I realized recently that even though I’ve been doing monthly budgets and paycheck to paycheck budgets for months, I hardly ever share them over here on the blog. Budgeting and getting our financial house in order has been such a big part of the last two years and I want to share that more. So today I’m sharing my June monthly budget and our first paycheck to paycheck budget of the month.
I’ll also be sharing some of my favorite budgeting tools I use for pen and paper budgeting in my planner!
June Monthly Budget 2019
I always do my full monthly budget based on our anticipated income. I love doing this to have a general idea of what needs to be paid during the month. It helps to allocate the money generally so that we can better allocate it specifcially once we get our actual paychecks.
I’ve been playing around with different things since I’m planning to open an Etsy shop and this sheet was one of the first.
My main priorities for June are:
- stick to the budget set out in paycheck to paycheck budgets
- get cash out on paydays and stuff envelopes
- look into getting cheaper car insurance
I’ve decided I’m going to tackle our bills one at a time and give myself a new one to look at reducing each month. We already cut our cable/internet bill and now it’s time to tackle car insurance.
Paycheck To Paycheck Budget & Cash Envelopes
Paycheck to paycheck doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing! I always look to my monthly budget to create the paycheck to paycheck budgets we do that are our guide for how we will spend our paychecks.
For our first paycheck to paycheck budget of the month I planned based on our income of $2,558. This included minimal side hustle income which will come later in the month.
Here’s how we budgeted our money for the first paychecks of the month:
Fixed Expenses
- Mortgage – $600
- Debt Payment – $265
- Other – $179
- Therapy – $130
- House Items – $95
- College 529 Plan – $25
- Healthy Wage – $25
Variable Expenses
Sinking Funds
- Car Replacement – $150
- Beach Trip – $100
- Tech Replacement – $100
- Wedding Party – $100
- Life Insurance – $35
- Pets – $20
- Penny – $20
- Gifts – $29
Stuffing our cash envelopes has really helped keep spending on track in certain variable categories over the last few months. While we aren’t the most frugal budgeters we have still made some great progress in cutting back our spending and actually sticking to our plan.
Plan For Extra Money
Because I have a variable income and earn money from various side hustles, I always like to create a plan for extra money I might earn during the month.
Extra income is not guaranteed and I don’t have a set amount I’ll be earning so I like to use percentages to tell myself what to do with the money. I pick the most important priorities of the month and use those to set my plan for any extra money.
Plan for extra income earned in June:
- 50% extra debt payments
- 25% beach trip savings
- 25% car replacement sinking fund
This hits all the points for me. Some toward debt repayment, some for fun, and some toward our next big financial goal. When I originally budgeted for June I didn’t include the beach trip in the plan for any extra money but I’ve realized the trip is rapidly approaching and we need to save for it and enjoy it.
What I Used To Budget
I am a huge fan of making budgeting fun, which is why I use my planner to create monthly budgets. Using stickers and colorful pens helps me feel like I’m doing a fun project instead of doing a budget.
Here’s what I use when I budgeted this month. I’ve included affiliate links and a description of why I like each item
Happy Planner ? I have used Happy Planners for several years and use multiple sizes. I use the classic size Happy Planner for most of my budgeting.
Happy Notes Paper ? This paper pack is the additional loose paper I use in my Happy Planner to create budgets and take notes. It’s versatile!
Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Pen ? These are the absolute best gel pens you could ever use. I’ve always loved gel pens and the colors make creating budget and doing math more fun.
Tombow Fudenosuke Color Brush Pen ? I don’t use these often in budgeting but sometimes use them on stickers or as a decorative touch. These pens are amazing for hand lettering and calligraphy!
Pretty Cute Planner Stickers ? Adorable stickers for planners! The “Feed The Pig” stickers for savings might be my newest favorite.
Romina Rossa Stickers ? Fellow YouTuber Romina has a sticker shop full of budgeting related stickers that make it super easy to create an organized budget system in your planner.
Budgeting can feel like a chore, so find ways to make it fun! Use stickers and markers or an app that feels easy to you. If you hate spreadsheets like I do, find ways to make it fit into your life. There isn’t one perfect way to budget!
If you do love using a planner to budget, I hope you enjoy these resources!