Before you set out to trade in your current house for a “better” one, you need to take a good look at your overall budget and determine how much more, if any, of your monthly spending can go toward housing costs. If you haven’t examined your monthly budget in a while, now is the time to do so — before you set the wheels in motion to trade up to a more expensive home.
Review your bank-account and credit-card transactions, paychecks, most recent year’s tax return, and anything else that helps you document where you’ve been spending your money during the past 6 to 12 months. You may also need to do some tracking or estimating of cash purchases that don’t leave an electronic or paper trail. The following table can help you to organize your spending by category.
| Item | Current Monthly Average Spending in Your Current Home ($) | Expected Monthly Average Spending in Your Next Home ($) |
| Income | _____________ | _____________ |
| Taxes | ||
| Social Security | _____________ | _____________ |
| Federal | _____________ | _____________ |
| State and local | _____________ | _____________ |
| Housing expenses | ||
| Mortgage | _____________ | _____________ |
| Property taxes | _____________ | _____________ |
| Gas/electric/oil | _____________ | _____________ |
| Water/garbage | _____________ | _____________ |
| Phone | _____________ | _____________ |
| Cable TV | _____________ | _____________ |
| Furniture/appliances | _____________ | _____________ |
| Maintenance/repairs | _____________ | _____________ |
| Food and eating | ||
| Supermarket | _____________ | _____________ |
| Restaurants and takeout | _____________ | _____________ |
| Transportation | ||
| Gasoline | _____________ | _____________ |
| Maintenance and repairs | _____________ | _____________ |
| State registration fees | _____________ | _____________ |
| Tolls and parking | _____________ | _____________ |
| Bus or subway fares | _____________ | _____________ |
| Appearance | ||
| Clothing | _____________ | _____________ |
| Shoes | _____________ | _____________ |
| Jewelry/watches | _____________ | _____________ |
| Dry cleaning | _____________ | _____________ |
| Haircuts | _____________ | _____________ |
| Makeup | _____________ | _____________ |
| Other | _____________ | _____________ |
| Debt repayments | ||
| Credit cards and charge cards | _____________ | _____________ |
| Auto loans | _____________ | _____________ |
| Student loans | _____________ | _____________ |
| Other | _____________ | _____________ |
| Fun stuff | ||
| Entertainment (movies, concerts, and so on) | _____________ | _____________ |
| Vacation and travel | _____________ | _____________ |
| Gifts | _____________ | _____________ |
| Hobbies | _____________ | _____________ |
| Pets | _____________ | _____________ |
| Health club or gym | _____________ | _____________ |
| Other | _____________ | _____________ |
| Advisors | ||
| Accountant | _____________ | _____________ |
| Attorney | _____________ | _____________ |
| Financial advisor | _____________ | _____________ |
| Healthcare | ||
| Physicians and hospitals | _____________ | _____________ |
| Drugs | _____________ | _____________ |
| Dental and vision | _____________ | _____________ |
| Therapy | _____________ | _____________ |
| Insurance | ||
| Homeowners | _____________ | _____________ |
| Auto | _____________ | _____________ |
| Health | _____________ | _____________ |
| Life | _____________ | _____________ |
| Disability | _____________ | _____________ |
| Educational expenses | ||
| Courses and tuition | _____________ | _____________ |
| Books | _____________ | _____________ |
| Supplies | _____________ | _____________ |
| Kids | ||
| Day care | _____________ | _____________ |
| Toys | _____________ | _____________ |
| Other | _____________ | _____________ |
| Charitable donations | _____________ | _____________ |
| Other | ||
| _______________ | _____________ | _____________ |
| _______________ | _____________ | _____________ |
| _______________ | _____________ | _____________ |
| _______________ | _____________ | _____________ |
| _______________ | _____________ | _____________ |
| Total spending | _____________ | _____________ |
| Amount saved (subtract “Total spending” line from “Income”) | _____________ | _____________ |
