we worked hard to keep our expenses down in April. It helped that I was on a business trip for 1 week this month. Our expenses totaled only $6,201.35, but that included a large $1,100 payment for 15 months of my gym membership. So, we would have been well below our $6,040 monthly budget if if the gym bill was not due this month.

Next month should be another average income month. Outside our regular paychecks and my wife’s standard monthly internet and cell reimbursement, we should receive $50 HSBC cash back credit card reward. We have a $204.79 medical bill for my wife and might be spending $160 to get our dog’s teeth cleaned.

March was a strong income month (click on spreadsheet below), but a large month in terms of expenses.

In addition to my two paychecks, my wife received two paychecks for March and a paycheck for her first week of work at the end of February for a total of $4,196.26. She also received her final $405 unemployment from February and a $490.91 bonus check from her old company and $61.12 check from her old company for an insurance deduction mistake. All said and done, my wife brought in $5,153.29 for us this month. Oh, I earned a $25 HSBC cash back credit card reward (go me!). Our interest income on our savings account was $4.20.

Thank God we had a good income month because our expenses were insane ($9,104.29). Some of the larger expenses were: $2,024 total for federal and state income taxes, $229 to resurface my cars rotors and replace break pads, $215.36 for my wife’s medical bill, $344.77 for a Wii and accessories, $175 for my car registration, and $170.29 for a new phone for my wife (she will be receiving a $70 rebate next month). We were also apparently very hungry this month because we spent $506.50 on groceries and $335.04 eating out. We had our 3^rd year anniversary, so $165 of dinning was for one REALLY nice dinner. I am going to increase our groceries budget from $400/month to $500/month, since this is what we have been averaging for the last 11 months. With

my wife’s new company car and company gas card, our fuel expenses were only $92.94.

Next month should be an average income month. In additional to our regular paychecks, we have ~$75 in credit card cash back rewards coming in, my wife will begin receiving her cell phone and internet reimbursements for a total of ~$110/month, and she should also get a $70 rebate from Verizon. In terms of non-monthly expenses, I have a $1,100 gym membership bill and we have a $50 Costco membership bill. I will be on a business trip for 7 days, so that may help reduce some of our expenses. To save some extra money, my wife will be canceling her $19/month gym membership and use our condo gym and Wii instead. She has also been cutting our dogs nails to save us a few extra bucks.

In addition to my two paychecks (the 2^nd of which included my 10% salary reduction), my wife received a $2,025.00 in unemployment and $180 for babysitting. We also received $20 from selling two items on craigslist.org, and earned interest income on our savings account of $8.27.

We were able to continue keeping our spending down for the second month in a row and only spent $5,759.69 in February. That’s just a bit above our January total and well below our budget. That’s pretty good considering I took my wife with me on a week long business trip to the East Coast. We split meals as much as possible because my company pays for me, but we still had a larger than usual “dining” and “entertainment” totals this month.

Next month should be a strong income month with my wife’s new job and her final bonus check from old company. Expensewise, we have ~$2,000 in Federal and State taxes to pay and ~$800 in medical bills that may come due. Our fuel costs should go down a bit because my wife is getting a company car and gas card.

January was a surprisingly good income month (click on spreadsheet below) considering it was the first month of my wife’s laid off. We also had an equally good month for keeping our expenses low.

In addition to my two paychecks, my wife received a final $2,150.26 paycheck for 13 days of work and 3 days of vacation, a $60 reimbursement, $190 for babysitting, and her first unemployment check for $405 (with taxes deducted). We also received a $51.30 Citi credit card reward, $25 from selling a few items on craigslist.org, and earned interest income on our savings account of $16.71.

For the first time in a long time, our expenses came in well below budget; we only spent $5,379.39 in January. It’s great to see our belt tightening paid off. Every month we keep from touching our savings buys us more time.

Next month we have another new challenge. My company will be implementing a 20-25% reduction in pay beginning the 2nd half of the month. We also have ~$800 in medical bills for my wife that may come due. It will be more important than every for us to conserve cash.

December was a big income month for us. In fact, it was our 2nd largest yet at $11,210.81 (click on spreadsheet below).

In addition to our regular paychecks, I received a third “extra” paycheck and my wife received a huge $3,544.00 quarterly bonus ($2,028.95 net). We also received a $184.99 eye insurance refund, $150 reimbursement from my wife’s company, and we sold our 15 shares of Toyota Motor Corp stock for $47.40 gain. We also earned $31.22 in interest income on our savings account.

Even with the holidays, we were able to keep our expenses very much in line. Our cell phone bill was higher than usual and my wife had a few doctor visits, but no real large expenses. In fact, if you subtract out the extra $305 we tithed from my wife’s bonus check, we were right on par with our budget.

Next month, my wife will be unemployed, so our income will drop significantly. We have planned to dramatically reduce our expenses to ensure we don’t have to tap into our savings for a few months.

While our net worth in October dropped considerably, our expenses for the month were pretty low (click on spreadsheet below). We spent a total of $ 6,165.89, which is good, especially considering we splurged on a $301.69 vacuum robot and a $196.18 hotel room for my wife while she was in Vegas.

Our incomes this month were pretty standard. In addition to our paychecks, my wife received a $90.00 reimbursement from her company and we earned a $25 cash reward from our HSBC credit card. The interest income of our E*TRADE savings account was $29.30.

Next month, our incomes will be standard but we have some large expesnses: a $1,157 annual auto insurance bill, $439 condo insurance bill, and a $1,169.14 property tax bill. We plan to cash in 5 of my vacation days to cover most of the two annual insurance bills and pull money out of savings to pay the property tax bill. Some of our other expenses should be lighter next month because I will be out of town ½ of the month.

While our net worth dropped $3,310.51 in September, we nevertheless did a good job of keeping our expenses down (click on spreadsheet).

Our total expenses were $6,894.11, surprisingly low considering we purchased a new table and chairs ($329), paid off the balance of Car 1 so we could sell it ($600), and had to have some plumbing work done ($75).

In addition to our regular paychecks, we were able to pull in other income of $265.01 this month from two credit card rewards, a small refund check, and my wife’s reimbursement. Our interest income for September was $29.06.

Next month should be a low expense month since I will be on business travel for two weeks.

August was our 2nd lowest month of expenses in this year (click on spreadsheet below). My wife was out of town 2-1/2 weeks for business and I was out of town 1 week for business; all of this business travel helped save us some money. While my wife was out of town, I was able to use her company car and gas card, saving us $125-$150 in gas.

We had another strong income month, which is especially nice when combined with a low expense month. My wife earned an “extra” third check this month as well as a $236.16 commission from her old company. We also received a $200 wedding gift that was totally unexpected, but appreciated, since we have been married a couple of years. With our savings account balance rising, we’re starting to see an increase in interest income; this month we earned $28.05 in interest income.

Next month my wife may receive her 1st quarterly bonus, although if she receives anything, it will be a much smaller bonus than what she can expect down the road. We should also earn cash rewards from our Citi credit card and HSBC credit card. The only major expense planned is a few hundred dollars for a new kitchen table and chairs.