2026 Budget Proposal

Based on 8 months of transaction data (Jul 2025 – Feb 2026) and actual take-home pay.

Household Income

	Per Check	Frequency	Monthly
Chris	$5,069	Every 2 weeks (26/yr)	$10,983
Jennifer	$4,200	2x/month (24/yr)	$8,400
Total			$19,383

Chris's biweekly schedule means 2 months/year have 3 paychecks — that's an extra $10,138/yr that can go straight to savings or debt.

Current vs. Actual

	Monthly
Household Income	$19,383
Average Spending	-$16,167
Current Surplus	$3,216

Good news: you're not underwater. The earlier analysis only saw income deposited into checking — it missed Jennifer's pay. You actually have room to build a plan with real teeth.

Fixed Costs

Category	Amount	Notes
Housing/Mortgage	$3,600	Post-refi (was $4,089)
Education (SLUH tuition)	$3,300	10 months/yr (Aug–May)
Education (extras)	$200	Sports, school store, activities
Debt (MOHELA)	$1,285	Student loans
Insurance	$564	Shop rates annually
Subtotal	$8,949	46% of income

46% of income on fixed costs is manageable (under the 50% guideline).

Essential Variable

Category	Current Avg	Proposed	Notes
Utilities	$1,323	$1,200	Review plans
Groceries	$1,898	$1,500	Meal planning, Costco/Aldi focus
Transportation	$377	$350	Supercharging + gas
Healthcare	$510	$450	Recurring costs + buffer
Pets	$355	$300	Food + vet buffer
Subtotal	$4,463	$3,800

Discretionary

Category	Current Avg	Proposed	Notes
Dining Out	$844	$600	~$140/week for the family
Shopping	$600	$400	Clothing, household items
Travel	$851	$500	Plan trips with a set annual budget
Entertainment	$305	$250	Events, streaming, sports
Subscriptions	$240	$175	Audit and trim unused ones
Home Improvement	$326	$250	Quarterly project planning
Miscellaneous	$377	$200	Reduce cash/check unknowns
Donations	$48	$50
Subtotal	$3,591	$2,425

The Budget

	Monthly
Household Income	$19,383
Fixed Costs	-$8,949
Essential Variable	-$3,800
Discretionary	-$2,425
Fees/Interest	-$431
Remaining	$3,778

Phase 1: Credit Card Payoff (Mar–Jul 2026)

$27,352 in credit card debt at 18.74–29.49% APR, costing $540/mo in interest.

Step 1: Apply $10,000 lump sum to Chase (biggest balance, biggest interest drain). Step 2: All $3,778/mo goes to remaining cards — avalanche method.

Month	Target	Milestone
Mar	Amazon	$10K hits Chase; attack Amazon
Apr	Chase	Amazon paid off; shift to Chase
Jun	Citi	Chase paid off; shift to Citi
Jul	Done	All credit cards paid off

• Debt-free on credit cards: July 2026 (5 months)
• Total interest paid: ~$955 (saved $1,367 vs. no lump sum)
• Rule: no new charges on any card during this phase
• See plans/debt-repayment.md for detailed month-by-month plan

Phase 2: Build Wealth (Aug 2026+)

After cards are gone, interest charges disappear too → ~$4,318/mo available

Priority	Amount	Purpose
Emergency fund	$1,500	Build to 3 months of expenses (~$46K), then reduce
Extra MOHELA paydown	$1,500	Accelerate student loan payoff
Savings / investments	$1,000	Retirement, college fund, goals
Buffer	$318	Absorbs overages

Summer bonus months (June + July)

No SLUH tuition = $3,500 freed up × 2 months = $7,000 extra per year. Plus Chris's 2 three-paycheck months = $10,138 extra. Combined: $17,138/yr in predictable windfalls — during Phase 1, these accelerate credit card payoff.

Top targets if you want to be more aggressive

Change	Extra Savings
Groceries $1,500 → $1,200	$300/mo
Dining Out $600 → $400	$200/mo
Subscriptions: full audit and cut	$75-100/mo
Shopping $400 → $250	$150/mo

Monthly Budget Card

HOUSEHOLD INCOME                $19,383

FIXED (auto-pay)
  Mortgage                       $3,600
  SLUH Tuition                   $3,300
  SLUH Extras (sports, etc)        $200
  Student Loans                  $1,285
  Insurance                        $564
                                ────────
                                 $8,949

WEEKLY TARGETS
  Groceries         $350/week   ($1,500)
  Dining Out        $140/week     ($600)
  Gas/Transport      $80/week     ($350)
                                ────────
                                 $2,450

MONTHLY CAPS
  Utilities                      $1,200
  Healthcare                       $450
  Pets                             $300
  Shopping                         $400
  Travel                           $500
  Entertainment                    $250
  Subscriptions                    $175
  Home Improvement                 $250
  Misc/Cash                        $200
  Donations                         $50
                                ────────
                                 $3,775

PHASE 1 (Mar-Jul 2026)            $3,778
  → $10K lump sum to Chase
  → then: Amazon → Chase → Citi
  → Credit cards DONE by July

PHASE 2 (Aug 2026+)              $4,318
  Emergency fund                 $1,500
  Extra MOHELA paydown           $1,500
  Savings/investing              $1,000
  Buffer                           $318