May Budget Numbers Still Adjusting Up

I just fiddled with the May budget numbers (on my own since hubby is down in the Fort Bliss area until next week) and while the overall outgo went down I am still not happy with them.

That $3.219 per gallon gas price I was griping about last month looks pretty nice this month!  Our area just went over $3.499 per gallon this week, and I expect the price to jump up for this weekend.  Gasoline budget for the Pizza Taxi was increased another $20 for May and I am hoping it doesn’t take more than that.

I didn’t raise the grocery category per se, but I am figuring an extra $50 “just in case” for groceries in general.  With my budget experiment with the teenager still ongoing, and my son noticing the price increases of apples (his favorite) this may need to change as quickly as mid-month.  At least strawberries (my favorite) are in season and on sale.

Utility costs flip-flopped this month, with the natural gas & water bill going up $40 and the electric bill going down almost $60.  This is usually the lowest month for utility bills, so I am not expecting it to stay that way.

I decreased the eating out budget from $120 down to $100.  We really haven’t been spending that much per month, as hubby swears no restaurant in town can hold a candle to my cooking (I love his flattery!) and he prefers to eat in.

I am thinking of cutting the cable bill more.  I may slice out even the basic-basic television, and (horrors!) am even thinking of going down a level on my internet connection.

Even with last month’s unplanned trip to my cousin’s funeral, plus the icky rising costs, I still have about $850 to put into our big emergency fund.  It’s progress, even if it is a tad slower than I had hoped.  Forward progress is what matters, and even if you only get four yards per down that still moves the chains after third down (man I miss my football…).