Ask:
I'm trying to set a budget for eating out and doing things outside of the home. My husband doesn't think I allow enough money in our budget for that. I think I allow more than enough. I am trying to get an idea of what others are spending on this. Thanks!
Answer:
right now we don't budget for entertainment our entertainment is the library and outdoor activities now in the next couple weeks we are getting direct tv so that will be 39.99 a month that i will donate plasma to payfor along with a few other bills. oh and we very rarely eat out.
Answer:
we don't budget that, it's just including in our money we spend. But I don't budget every last dollar, after all the bills I have a set amount we can spend on groceries, gas, spending, etc. I'm lucky we don't have to nickel and dime ourselves like we did when my dh was in the army. WE eat out once a week and take the kids to activities, but most of those are free. The circus is coming so I need to buy tickets for that. I'm trying to think of how much we spend on E, but some months it might be nothing and others it might be over $100.
How much are you doing now? AND how much does your dh think? According to the Dave Ramsey Budget it should be around 10% of your monthly takehome, but we don't spend that much.
Answer:
I give us each an allowance that I like to stick to. This includes eating out, anything we want for ourselves, like clothing or other, and any entertainment (which we rarely do because my husband is a coach and we usually attend his games on the weekend, which are free). I get $75 and dh gets $150. I am the saver and he is the spender in most cases.
Answer:
Although I know I probably should I don't budget our entertainment because it varies so much. I budget the bills and groceries, etc. If there is something we are wanting to do like a concert or a show, if the bills are paid and we are on track then we do it. I know with both of us working now we are pretty lax on this but we don't have any kids yet so we are trying to enjoy things together as a couple.
I will adjust my spending in other areas to compensate but tickets to a show, or a dinner out to me are worth buying because they really help our relationship. I know I get pretty stressed out when all i do is go to work, come home fix dinner, clean house, go to bed, get up go to work... So we do like to have fun when we can afford it, we don't go overboard and I am still fairly frugal in my choices.
Answer:
I budget approximately $200 a month. However if there's an extra medical bill or something then the E budget takes the hit. Birthdays and anniversaries are budgeted into another category. There are 5 in my family, about to be 6. The $200 is for all of us.