December Household Budget Disclosure for a Family of 4 (+ Baby on the Way) with a Take-Home Pay of Around 300,000 Yen
Hello.
I am mon, and I moved from Osaka to the countryside in Kyushu, where I am currently organizing my "life and finances" while battling a tight budget🌿
This is my second time disclosing my household budget!
I would like to take a look back at our "December household budget" in its entirety.
Click here for the November household budget
Our family is currently:
Monthly income: Around 300,000 yen take-home
Monthly expenses: Around 320,000 yen
Result: A tight budget that is plus-minus zero or slightly in the red😇
That is how it looks.
It is not a perfectly black-ink budget, and while I call it a "household budget disclosure" every month, I do feel a bit embarrassed. lol
I hope this serves as a little reference or a "I totally get it!" moment for others who are thinking, "Our budget is tight too, I wonder how everyone else is doing..."🥰
1. Our family's background | Family, life, and work style
First, let's start with the background.
Family structure: Husband, me, 5-year-old, 3-year-old + baby on the way (9 months pregnant)
Housing: Renting in the countryside of Kyushu
Cars: 2 (Since we live in the countryside, having 2 cars per household is standard🚗)
December take-home income: Approx. 300,000 yen + husband's bonus of approx. 180,000 yen + child allowance of 20,000 yen
Tsumitate NISA: Separately 150,000 yen per month (I keep this separate from the household budget as an "investment wallet")
I have written about how I think about special expenses and the Tsumitate NISA in other articles, so if you are interested, please take a look there👇
"The story of the 1 million yen special expense tank"
"The story of keeping separate wallets for daily household expenses and asset building"
2. Rough Balance for December
With that as a premise, the results for December were as follows.
[Income]
Main Job: Approx. 300,000 yen (Husband's income + my childcare leave benefits)
Bonus: Approx. 180,000 yen
Child Allowance: 20,000 yen (I decided to count the child allowance as income too)
Other: Approx. 900 yen (Mercari, Rakuten ROOM, etc.)
[Expenses]
Total: Approx. 360,000 yen
[Result]
A surplus of about 140,000 yen🥰 This is all thanks to the bonus.
Let's look at the breakdown from here👇
3. Real Figures by Expense Category and December's “Habits”
Housing Costs: 76,000 yen
(Rent + Utilities + Wi-Fi)
Gas and electricity bills inevitably go up in winter...
But since moving to the countryside, I think every month, “It’s so great not to need parking fees...!”😂
Food Expenses: Total 103,000 yen
The breakdown was like this.
Groceries: 41,000 yen
-
Dining out + Prepared meals: 30,000 yen
Family dining out: 2 times
Takeout: 3 times
The rest was mostly prepared meals for days when I was tired
-
Snack expenses: 32,000 yen
Ice cream: 8 times (We went to hot springs a lot in December, so this tends to go up 🍦 lol)
Whole cake: 1 time (Just once for the birthday 🎂)
Cafe: 1 time
Dango shop: 1 time
The rest is mostly snacks (including jelly for the kids when they were sick, etc.)
Looking just at food costs, it was 41,000 yen, and I'm happy that it stayed within the 50,000 yen goal 🙌
But honestly, December was a 'loose month' due to illness and the year-end rush. Lol
I could count the number of times they went to daycare on my fingers... I feel like I was nursing and babysitting the whole time in December...
Daily necessities: 16,000 yen
This month, I stocked up on moisturizing cream for the kids and bought extra spoons!
I don't want to compromise on tableware, so I splurged 💰
Gift expenses: 48,000 yen
Christmas/souvenirs/gifts, etc.
Playing Santa is a big expense, but it's for the kids' overjoyed smiles 😍
My husband and the oldest child went back to their hometown at the end of the year, so we bought souvenirs too 🎁
And we also sent year-end gifts to relatives who always take care of us 🍖
Since these are also 'memories,' this was money I felt good about spending 🌼
Gas and highway tolls: 12,000 yen
With a lot of illness, I was able to keep it down to just the usual commuting and drop-off/pick-up costs.
Couple's mobile phone bills: 10,000 yen
Due to the phone water damage incident last month, I had to buy a replacement and switch carriers with tears in my eyes.
The administrative fees and the overlapping payments for two companies made it high this month 💦
Medical expenses: 6,000 yen
Children's medical expenses are free (we live in a municipality that covers them)
My prenatal checkups + medicine
Over-the-counter drugs (cold medicine, etc.)
I try to rationalize this as 'necessary expenses to stay healthy.'
Entertainment expenses: 46,000 yen
Children: 9,000 yen (clothes/toys)
Husband: 17,000 yen (manga, earphones, etc.)
Me: 3,000 yen (accessories)
Outings: 12,000 yen
Other: 5,000 yen
These aren't 'absolutely essential for life,' but they do add a little color to our daily living.
That said, these are also candidates for review, so I'm not saying 'everything is fine!' and am keeping them as points for adjustment from next month onwards.
Couple's life insurance: 37,500 yen
This is quite a heavy part of our fixed costs 💦
Since there's also a savings portion for education, I think of it as using the child allowance for this 💰
Supplement subscription: 2,000 yen
Supplement costs for my body during pregnancy & for the family's health.
This falls into the 'I can live without it, but it's reassuring to have' category.
Other: 5,000 yen
Miscellaneous expenses that couldn't be categorized.
This month, it stayed within a range I feel is acceptable.
4. Extra: 'Special Money' not included in the December household budget
In December, we had these expenses separate from our regular household budget.
Homecoming-related: approx. 106,000 yen
This money was taken from our 'Special Expense Tank'.
Furthermore, as a separate account for investments,
Tsumitate NISA: 150,000 yen
exists, but I consider this separate as 'savings for the future' rather than 'living expenses to be used right now.'
5. Highlights & Points for Reflection
Highlights
Grocery costs were within the target.
Gas and highway tolls were low due to frequent poor health.
Rakuten ROOM went from 0 to 1. (It's small, but I'm happy!)
Points for Reflection
Snack expenses increased due to frequent poor health.
Travel expenses (special expenses) were incurred for visiting family.
6. 'Small Steps' for January and Beyond
If you aim for a perfect surplus right away,
the first thing to break isn't the numbers, but your spirit. lol
For next month (or rather, this month), I plan to be mindful of these small steps👇
Share the current status with my husband every time I enter the weekly household budget.
Rakuten ROOM: Add 10 more items.
Mercari (mon's stamp shop): Add 30 more listings.
note: Upload twice a week. Try writing a paid article as well.
Conclusion | Not a surplus, but a December where I 'faced it without breaking'
Looking back like this, December was
a month that was a surplus if you only look at the numbers, but still tight when including special expenses and NISA.
😇
Even if it's not a perfect surplus,
'I'll look back properly and use it for next month'
—just by thinking that, I feel like a household budget becomes a somewhat reassuring ally.
Thank you so much for reading this far🌿
'Our household budget is tight too...'
'I totally understand that snack expenses increase when you're often unwell...'
'Maybe I'll try keeping a household budget too'
I would be happy if you could relate to even one of these points.
If you feel like, "I get it..." or "I feel a bit relieved,"
it would be very encouraging if you could support me loosely with a like or follow🥰
Finally: Next Preview
Based on this household budget, next I will compile "Financial Planning for the Next 3 Years (Starting with 50,000 Yen Monthly Side Income)" to write as a paid post✍️
I hope it serves as a reference for others who want to escape a tight budget just like me.
⬆️I wrote it❗️
I have compiled the steps and templates to get closer to "50,000 yen a month to start" in 90 minutes a week🌿