The school year is about to begin and I’ve managed to hammer out a workable budget.
The financial parameters of the budget assume an imaginary scenario where nothing goes wrong and I have perfect discipline.
With that understanding, let’s take a look.
As a reminder, I am an author of fiction and this is a creative work. This blog series is only inspired by my personal perspective, and is not intended as an accurate portrayal of my financial situation.
Recap
At the end of the last blog post, I managed to balance the budget by making a completely unrealistic scenario where everything from savings to medical expenses was dropped.
The result was a surplus of about $26/month.
Refining the Budget
The following budget is a hair closer to expectations.
Here’s a link to a spreadsheet that shows my updated budget in its current state.
Below are summaries, for those who prefer to read the information here.
Monthly Expenses
| Budget As Of: | 03/30/2024 | 07/20/24 | |
| Before | After | Amount Reduced | |
| Monthly | Monthly | Monthly | |
| Total Expenses | $4,764.52 | $3,651.46 | $1,113.06 |
| Health Ins | $219.58 | $119.58 | $100.00 |
| Car Ins | $150.00 | $150.00 | $0.00 |
| Child Exp. | $1,139.94 | $976.88 | $163.06 |
| Rent | $1,325.00 | $950.00 | $375.00 |
| Utilities | $85.00 | $60.00 | $25.00 |
| Grocery | $850.00 | $600.00 | $250.00 |
| Auto Fuel | $250.00 | $250.00 | $0.00 |
| Mobile Phone | $120.00 | $120.00 | $0.00 |
| Miscellaneous and Unplanned Expenses | $525.00 | $225.00 | $300.00 |
| Medical | $100.00 | $100.00 | $0.00 |
| Savings | $0.00 | $100.00 | -$100.00 |
Annual Expenses
| Budget As Of: | 03/30/2024 | 07/20/24 | |
| Before | After | Amount Reduced | |
| Annual | Annual | Annual | |
| Total Expenses | $57,174.24 | $43,817.52 | $13,356.72 |
| Health Ins | $2,634.96 | $1,434.96 | $1,200.00 |
| Car Ins | $1,800.00 | $1,800.00 | $0.00 |
| Child Exp. | $13,679.28 | $11,722.56 | $1,956.72 |
| Rent | $15,900.00 | $11,400.00 | $4,500.00 |
| Utilities | $1,020.00 | $720.00 | $300.00 |
| Grocery | $10,200.00 | $7,200.00 | $3,000.00 |
| Auto Fuel | $3,000.00 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Mobile Phone | $1,440.00 | $1,440.00 | $0.00 |
| Miscellaneous and Unplanned Expenses | $6,300.00 | $2,700.00 | $3,600.00 |
| Medical | $1,200.00 | $1,200.00 | $0.00 |
| Savings | $0.00 | $1,200.00 | -$1,200.00 |
Income Necessities
| Income Necessities | Monthly | Annual |
| Total Expenses | $3,651.46 | $43,817.52 |
| Tithing | $405.72 | $4,868.61 |
| Required post-tax income pre-tithing | $4,057.18 | $48,686.13 |
| Required income to account for taxes | $643.03 | $7,716.36 |
| Total Required Income | $4,700.21 | $56,402.49 |
Income Targets
| Income Process | |
| Expected Monthly Income | $5,139.00 |
| Expected Gross Annual Income | $61,667.95 |
| Mandatory Retirement Contribution | 8.00% |
| Annual Mand. Ret. Cont. | $4,933.44 |
| Income After Annual Man. Ret. Contr. | $56,734.51 |
| Target Income Based on Expense Calculation | $56,402.49 |
| Deficit | -$332.02 |
Situation Breakdown
Here are a few changes to the budget worth mentioning.
Health Insurance
I lowered the health insurance by about $100/month.
To make this happen, I had to cancel a few types of coverage. This may not be sustainable long-term, but at the moment, it’s necessary.
Childcare Expenses
Thanks to some generosity from charitable services, I received much appreciated financial support for my children’s education and childcare needs.
Rent
As mentioned previously, I found a reasonably cheap, albeit small apartment. This resulted in a large expense reduction.
Groceries
I reduced groceries to $600/month, and I may need the budget to go even lower. This variable is the easiest to alter through personal discipline.
Miscellaneous and Unplanned Expenses
For the sake of this imaginary budget, I lowered unplanned expenses etc. to $225 per year.
Savings
For fun’s sake, I put $100 as a savings amount for every month.
Annual Expenses Don’t Consider Summers
During the summer, I can watch my kids myself, and I don’t know where I will be living. For now, the budget simply ignores this.
The Resulting Surplus
The final result of all of this forecasting is an annual surplus of approximately $330.
Considerations
Future Pay Increases May Make Life Easier
According to the negotiated agreement for my district, I see that the administrators provide a higher rate of pay for teachers who have taught for a longer period of time.
In the salary pay scale for the fiscal year 2024, each year of service for a teacher seems to equate to a raise of about $2240. That indeed is something to look forward to.
Thoughts on a Plan of Action
My Most Basic Goal: Survive to Work Another Day
My goal this school year is to simply survive so that I can keep earning my way into easier financial territory.
A Glimpse of the Future: Having a Life Again
Allow me to imagine, for a moment, having a job that I love, a paycheck that provides enough to get by, and evenings and school holidays for storytelling. This could be so amazing.
Do I Still Need a Second Form of Income?
This is where things start to get tricky. While the above budget shows a surplus, the reality is that life is not so pretty.
An Example of Unexpected Expenses Destroying My Budget
In April of this year, somehow I contracted a nasty case of clostridioides difficile (c. diff) and giardia.
(This likely happened while I was traveling through Alaskan villages for my job as a reading interventionist, though there’s no way to know for sure.)
These gastrointestinal infections wreaked havoc on my guts.
Medical bills are trickling in from doctor appointments, medications, reflective CT scans, and a colonoscopy.
The insurance is still working out the details; from what I can see so far, I do suspect my responsibility will be over a thousand dollars.
Life just isn’t pretty.
What About That Second Job?
While I would like to have predictable supplemental income, there are other issues at hand.
Finishing My Master’s Degree Takes Precedence
I’m not yet finished with my master’s degree and teacher certification, and the state requires that I stay focused and finish.
Therefore, any second form of income that I pursue cannot obstruct my studies.
My Job as a First-Year Teacher Likely Won’t Be 9 to 5
Between grading papers, creating lesson plans, and making notes about class management strategies, I already expect to be working after hours.
My Children Need Me, and I Need Them
The greatest source of joy in my life are my two children.
What’s the point of all this work if I don’t get to spend time with them?
Recent events make this a complicated topic, and it must be addressed in a separate blog post.
Supplemental Income Would Have To Be Earned On a Flexible Schedule
Taking thoughts such as those above into mind, the reality is that if I am to earn extra money, it can only be through small-time, side-hustle, flexible-schedule work.
With these and many other thoughts considered, I believe that the most promising and stable route for my family could legitimately be to pick up where I left off in my dormant career as a storyteller.
Even just a few hundred dollars a month, earned through book and art sales, and other creative means, could make all the difference.
How You Can Help
If any of this is ever going to work, I will need outside support.
Here is a link to a blog post that describes how a supportive reader can help me in my quest.
In short, you can…
- Like, comment and share
- Buy a copy of my children’s novella, Westly: A Spider’s Tale
- Help me connect with part-time and contract work