I've been tagged by Pinyo over at Moolanomy to share my biggest budget busters. Now that I've been following a budget for a few months now, I can quickly determine what expenses take the biggest chunks of my money.

For the last few months, my biggest expenses have been:

Mortgages. I have a mortgage on my primary home and a mortgage on my rental property. Even with the rental income I receive, this is still my largest expense. Based on the mortgage calculators out there, my mortgage payment is much more than it should be based on my income.

Car Payment. I've posted before that this is one expense I plan to get rid of real soon.

Utilities. This consists of my electricity, gas, cable, home phone, Internet, cellular phone, HOA dues and security system. I only keep the home phone because of the security system and it is part of a package deal thru my cable company. I plan to reduce this expense by looking into a satellite dish and modifying my Internet and phone plan.

Insurance. I pay for insurance on my automobile, home, rental property and for an umbrella policy. I usually get new quotes on my insurance needs every 6-12 months. The cost of insurance can vary from company to company so it is important to get multiple insurance quotes. I use Insurance.com and InsureMe.com to get multiple free quotes from a variety of companies.

Food. I don't eat a lot; I just eat out a lot. I've gotten a lot better about taking my lunch to work so this number is decreasing. Last month, my dining out expenses were approximately 50% less than the month before.


What are your biggest budget busters?

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6 comments

  1. Camel Cigarettes // April 23, 2008 at 7:20 AM  

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  2. Anonymous // April 23, 2008 at 10:45 AM  

    Looks like we share a few similar budget busters. Thank you for responding to my tag.

  3. JW // April 23, 2008 at 1:10 PM  

    My budget busters are everything that you've mentioned!

  4. Mark Krusen // April 27, 2008 at 3:03 AM  

    My budget busters have been some unplanned expenses lately.One we just did the sidewalk leading up to the front door of house in stone. That cost us about $50.00 we hadn't planned. Another biggie was I just bought $200.00 worth of meat from a salesman that came to the door selling meat out of the back of his pick up.

    So unlike me but a great deal. I could go on it's been one after the other this month. Time to hunker down and count the pennies again.

  5. Anonymous // April 27, 2008 at 2:27 PM  

    This month, its electronics because I just bought a macbook. But for a regular budget buster, it's the same as yours minus the car payment.

  6. SavingDiva // April 28, 2008 at 12:29 PM  

    Highest items in my budget
    Retirement Savings (401k & Roth IRA)
    Taxes
    Rent
    Car (payment, insurance, gas)