Review of my 2009 Budget and Bugdet for 2010

Well I got married in August of 2008 so my 2009 bugdet was somewhat a shot in the dark.  I had only had 4 months under my belt of expenses it was my first winter in a new home and also dealing with my husband's unemployment.  I managed some of the expenses by shopping at low costs stores and cutting out extras but in general I went over my budget in most areas.  So this year with more knowledge, more practice and more tools I have both some more realistic goals in certain areas as well as a plan to actively reduce some expenses.

2009 Budget vs Spending (Note I track joint and my personal but as of now I don't track my husband's personal account.)
Automotive Expenses $1200 - $1763 over (This does not include my husband's car note and insurance.  These are mostly repairs on our older car.)
Cable/Internet $720 vs. $551.56 under
Clothing Shoes $600 vs. $142.45 under
Electronics $120 vs. $162.09 over
Entertainment $600 vs $920.76
Gasoline Fuel $3000 vs. $1639.42 under
General Merchandise (snacks, impulse items) $120 vs $266.84 over
Gifts $600 vs $813.07 over
Groceries $3600 vs $3180.12 under (For family of two adults)
Healthcare/Medical (Out of Pocket after Flexible spending account including over the counter) $480 vs $900.66 over
Hobbies $200 vs $68.85
Home Improvement $2400 vs $4402.01
Home Maintenence $600 vs $316.21
Insurance $1200 vs $916.74
Loans $1200 vs $2326.68 over
Mortgages $9000 vs $8876.28
Other Expenses $120 vs $186.77
Personal Care $600 vs $950.15
Restaurants/Dining $1200 vs $1766.41
Service Charges/Fees $120 vs $1396.76 (yes that's right through various mismangements, receiving unemployment, and other mishaps we have thrown away tons of money to our banks!)
Telephone Services $720 vs $517.25
Travel $1200 vs $393.44
Utilities $3500 vs $2522.84

Summary so there are some things I underestimated such as automotive expenses and home improvement.  But you can see that in some areas we sacrificed were needed to make up for it (clothing, travel, hobbies etc.)  Another bright spot is by using public transportation just for me to get to work our gasoline costs is down.  I also managed to stay under budget for groceries averaging just $266 per month.  Our first 4 months of marriage I probably averaged closer to $350 so this is a great improvement.  So here are my goals for 2010 and my plan to acheive them if they were not met the previous year.

Automotive Expenses Budget $1700/yr or $142/mnth(continue to monitor and work on ways to reduce)
Cable Satellite/Internet $720/yr or 60/mnth currently only have Comcast Internet so will get same budget in case we want cable and adjust accordingly
Clothing/Shoes $600/yr or $50/mnth will stay the same but always find ways to shop bargains
Electronics $120/yr or $10/mnth attempt to buy more things on sale to reduce this expense not met previous year
Entertainment $600/yr or $50/mnth actively use frequent movie goer cards to gain free movie tickets and concession stand items, use coupons when renting movies, utilize redbox, actively use the Entertainment book to actively reduce expenses whenever possible
General Merchandise $120.00/yr or $10/mnth actively monitor spending and adjust accordingly
Gifts $600/yr or $50/mnth utilize good on-line shopping deals, shop in advance for showers and use coupons and coupon codes whenever possible to reduce this expense that was not met
Groceries $2400/yr or $200/mnth continue to learn and practice more smart shopping/extreme couponing techniques to drive grocery expenses down even further work pharmacy deals where appropriate to spend little out of pocket on certain items
Healthcare/Medical $480/yr or $40/mnth (out of pocket after flexible spending account is used which unfortunately usually happens early in the year) use Flexible spending account wisely, work pharmacy deals to lower out of pocket costs and when possible create overage to buy necessary items
Hobbies $156/yr or $13/mnth
Home Improvement $1200/yr or $100/mnth utilize deals and coupons whenever possible
Home Maintenance $600/yr or $50/mnth
Insurance $1200/yr or $100/mnth (my life and car insurance)
Loans $1200/yr or monitor frequently to not go over
Mortgage $9384/yr or $782/month if possible begin to pay extra on mortgage to pay off sooner
Other Expenses $120/yr or $10/mnth continue to monitor and make adjustments
Personal Care $600/yr or $50/mnth utilize coupons and work pharmacy deals to get more personal care items lower out of pocket
Restaurants/Dining $1200/yr or $100/mnth utilize more coupons, entertainment book deals, restaurant.com, and frequent buyer opportunities to lower expense not met in previous year
Service Charges/Fees $120/yr or $10/mnth Monitor, Monitor, Monitor!!! This will not happen again this year we cannot afford it!
Telephone services $720/yr or $60/mnth
Travel $1008/yr keep other spending under control so that we can travel this year. Utilize rebates, surveys, and online shopping portals to generate extra cash flow and increase savings.
Utilities $3,000/yr or $300/mnth continue good practices such as keeping lights off and turning down heat wherever possible to control high expenses

So there is my budget and plan for 2010!  What is yours?