Budget time!

So I haven't really been able to post as much as I'd like (a.k.a. never) since my job decided to go from the most boring and slow job ever to the most boring and never-have-any-time job. But hey, better than no job right? :)

Since we are now in the fourth semester of medical school (which just happens to coincide with when we combined finances) I finally feel like we have a handle on things. Thank goodness. The first semester of living in a new town, having only one income, and dealing with the stress of medical school (and past CC debt to apply to said medical school) is far behind us and we have come such a long way. Let's see if I can make budget talk fun. No promises!

Something that we really struggled with at first was not getting to go to dinner or buy clothes or get anything we wanted on a whim. Especially when there are other students who don't mind taking out extra loans or using credit cards to do just that. Do not follow in their footsteps unless absolutely necessary! I remember back to the first months of school and we decided to set up a budget and an emergency fund. We only had $2000 in our emergency fund but that was enough to last us one month if I lost my job or to fix his unnecessary car parts that contain platinum just so we could get a smog test done to register his car...but I digress. I highly recommend doing this and really trying to stick with it.

We figured out how much money we were going to need per month and then set that money aside in a high yield savings account so we could get some interest on our loan money. Each month I pull out the amount we need to add to my paycheck to get through the month. The most important part of this method is to make sure you are budgeting through the month that you are getting your next loan payment. My favorite was when they gave us loan money for Jan-May 2009 but no money for June, July, or August. Some students didn't figure that out ahead of time and it was really hard for them to make it through. This also prevents pressure on the student to have to find a job and leaves them open to any non-paying summer opportunities that present themselves.

Probably the most crazy thing we did was set up individual fun money and joint money budget line items. I get a whole $50 to spend a month on myself! (Which is apparently the crazy part according to some of our friends...) This includes waxing my eyebrows (so fun huh?), drinks with friends, the occasional chai latte, and anything else that strikes my fancy. We have $100 per month to spend on date nights - which could probably be way less but it is the salvation of our relationship to spend time together and splurge once a week.

It was extremely hard for A to not spend money at first. He never seemed to know where it was all going! We fixed this situation by keeping our budget on the front door. If I buy groceries - I subtract it out of the grocery category and we can see exactly how much is left when we leave in the morning. Same goes for all the other categories. Using this method, A went from overspending in his category to coming under budget some months!

Anyway - as fun as I think this subject is I'll move on for now. I am kind of a budget and finance whore (which is probably why I work in accounting). I'll leave our budget for you at the bottom and leave you guessing as to how we not only paid for almost our entire wedding in between first and second year, but also a trip to Ecuador, and three out of state weddings that we were in - all without taking extra loans. I'm sure you ladies are on the edge of your seats....

Hope your 2010 is off to a great start! Some things on my mind lately have been our third/fourth year locations and boards prep fun (aka seeing my husband even less than before) and will share with you soon!

Rent $975
Internet $40
Electricity $80 max
Cell Phones $90

Car Payments $341
Insurance $125
Gas $125

A SL #1 $115
J SL #2 $100
J SL #3 $150

Groceries $400
J $50
A $50
Joint $100
Misc $150
Dr/Prescription $50

All savings, books, supplies, scheduled car maintenance, and major purchases are done at the beginning of the semesters (unless an emergency).

We definitely aren't perfect and could really scale down on some of these line items but I've realized we are a much happier couple if we make a few allowances.