I thought I’d give a little more background about our financial situation. Maybe one of my readers will have suggestions for how my husband and I can better manage our money. I’ve thought about talking to one of my friends who is a financial planner, but honestly, I am too embarrassed to admit how much we owe. I feel like I have to be in better financial shape before I consult a professional, kind of like how some people feel like they have to lose weight before joining a gym, or others feel the need to clean their house before the housecleaner arrives.

We do have a budget. We just don’t stick to it very well. Here are the details:

Combined Monthly Income: $7,000 (This seems like a lot, right? So why are we always broke? A question to ponder. Also, this number varies based on my freelance projects.)

Rent: $1,700 (Kind of pricey, but we live near the beach, and this is about average for our area–neither of us have to commute too far, which is important to us. Also, we would go crazy if we moved into a smaller place. We are spoiled, but we also don’t have money for a month’s rent and security deposit if we were to move.)

Renter’s Insurance: $35 (Worth it. We had a pricey item stolen one time, and the insurance company came through for us.)

Cable, Internet, Phone: $135 (One of those bundle packages from the cable company–high-speed Internet is a necessity, since I often work from home).

Cell Phone Plan: $120 (Husband has an international BlackBerry so we can stay in touch when he’s overseas on business. We’re trying to get his company to cover part of the cost. This is the monthly cost for both our phones.)

Electricity: $65 (Seems high, considering we don’t have A/C and we always try to turn out extra lights.)

Car Payment: $300 (Luckily, my car is paid for.)

Car Insurance: $200 for both cars

Fuel: $250 (Gas prices are high in California)

Groceries: $450 (We could probably cut back here.)

Dining Out: $300 (We could definitely cut back here!)

Health Insurance: $235 (I have an individual plan because of a previous bout with cancer.)

Student Loans: $210 (Mine is almost paid off!)

Savings: $100 (I am trying to build an emergency fund. So far, we are up to $600. Better than nothing.)

So, after all those bills are paid, we should have $3,110 left every month. I try to put at least $1,000 a month toward our credit cards, so we should have a nice $2,000 cushion for more savings, entertainment, and additional expenses, but it never seems to work out that way. Obviously, I am not doing a good job of tracking where all of our money goes.

Any advice?