I am at a point where I need to truly examine where I am living. I feel strongly that I am in the right place, where I belong for myself and my kids. But financially I am questioning. My landlord mentioned he may be raising my rent when I resign my lease. When we moved last year, I looked into several different options for downsizing, but I need to keep the kids stable, and in the same schools... they do not need any more life changes right now... and the cost of nearby apartments and townhomes or condos are not much cheaper than the home I am in. (3 bedroom apartments started at 1,100$ a month without any utilities. I pay 1275, 1350 if he raises my rent) Looking at my income and such there is no reason I can't afford this. I do not have any other debt. My other bills are all reasonable, and in December I can put my bills on equal pay so that will help with budgeting. So why am I always so tight? I know I am horrible at planning meals and with my busy schedule I eat out far too often. But that is the only place I can identify where I over spent, but every month I am about 2 to 4 hundred dollars short to get me through the month with gas and everything. In January I will be paying off a couple things (I am only eligible for my cobra through Feb, so that will be gone, as will a couple or small contracts, dental stuff, braces, etc,) But I will also lose Brenton's SS Survivors income the end of Jan. SO I guess I will stick it out through then to make certain I am not just making a rash decision. But anyone who is good at budgets please give me some advice. I welcome any suggestions. Just tired of not being able to cover everything that needs covering each month...
(And I realize my kids are old enough to have jobs, but there are other things to consider when suggesting they get a job. They are both very involved in extra curricular, and so they don't have much free time for that, also they are both finally focusing on school after a couple years of shutting down after Kris died, and I hate to see their school work suffer again, I would rather they focus on school for now. Also They do not have their license yet, and I am ok with it. I would need a second car and my insurance would go up drastically, and when I am already tight why take on more... plus they have not been overly pushing for it...)
Day 129... budget help
