Well I figured I'd sit down and actually figure out what I know is coming in and going out over the next few weeks so I can have some accountability for my money. Here's what I know:
INCOME
I started today with a balance of about $380.
I deposited a check for $304 so that puts me at $684.
I have a check coming in the next day or two for $490 so that'll put me at $1174.
Wednesday is payday so I will get a direct deposit of $3658. That'll put me at $4832.
July 1st I should be getting a bonus check for $1506. That'll add up to $6338.
July 9th is the next payday so I will get another direct deposit of $3658. That'll add up to $9996.
Sometime in July (hopefully EARLY but it could be anytime) I will be getting a retained earnings check for around $4600. That should add to $14596.
I'm not going to include July 23rd's paycheck since that will apply to August expenses. This $14596 (give or take a few bucks) will hopefully go a long way to paying bills and having a fully funded Hawaii va-CASH-ion. Of course there are plenty of expenses before then...so here goes:
Life Insurance due 6/28 ($143): This will be directly debited out. We both have plenty of term life because the thought process is get out of debt and put a ton of money away where the life insurance will not be needed. A long way to go on that though!
Maids due 7/1 and 7/15 ($140 ea): This is a big one for the wife so I don't argue it. They do an excellent job.
Mortgage due 7/1 ($2908): Yeah I think I need to pay this one darn it. 
Sewer due 7/6 ($120): An estimate and this is a quarterly bill but it's up.
Long Distance due 7/8 ($44): This one I want to pay sooner rather than later. This is usually $15 but we spent a lot more than we thought this last month.
Card X due 7/8 ($45): This is that annual fee on that card I had paid off years ago. I'm waiting to hear back on whether they are going to waive this or not. They better but just in case I'll budget out.
Card 3 due 7/10 ($361): That's the minimum and I'm going to do what I can to pay more than that (figuring out how much I'll have helps!)
Electric due 7/13 ($204): It went up as we're playing A/C games but only until the programmable thermostat I ordered shows up! We also put in CFL's all over the house so hopefully we see a return.
Trash due 7/15 ($84): Another quarterly bill with a July due date.
Water due 7/20 ($92): Ditto from the trash comment. This is an estimate and I hope it's on target (Trash is fixed.)
Card 1 due 7/22 ($700): Another min payment for Card 1 until we get Cards 2 and 3 gone!
Cable due 7/29 ($161): I always pay this way early.
Daughter's contacts due ? ($150): She's going to need them at some point in the next week or two. She has an eye infection which is calming down but it has to be gone before she can get them.
Kid's paychecks due 6/25 & 7/9 ($100 ea): They each get paid $50/paycheck as long as they don't get docked for not keeping their rooms and the common areas clean or not doing chores.
ETA: The company I work for pays all auto expenses including gas, insurance and maintenace (all scheduled routine maintenance) for me, my wife and daughter so we have no auto expenses to budget for. They also pay all internet and local/regional phone bills. I pay the long distance out of pocket. They also pay all cell phone bills for me, my wife and the kids.
So I figure about $5342 (I apologize if the math is off. My flight got in around 1:30 AM EST this morning and I was up at 5:30 AM EST to go to work) for mostly fixed expenses. We try to run with a budget of $600/mo for food, clothes and entertainment (clothes and entertainment are just for us out of that...kid's paychecks pay for their stuff) so by adding that in you get a total of $5942.
So if you take the $14596 and subtract out the $5942 you're left with $8654. Now I hope to take $5000 of that to put towards Hawaii and leave me with $3654 to pay as an additional "hammer" on Card 3. It's just a question of when certain parts of that income stream show up in July but otherwise I think I have a pretty good plan of action!
I'll also continue to try to keep some kind of an ebay income coming in (I currently have about $120 in the Paypal account) to help with the cause. Hopefully that will all be gravy money to throw at Card 3 but we'll see.
Budget Forecasting
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm 1214225268
I also think $600 a month is a little low. My family of four (oldest kid 3) spends about 100 a week on groceries. We also spend 120-150 a month eaing out (that's going to dunkin donuts on the weekend and pizza one night). And we budget $100 a week for gas. I fill up once a month and wife fills up once a week.
But it's a start, and you have to start somewhere. Good luck.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm 1214225888
The company pays all auto expenses including gas for me, my wife and daughter. They also pay all of our internet, local/regional phone and cell phone expenses. We don't really need fun money since we take $300 in cash, buy groceries, and then what is left is what we use for entertainment/clothes (which we have plenty of free movie tickets...over 100 of them...for movies in a couple of different local theaters. We use those for fun.) Also, the kids use the money we give them for any eating out, clothing or entertainment that isn't family planned.
June 23rd, 2008 at 01:22 pm 1214227361
I would try to keep some liquidity in your budget for the first few months, beacuase you will miss some expenses. Also, there are those quarterly and annual expenses that just seem to pop up.
But, it sounds like you have a solid plan. To make it for the long haul, you need to strike that balance between throwing everything at debt reduction and your life style.
June 23rd, 2008 at 01:29 pm 1214227769
June 23rd, 2008 at 02:44 pm 1214232299