Every now and then, I realize I need to review and tweak my monthly budget to see where I can trim expenses. I do this quite often. Actually, I’m beginning to obsess over the tiniest details. I think one of the reasons this is, is that my monthly expenses are quite high compared to what I’ve been reading on other financial blogs. Rent, utilities, car expenses, and business expenses make up the majority of our (meaning my husband and my) monthly bills. Some expenses I can’t currently reduce, such as my rent. My husband and I have decided to stay put in our rental house, rather than move and accumulate moving expenses. We’ve decided that paying $1,800 a month isn’t too bad after shopping around for similarly priced apartments. Besides, our goal is to own our own place by next year.

Another expense that will remain high are our utilities. Since we don’t own our current property and have decided to stay in our rental  house for the time being, we can only do so much to economize it. We’ve sealed up our windows to reduce the drafts that frequently blow in, and in turn this has slightly reduced our gas bills in the winter. We are using the rental property’s appliances, which are really old and not energy efficient at all. But the thought of purchasing new appliances for the rental house, then having to move these heavy items, just doesn’t appeal to us at the moment. Our electricity and gas bills total approximately $250 a month. At least we won’t be surprised when we do own our own house, we’ve gotten used to the higher utility bills that go along with a house.

Our car is another expensive monthly bill. We have paid more than half of our loan off, but still own another $11,000. At the rate we are paying it off, $475 a month, we will continue making payments for about 30 more months. At least our insurance is a reasonable $92 a month for full coverage. And last but not least, is our monthly business expenses totaling almost $1,000 a month. For now, our employee has taken a reduced work load which has helped us to reduce our business expenses.

On the other hand, I realized there were some items I can reduce to make the monthly bills a little easier to manage. For instance, I think I will be switching to Starbucks Via, their new instant coffee. Each packet will make an 8 oz. hot or cold coffee. If I buy a 12-pack, each coffee only costs $.75 a cup. This is about a $2.00 daily savings from what I currently purchase.  I just have to buy the vanilla syrup to sweeten my drink. I can also continue shopping at the 99-cent store for some grocery items, reducing our overall grocery bill.

Another area where I can reduce our bills is by paying off  our line of credit. My goal is to pay it off, a total of $8,900,  over the next 6 months. The APR is terrible, and we are paying a lot in finance charges. The monthly payment is atrocious, $270 and this barely covers the finance charges, and the sooner I can get this monkey off our back, the better.

Each time I stare at my monthly budget I find places where I can save a little here and there. I guess my obsession will eventually lead to financial freedom!