The Root

Let's talk about the things that nobody ever talks about in mixed company, shall we? November is getting a bit bland, and truth be told, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with topics for my own personal NaNoBloMo. So, let's talk about debt. I'm going to bare our financial soul to you, oh interwebs.

I sat down today to pay bills, a chore which no one is fond of. We are a fairly average American family, we spend very little on travel, and even less on entertainment. We don't go out to the movies, we rarely go out to dinner, and yet, somehow, it seems that money is always an issue.

We do live comfortably; we own a home, we both drive newer cars, our kids don't want for much. However, when writing out checks, it's amazing that this upcoming Fridays paycheck is already mostly spent. We broke it down to the bare bones, to see exactly where our money is going, and I, dear BlogFans, am going to open the closet door and show you that skeleton.

The mortgage, which is the biggest money hoarder of them all is sitting at a cool 3k, with taxes, insurance and escrow included. For those of you have been to my house, or at least seen my house, you know that three grand is an exceptional amount of money to pay, given the size and condition of the home. NoVA strikes again! Aside from the mortgage, this month we also have:

The Hubbin's Car Loan: $276

My Car Loan: $306

Student Loans: $290

Sewer (paid quarterly): $101

Car Insurance (paid bi-annually): $635

Cell Phone Plan: $85

Gas: $37

Electric: $85

Cable/Internets/Land Line: $170

Water (paid quarterly): $65

Gymnastics for Cecilia: $85

Savings: $150

Granted, this month was a brutal one, because we not only have insurance due, but also two other quarterly bills, so it's reasonably higher than usual. However, without having spent a cent on food, gas for the cars, or miscellaneous expenses like new coats for the kids, or clothing, or entertainment, we have already written away $5,285 in expenses for this month. This, of course, comes out of a paycheck that has already had state and federal taxes, retirement, social security, and health insurance taken out of it.

This game is expensive.