August 20 Budget

My first attempt at a specific budget. I usually budget for the fixed items and then with my remaining $300 or so, it's usually whatever goes and most of the time, I'm out of pocket a week before the next pay day.

A brief description of each category:

1. Rent - this is going to be the last fortnight where we have to pay $250 for rent. In my next pay, it will go up to $450.

2. Jumpstart - is a personal training service I started two months ago. At the moment, I go to two classes per week. This is a direct debit that gets taken out of my account every fortnight. I enjoy the classes and this is my main motivation for exercise. If I haven't paid, then I just won't go.

3. Uni Loan Payment - long story cut short. I have about $13K+ uni loans (HECS). Usually, an amount gets deducted off the person's salary once they earn over a certain threshold. I certainly have been earning over the threshold for two years but they haven't been deducting it from my pay. So instead of getting a refund back with my tax return, I have to pay instead. I owe the tax office around $4K+ (including interest) and I've made an arrangement with them to pay $146 per fortnight until next year. They've sent me coupons in the mail as well with due dates so I don't forget!

4. Credit Card - I have $597 debt on my CC and I'm not going to be using it for a while. I'm hoping to pay this off very soon.

5. Home Deposit - self explanatory. Where the bulk of my moolah goes!

6. Gifts - I usually prepare in advance for birthdays and anniversaries. I have a birthday party to go this fortnight so I've budgeted a bit for that. But this would usually be $0.

7. Groceries - includes dinners & also lunches for work. I have a feeling that I will fall short on this one. We'll see.

8. Entertainment - includes dinners out, travel (public transportation is very expensive in Sydney!), movies, etc.

9. Personal Items - mostly beauty items & services

10. Shopping - no explanation needed!

11. Misc - this is not really earmarked for anything special. I think this will just be a back-up just in case I need more cash for the other categories.