September Financial Wrap Up

Before I get to the actual numbers, I'll just caveat September by saying that my yearly stock options vest in September, & I also receive my yearly bonus. As a result, our income is exponentially higher than during a typical month.

September Income:
Stock vest - $30,572
Bonus  - $28,556
Paychecks - $14,579
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Total income for September = $73,707

As a result of our (much) higher than usual income for the month, September is when we try to make additional principal payments, etc, which is reflected in our spending.

September Planned Spending:

• Paid an extra $2000 on our vacation house mortgage
• Paid an extra $8800 on our primary mortgage
• Spent $4000 on travel/gifts
• Paid $1720 into the boys college accounts

Other Regular Spending:

• We were over on groceries, again. This one is so hard for us!
• Ditto on dining out, but not by much. This was mostly due to a few airport meals between trips.
• We bought a sofa, which was close to $900

Savings:
We also put money in savings, ear marked for other categories:

• $10,000 for our 2012 taxes
• $10,000 for our emergency fund
• $4,500 for our trip to Hawaii
• $10,000 in our "potential" move fund

With that, what do we want to focus on, budget-wise, for October?
October financial goals:

• Reduce our utilities. We need to cancel our cable at our vacation house & call about the giant increase in our cable/Internet bill.
• Keep groceries below $650. Trying to figure out what's reasonable here. We're unwilling to compromise on our produce consumption, but it's a lot to spend.
• Save $1500 for Christmas
• Stay on track in our other categories!!

What are your financial goals for October?