The household nearly broke even in September — down $4,556 in spending from August — but only because Cheryl's surplus covers Ben's shortfall.
Net spending by category with transfers between Ben and Cheryl removed from both sides, August against September.
| Item | Last month | This month | Change | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | 2,932 | 745 | −2,187 | August's Ohio airfare; September is the Ohio rental car and a night in San Jose. |
| Food & Dining | 2,420 | 1,169 | −1,251 | Both cut back: restaurants fell from $1,169 to $494 across the two of them. |
| Transportation | 1,280 | 857 | −423 | No gas while the van was in the shop, partly offset by Pacifica registration and repairs. |
| Legal | — | 523 | +523 | Ben's one-off law-firm fee. |
| Rent | 4,500 | 4,649 | +149 | A $67.55 Wei & Hung charge and an $81.71 U-Haul charge on top of the $4,500. |
Food and gas both fell. The lines worth a conversation are fixed-feeling costs on Ben's side.
Almost all Ben's ($1,181): physical therapy, two gyms and Bonanno Anderson. Second only to rent among the household's regular costs.
Includes $583 of Ben's business tools (Google Cloud, Anthropic, Workspace) that have grown every month since July.
Food at $1,169 is the household's lowest month since May, and no gas spending was recorded.
Combined projection from $21,755.36, using each person's own history and commitments.
| Scenario | Net per month | Balance reaches $0 |
|---|---|---|
| As projected | −184/mo | Aug 2036 |
| Stress test: Ben's EDD stops now | −2,134/mo | 14 Aug 2027 |
EDD ends in July 2027. After that the household runs about $2,100 a month short, and Ben's own balance is projected to reach $0 the same month. New income for Ben before then is the one change that matters.
Cheryl is +$482 a month and Ben −$666. The household looks stable only because those are summed; whether her savings backstop his shortfall is a decision, not a default.
The docket shows $306.24 from Cheryl to Ben on an equal split with rent fixed at $1,500.