The Dollar Challenge

The Dollar Challenge is a way people can compare their budgets by cents on the dollar – without listing personal details about exactly what they spend money on. When the gauntlet was thrown down by Corey at 20′s Finance, I knew I just had to play along. You can read the rules and details on 20′s Finance - or participate if you’d like!

I enlisted Mr. Thriftability’s help in concocting the spreadsheet (he is THE Excel Spreadsheet King in our household, and since Excel gives me fits, it’s only right that he helps out with this task!) The main spreadsheet had all the bells and whistles – formulas and symbols, and such (look – I’m a writer, not a spreadsheet person. OK?!?) and after a few tweaks we came up with what we believe to be a fair representation of our budget.

Our Budget – Cents on the Dollar:

1. Housing $0.22
2. Transportation $0.25
3. Food $0.15
4. Insurance $0.03
5. Personal Care $0.02
6. Entertainment $0.04
7. Savings $.15
8. Other $0.14
———————————–
= $1.00

Here’s the breakdown of where our every dollar goes…

Housing: $.22

Mr Thriftability took out the original mortgage on this house about 9 years ago. Considering we have acreage and love where we live, we feel OK with this number.

Transportation: $.25

While I work sole from home, but Mr.T commutes every day. We recently bought a 2nd vehicle, adding a short-term payment to our finances.  The newer Jeep we bought will allow us to still have the 4-Wheel drive capabilities we need, yet he will get better gas mileage and save money by driving it every day. This category includes the cost of fuel for two vehicles, plus vehicle maintenance, tires, etc.

Food: $.15

We do OK on groceries, with the large majority of all meals prepared “home made” as we’re both good cooks. I do pack Mr. T’s lunch every day, and generally make breakfast before he goes to work, as well. I like to go out to eat a couple of times a month – or if I’ve had a super-rough day, I might ask him to bring something home for dinner. I’ve been known to have a love-hate relationship with the budget – I know it – and therefore I work hard to stay on track!

Insurance: $.03

Currently Mr. T has health insurance for himself and his kids: as a freelancer, I gave up insurance when I quit my job last December. I won’t be added to Mr. T’s insurance until January, as the company he works for only has open enrollment once a year. Luckily, it won’t cost any more to add me to the policy.

Personal Care: $.03

While we don’t spend a lot on personal items, I will admit to the occasional manicure, and I like to bargain shop the clearance racks, thrift shops, and consignment stores.

Entertainment: $.03

We discontinued our Dish/Cable last summer. I do pay for Hulu+, which provided streaming TV and movies through our Blu-Ray player. We also rent movies from the Blockbuster or RedBox kiosk from time to time.

Savings: $.15

As I mentioned in my post on sticking to a budget, I have recently been able to save more and contribute to my Rollover IRA account. This is a good thing. I also set money aside to pay the IRS.

Other: $.14
Hmmm… this other category seems to be quite a bit bigger than a few of the others. This is where we categorized the car payment, my vacation/travel, and home improvements. We’ve completed several projects this year, from installing French doors and re-flooring with some nice slate tile, to the addition of a wood stove set onto a slate tiled platform. We don’t have any credit cards, but my medical bills from the last (uninsured) ER visit I had are in this grouping, as well.

How does your budget compare? It’s interesting to see how people compare, and nice to see how every dollar is broken out. Share your thoughts on the Dollar Challenge here!