Mid-Month Budget Check 2/14/2014

A lot of blogs I read are writing Valentine's themed posts this time of year, with ideas on how to celebrate with your sweetie on a budget, or DIY gifts, etc. I don't object to these posts, but I won't be participating as I don't celebrate Valentine's Day (regardless of my relationship status). But, what I will be doing is having my February mid-month budget check :)

Here is my budget vs actual so far this month:

Category	February (includes January leftover $)	Spent (As of 2-14-14)	Remaining
Giving	$10.00	-	$10.00
Saving	$20.00	$20.00+	-
Mortgage	$754.65	$849.65	-$95.00
House Repairs	$40.00	-	$40.00
City Bill	$110.00	-	$110.00
Gas	$82.78	$82.78	-
Cable	$94.49	$16.61	$77.88
Internet	$51.87	$51.87	-
Phone	$102.20	$102.20	-
Food	$150.58	$45.94	$104.64
Transportation – Gas	$67.00	-	$67.00
Car Repairs	$15.00	-	$15.00
Car Insurance	$93.44	-	$93.44
Clothes and Hair	$30.00	-	$30.00
Pets	$25.00	-	$25.00
Household	$20.00	-	$20.00
Personal	$25.00	-	$25.00
Crossfit	$80.00	$80.00	-
Cleaning	$108.00	-	$108.00
Debt	$691.10	$517.84	$173.26
TOTAL	$2,571.11	$1,766.89	$804.22

I have increased savings by $85.88 in February. I only budgeted $20 to go to savings this month, so I am currently ahead. I am still hoping to increase savings by at least $23.07 to hit the halfway point to my current EF goal.

As I've mentioned before, I paid an extra $100 toward my mortgage (escrow shortage) this month. This extra was covered by income from my second job. However, I have some bad news regarding my mortgage and escrow situation. I will be sharing this with you next week after I get more details from my mortgage company.

Last week, I shared that I was contemplating paying off one of my debts this month. The smallest one is a "same as cash" promotion that doesn't run out until April. As of right now, I am going to wait for until March, after I've paid the bills on my home improvements/repairs. These improvements/repairs are being paid for out of my year-end bonus. I should definitely have enough left, but I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched so to speak. Just in case a bill is a LOT more than expected, I am going to wait until they've all come in.