Anyway, I figured if I knew where all our money is going, I can pinpoint where we overspend, cut that and funnel it to investing instead. Well, lemme just tell ya, we're spending too much on food!
A huge part of our money goes to meat, veggies, bread, milk (a LOT of milk!), fast food deliveries, cookies, cakes, Coke, etc etc!
The "Other," which is the next biggest piece of the pie, is actually gifts and donations, tips for waiters and delivery boys, and the kids' vaccinations. So we're a generous family. But seeing it on that pie like that makes me want to stop giving gifts! Or just stop eating out and ordering in so we won't have to tip!
The "Personal" slice covers shopping for clothes, shoes, haircuts, etc. But for this particular month, that meant our life insurance policies. Hmm. Maybe I should put insurance policies under another category.
The "Recreation" slice is only huge because this month, we spent a lot on Vito's birthday party. Normally, recreation is books, movies, travel. Since procreating, we've not been recreating (sigh!) so normally, we don't spend a lot on leisure stuff anymore.
So now I'm wondering where I can shave off money so we can invest in mutual funds or stocks. Gifts? Service tips? Dining out? Ordering in? Chips and candy? Coke? All of the above? This is driving me nuts! I don't like budgeting at all!
Yes I think life insurance should be in another category cos that is your 'investment' part {depends on which product}, it is worth more than what you put in it in a few more years.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what about savings, emergency funds, time deposits and all that? =P though I know you're financially covered, a part of monthly income should go to that.
Sorry, that must've sounded like a lecture :D
Love,
Financial Services Girl
(hehe)
Oh! I put that in the Income part. What you see here is my Expenses chart =) That's why I'm thinking of taking out insurance policies from my Expenses, too. But wala kaming time deposits. Just savings and emergency funds. We figured better na lang to invest in stocks and mutual funds.
DeleteSounds like a healthy plan! =) And like you, I also spend so much on food kaya I limit na going out to twice a week kasi KALOKA lalo at Fort, everything is freaking expensive!
DeleteGood luck on your budget, F! Kayang kaya mo yan :)
Hi , Same here ..i spend alot on food. unlike you, i am single but whenever i do my grocery it feels like i am buying for a family of four!! hahaha
ReplyDeleteEven when I was single, I also spent a LOT on food. There was a time I tracked all my expenses in a month and--to my absolute shock!--after rent and utilities, I spent all of my salary on food!
DeleteTaking a good hard look at expenses hurts at first but it's so worth it. We used to spend so much on food (both groceries and eating out) when we were living in Singapore. Now our biggest expense is rent, closely followed by travel. I prefer it that way!
ReplyDeleteI have kids now so I can't scrimp on food. Refrigerator and pantry shelves need to be fully stocked! I think we should stop buying junk food, though!
DeleteGreat post! This is exactly what expenseRegister's reports are meant to do - help us understand our spending better.
ReplyDeleteNaku same here. Our food talaga covers almost 50% of our expenses per month. That includes grocery, dine outs (which is once a week na nga lang) and milk of my toddler! Recreation nga bihira na lang the past few months since I'm pregnant. But glad that my hubby is good with our finances although I need to learn din how to properly manage our money, sya yun best in investing via stocks & bonds. That'll be my next project, after I give birth (next week) I'll take some time to learn the ropes on investing. Since hindi ako best in math (computation and everything else LOL) eh, I'll just stick to spending & budgeting monthly for now. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jackie! I'm part of this Bible study and we're tackling Power of a Praying Wife, which details what a wife's role is. A man is the provider. The woman is the one who manages the finances--budget, save, invest, grow! Grabe! I don't know anything about that! But I'm learning because that's one of our roles pala =)
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