Can't work out where the $ leak is (part vent)

[appletree]

The other place we lose $$ is Bunnings atm Things like replacing lightbulbs, buying mulch etc. It really adds up. Also we've bought a couple of items that we never budgeted for, like a lawnmower.

ROFL, yep, I have an entire category just called bunnings! Crazy huh?? I think it also ranked 4th or 5th highest in terms of biggest $$$ spent!

[mummato1]

I was also going to suggest appletree's suggestion. Every few weeks / once a month I download our online statements into excel. Next to each line I have what the expense was for, then I have created a pivot table (or you can just do a sort by item).

It is surprising how it all adds up so quickly and you will soon see what you top 10 expenses are. Besides our mortage one of our biggest expenses is cash out at ATM's, which I know is just basically just wasted money as we pay all out bills / shopping online or with eftpos.

[CrazyLady]

our little extras were milk/bread/a little fruit or veg every few days. Even things like me getting a can of softdrink at playgroup rather then drinking the tea and coffee or water were adding up.

Is anyone getting a coffee on the way to work? Bottles of water? They all add up to $15ish a week alone if you get 1 every day for 5 days. It's quite often the small change in your purse that takes the cake.

HTH

[AnyDream]

Some great suggestions here. Tashy I *wish* we were spending it at Bunnings...that's partly my frustration...we have so many projects around the house that are all in the $100-300 range, but we never seem to be able to do any of them because there's never that chunk of money (and if there was we should be saving it, instead of living on the bones of our bare arses all the time). I love your tip of paying ourselves (savings) first and I was doing that for a bit until it all got a bit crazy over the last couple of months and it got spent just meeting the basics (which is the whole point of having savings I suppose).

The other thing that drives me absolutely *wild* is that DH forgets that stuff needs to be paid for, so I have all the $ allocated, then he'll suddenly pipe up that x amount is need for some forgotten bill or something so suddenly I'm scrimping and skimming off $ allocated to other things to pay for it.

Joeve, I know the $61 is pretty random, it's through an agency though so I assume the cleaner gets however much per hour and then the agency gets a dollar amount on top of that.

[~Hestia~]

Am wondering the same thing lately! DH is on a good wage but we have nothing by the end of the month, I've got no idea where it's going. We barely go out anywhere, don't smoke, don't buy clothes except for DS, don't even hire DVDs anymore.
I had to wait for my xmas Bunnings voucher to buy a new doorknob after about 6 months of living with a broken one - couldn't afford a $100 dollar new one! It's ridiculous!

[Life is Good]

Dare I say that $2500 is a tall ask?! By the time things like car rego's services, insurance, communication, power etc. are taken into account each fortnight, our budget is pretty close to that and that isn't even starting to think about groceries and unforseens! I am also asking myself the question of the leaking money...it's kinda like how socks always go missing in the dryer!

I suppose what helps is that we really allocate money to everything...even down to possible dental bills (which are always a doozie and unforseen as everyone may know!). We allocate money for incase we need medication, for hairdresser visits, or if the pool floods and we need to sort it out, for example. I even allocate $20 a week because I know that we will need fresh bread and milk top-ups over and above our weekly grocery spend. I find that doing this eliminates that "oh cr**, the towel rail needs replacing" or "whoops, we have guests coming around and need to buy some extra food" scenario...but in doing so, our fixed costs each month are really high - so I never really feel like we are winning! The upside is that if the unforseen expenses don't become necessary, then that money can be shifted around to other things and/or luxuries on occasion.

The only way that I can control the leaking cash is that DH and I have a deal. DH and I each get $x per month and we can spend it as and on whatever we wish (this would include a treat for DS if we choose, fancy beer for DH, clothing for me etc.). This is in cash. Everything else, if possible, goes on the credit card (so that I can monitor it), which I pay off each month. DH knows that if he has to pick up food or drink (other than during our weekly shop) he HAS to give me the receipt and I add it to our running grocery spend for the week. This is a pain in the bum but i find most of the lost money happens in instances like that!

A good example is that I have really wrecked my back this past week and have required five chiropractic visits. Ordinariy this would just be paid for and it would be disappearing money. Fortunately, because we haven't had any dental issues, the dental money can absorb these costs.

I am rambling and actually boring myself now, but maybe you can glean some tips from our strategies?