It looks like I will be getting a pay raise beginning in January! Our Church budgets are set in October/November, but they do not go into effect until the beginning of the year. Since I know what the raise will be, I have started playing with my budgets. Here is what I think they will look like beginning in January:
|
Budget Category |
Budget Percent of Gross Income |
| Taxes: Includes Federal, SS, State, Local, Real Estate (We have tax credits for federal which really lowers the amount) |
15% |
| 403-B Plan (Similar to 401 K). Church does matching up to 4% total, so actually 13% is going into my retirement accounts. |
9% |
| Flexible Spending Account (Health Care items) |
5% |
| Mortgage |
15% |
| Home Equity Debt |
7% |
| Charitable Giving |
17% |
| Utilities & Maintenance |
9% |
| Groceries |
8% |
| Vacation/Entertainment |
3% |
| Gifts (Christmas, Birthday, etc.) |
2% |
| Insurance (Life, Auto, Home) |
2% |
| Home Schooling |
1% |
| Misc. Items (Clothing, Personal Care, etc.). These items are itemized separately but I didn’t want to bore you! |
6% |
| Rounding Error (To whole numbers) |
1% |
What do you think? Feel free to give input and rip away! I know one thing – where’s the savings? It’s microscopic right now, bundled under miscellaneous. Savings needs to get bigger and we hope to do that as soon as possible. Right now though, we are focusing on not going into further debt (we will be having some big bills coming our way in the near future—more about that in a future blog), and plugging any extra money into the Home Equity Loan.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
If you don’t mind me asking, in response to your tithing. I am wondering how you came up with 17%, as most people feel good about 10%. Have you always given this much or have you increased this amount over the years? Is this money going primarily back into the church you pastor, or do you spread it out over other organizations?
Thanks for asking! No, we have not always given that much. We don’t really have a set goal, and the percentage may change from year to year. When my wife and I were first married, we gave 10%, and slowly we have given more and more. 17% is the highest it has been. We currently give 10% to the church I pastor, and the other 7% goes to other organizations. We just feel that God has blessed us, and we want to be a blessing to others.