Comments on: The Happy Rock’s Monthly Budget Expenses Revealed

By: Cheap Eats - Recipes For Meals Under $10 | The Happy Rock

Cheap Eats - Recipes For Meals Under $10 | The Happy Rock — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:35:53 +0000

[...] you can see whether you spend $800 a year on food or $800 a month, there are many, many, ways to get the best bang for your food [...]

By: Carnival of Personal Finance # 206: The Memorial Day Stars and Stripes Edition | Greener Pastures: Personal Finance

Mon, 25 May 2009 09:56:25 +0000

[...] The Happy Rock from The Happy Rock presents Revealed: The Happy Rock’s Monthly Expenses . [...]

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:54:50 +0000

Low cell phone bill surprised me also. Great job on child care and entertainment. Hopefully gas and electric won’t drastically increase when you buy a new home. Great detail on the expenses.

By: Mr.Choice

Mr.Choice — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:10:24 +0000

Great budget. It looks like your auto maintenance shows figures above $2700. Wow, and I thought I was paying more! Great post, nonetheless.

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:10:30 +0000

Thanks for the great comments.

@MLR – Gas is high on average, since last year around this time gas was about $4.00 a gallon. The bill is half that now.

For vacation, we usually plan one big vacation but haven’t because having a baby really limits your options. We do also do a lot of camping and day trips which keep the costs down.

@DD – I will be taking a look at groceries, but I suspect $600 a month might be the low end with the type of food that we buy. It will be interesting to see.

The household misc. is bit high, usually that corresponds with how many times The Rockette gets out to Target and the like.

As far as fun, I have one big comment. ‘Fun’ is an attitude not an activity or a place or an item. We do lots of stuff. Zoo membership, lots of playgrounds, hiking, camping, amusement parks, etc. We just make sure we have coupons and bring a great attitude. For example, cardboard boxes can be a blast and cost almost nothing!

@Glow – We have two pre-paid plans with Virgin mobile that only require $20 every 3 months. We try not to use cell phones.

@Jacquelin – Thanks for the comment. Our schedule looks almost the same, except for the night time snacks. Our older boy eat more after dinner than most of the day and we make sure he eat dinner first. Crazy metabolism. Both our boys are ravenous! Plus buying organic in NJ is cost expensive and that is a cost we are willing to take. We think it translates into long term health and lower long term expenses and higher quality of life.

@Richard – We appreciate our condo and it was a great first house that helped us succeed financially. Time to move into something that accommodates our family better though.

@Matt and DD – I have a inexpensive pre-tax deduction for insurance through my employer which is a huge benefit. About $75 a month for good full family medical + dental, + life insurances and disabilities. Pretty sweet deal.

By: Weekly Mashup, Apple Pie Edition | My Life ROI, Getting the Best Return On Life

Sun, 17 May 2009 17:12:24 +0000

[...] The Happy Rock - The Happy Rock’s Monthly Budget Expenses Revealed [...]

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:19:43 +0000

How do you guys deal with health insurance premiums?

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:39:08 +0000

Cool budget breakdown- interesting information…

$1100 for a condo in NJ is very very cheap actually.
Trying finding something like that CA?

Great blog layout too- this is my first time visiting!

By: Jacquelin

Jacquelin — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:09:49 +0000

My suggestions: For clothes-garage sale. They are worth the time. I just got my daughter 4 pair of shorts for 10cents each. I clothe everyone in my family as much as I can from garage sales. So far this year, I have spent 64.25 and am almost done for the year. (4 kids, hubby and me)
Also-look for home decor and gifts this year at garage sales-I’ve noticed that a lot of people are trying to “downsize” and get rid of the non-necessities. I’ve seen a lot of decor and small appliances at the sales this year.
The food situation: you just have to limit. It’s a hard thing…I know. this is a day at our house: 7a.m.-breakfast (oatmeal, bacon and eggs, pancakes, ect) 9:30-snack for my little one at home:(a carrot, celery with p.b., or a few crackers) 11:30 lunch-leftovers from last night or soup and salad 3:30-snack for all kids-usually fruit(orange, apple, grapes) 6:00 dinner. They get their fill at supper,(complete with a simple dessert) so I don’t have to worry about late night hungers. I figured out just how much we spend on food for a month: this is with acknowledgement that we live on a farm and raise our own beef and veggies-about $330/month. what works for my family is limiting.

By: Glow Imagery

Glow Imagery — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:00:47 +0000

Your giving is awesome!

What’s up with the cheap cell phone service? Is that two cans and a string?

That’s a lot for groceries, but you did awesome on the eating out so it kind of blunts the grocery bill.

You have to keep budgeting though, that keeps the whole house on the same page and using those habits.

Keep up the good work!