$$$ 2nd Payday $$$

Have you been telling your money where to go? Ever wonder what happened to your paycheck? Do you spend your money before it hits your account? I challenge each of you to do better in February. Maybe that is saving an extra $20 or maybe that is staying within budget. Wherever you need help, make February the month to do better and challenge yourself.

I will be showing you how we allocate our money, if you haven't read the 1st payday post, I suggest reading that one first. Just like that post, I will not be using my actual paycheck amount.

JP and I get paid on the 15th and last day of the month. When planning out our budget, we use the amount that hits our account. So, this will be after taxes, 401K, medical, FSA, etc. I suggest you do the same. 

I used the same paycheck amount as my last post of $2,500. This will include any bills due before our next paycheck. We have listed our mortgage, electricity, internet, gym and yoga, Netflix estimate and a dentist bill. Our Netflix bill was being paid by T-Mobile but since we switched over to Verizon, I am not sure when our bill is due and what amount, so I used an estimate. Our gym includes a boot camp class for JP and 2 yoga trial passes. This bill will go up once our trial period ends and we have to pay full price. You will also see $50 towards auto, which is for gas and any other various costs for our car. We also get an additional $300 towards food and the final amount is the remaining amount we needed for our flywheel. Remember, the flywheel is something we talk about and always change. This amount will almost always vary each month. The last thing you should notice is that JP's paycheck is not included. His paycheck usually goes towards savings, travel and spending money.

Do you have any extra money? What area can you cut back on? One of the areas that JP and I are working hard on cutting back is our food. This year we are attempting to spend $750 a month. Our food category goes towards groceries, eating out, alcohol, cat food & litter, coffee and household items. We did pretty well in January! I plan to post about our January spending habits and you can see how we spent that food category and if we went over budget.

Do you need help with your budget? I will put together a budget for you if you would like, just reach out.

Again, I ask, do you know where your money is going? Be sure to comment and subscribe.