Budget goals for 2014

So yesterday I went to open up my finances spreadsheet only to find that it was gone. :( My Syncplicity drive was getting too full, and I wanted to delete the folder that my Excel doc was in. I moved it to a new folder but for some reason the version that I ended up with was last updated back in May. Ugh.

Fortunately I have a pretty good idea of my finances because I did a evaluation of all my expenditures from January through November, to see if any of my budget categories need to be modified for the new year. The way we do finances in my house is my SO has his paycheck and I have mine, and we keep a joint savings account but separate checking accounts. We have the bills evenly distributed between the two accounts so that we are both left with the same amount of discretionary funds.

My take home pay after taxes and benefits have been taken out is $40K. So what do I spend that on?

• Mortgage: 33%. I pay one mortgage, and SO pays the other. We refinanced recently so the rates are very good. We pay just slightly over the required payment each month.
• Savings/Retirement: 20%. Boring but important.
• Bills: 10%. This is stuff like Terminex, Rapid Rooter, the alarm system, water, electric, cell phone service (we have no land line). We don't have cable TV. My job pays for my internet.

So those are all necessary payments, which leaves about $15K for the year. So where does this go?

• Groceries, both food and things like cleaning products, toilet paper, diapers. Anything that gets used up on a regular basis. This is the biggest category, about $6.5K a year.
• Pet care. Vet bills and food for two cats.
• Personal care. Facials, hair cuts, gym visits, and clothing (for me and for the baby). (About $2.5K a year)
• Clothing for me and for the baby. 
• Entertainment: Dining out, going to movies. Plus treats for me like computer games and books that aren't at the local library. (About $1.5K a year.)
• Baby gear.
• Car Maintenance.
• Home Improvement.
• Medical co-pays.

My financial goals are to pay off my mortgage by 2030, continue the process of fixing up our house, and to get six months worth of expenses into our savings account (right now it is closer to two months). Analyzing my spending gives me ideas for intermediary goals to set for the year.

1. Make as many cuts as possible to the consumables category by shopping carefully and buying only what is needed. For a lot of things I'm going to start going to the Dollar Store instead of Target, and to Super Saver Supermarket instead of Publix. I'm also going to try VERY hard to use cloth towels instead of paper towels, and beans instead of meat. Fingers crossed that the baby takes to potty training early and we can stop buying diapers.
2. No more going out for facials. This was only every other month anyway, but I'll have to start doing them at home. 
3. No more personal trainer after the contract ends in April. Now I know how to use the gym equipment so he has served his purpose. Fortunately my job pays for my membership so I can still exercise for free. 
4. STOP buying gifts or personal items online, especially if it means paying for shipping.
5. Clothing and baby gear is to be purchased cautiously. Buy as much as possible from garage sales, Craigslist, and Freecycle.
6. Turn off and unplug as many items as possible to combat phantom power. 
7. When Verizon contract ends in February, switch to a cheaper plan like Pages Plus Cellular.

 I'm hoping that all of these changes will let me save $5K in the next year, plus do the home improvement projects that I want to do. Those goals are important enough to me that the sacrifices I'm making don't seem too bad!