August Budget

August's budget is up on the sidebar. If you take a close look you might notice that at the top of it, the amount that is budgeted has changed. Instead of showing our "magic number" for the year ($6,975.03), we have a slightly smaller number ($6,706.21). Our buffer is all used up and we are now living month to month.

How this works is that at the beginning of the year I take the totally of DH's take home for the previous year, plus or minus the amount of taxes that we got back or had to pay. Divide that total by twelve and I get our magic number, that is, the average monthly income that we had the previous year. Then if some months DH brings in more than the magic number, the extra goes into the buffer. If he brings in less, then we take from the buffer. Get it? It is the best way that I've come up with to deal with his income that is mostly commissions and bonuses and so fluctuates by quite an amount.

Well this year, other than in March when we got a $6,653 tax return, our income has been less than the magic number so we've been taking from the buffer all along, and it's been shrinking and now it is gone...

So, until we have a monthly income greater than $6,975.03 and can replenish the buffer, we'll be living on just what we get.

The good news is that this month, we were able to pay all of our bills and also to fund all of our savings accounts, including putting an extra $504.62 into the vacation fund to cover our trip to Chelan this month!