I've been planning on writing this post for quite some time now, it just took me a while to actually run the numbers.
I can't believe I was able to cut over $10,000 per year in expenses - that's crazy, insane, just wild!
I knew my expenses were too high, but I truly had no idea exactly how high they were....because I didn't have a budget. Oh sure, I had attempted to put together a budget from time to time, but it wasn't detailed enough to really see where the problems were.
My savings was dwindling month after month, but I was able to pay my bills so I was ok, right?
WRONG!
If month after month my expenses were more than my income, eventually I would no longer be able to pay my bills....and I would hit rock bottom.
Something had to change.
I started by opening an Excel spread sheet and listing every single monthly expense I had.
Fortunately, I use online banking so it was fairly simple - I just had to run a report from my online banking to see what recurring expenses I had.
Then I added the yearly expenses and additional costs (vet bills and medicine, dog food/treats, cosmetics, paper products, Christmas and birthdays....you get the picture) to that list, and came up with a staggering dollar amount.
When I compared my income to the list of expenses I was short over $10,000 per year.
WHAT???????