Spending fell by almost a third as the Ohio trip dropped out, but the month still ran $1,323 short, and the gap is income, not food or gas.
Net spending by category, August against September. Travel and food came down; one-off car and legal costs took some of the savings back.
| Item | Last month | This month | Change | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | 2,788 | 188 | −2,600 | August carried the Ohio airfare; nothing comparable in September. |
| Food & Dining | 915 | 390 | −525 | Groceries $306 (from $580) and restaurants $116 (from $415), before paybacks. |
| Legal | — | 523 | +523 | One-off fee to A Family Law Firm, Santa Rosa. |
| Subscriptions & Bills | 1,024 | 1,202 | +178 | Google Cloud $291.96 and three Anthropic charges totalling $180.07. |
| Transportation | 884 | 725 | −159 | No gas at all (August was $754), but Pacifica one-offs replaced it: registration $483, repair $299.83, parking ticket $107.26, smog $78. |
| Entertainment | 600 | 421 | −179 | Discretionary Apple Cash is now $75 a week, plus two $23 event tickets. |
| Reimbursements | — | +558 | +558 | Paybacks with no matching charge, including Renee's $196.53 T-Mobile catch-up. |
Food and gas are not the problem this month. Two other lines are.
Business-tagged spending went $226 (Jul) → $417 (Aug) → $583 (Sep): Google Cloud $291.96, Anthropic $180.07 across three charges, Workspace $57.12, Moo cards $53.76. It is the fastest-growing line and the easiest to pause.
$1,181 in September and about $1,345 a month since May. Physical therapy is $635 (three visits), and there are two gym memberships, The Mats $225 and Crunch $59. Worth deciding whether both gyms and both PT providers are still needed.
$390 is the lowest month of the year, against $1,635 in May.
Zero in September because the van was at the shop from mid-month. August's $754 is the number to watch once it is driving again.
Projected from a $3,770.55 balance on 7 October, with EDD at $1,950 a month through July 2027 and the shares Renee, Jon and Cheryl pay each month.
| Scenario | Net per month | Balance reaches $0 |
|---|---|---|
| As projected, with Mom's $2,288.40 by 31 Oct | −666/mo | 12 Jul 2027 |
| If the Ohio money does not arrive | −666/mo | 29 Mar 2027 |
| Trim $300 a month, without the Ohio money | −366/mo | 17 Aug 2027 |
The burn is modest only while EDD pays. When it ends in July 2027 the monthly shortfall grows to about $2,600, the same month the balance runs out. New income before mid-2027 matters more than any cut.
Mom's $2,288.40 for Ohio, Renee's $147.76 of August car insurance (and likely $146 for September), and Cheryl's $306.24 from the September docket: about $2,900, or four months of burn.
Pausing Google Cloud and Anthropic alone covers most of it; dropping one gym covers the rest. That moves the no-Ohio date from March to August 2027.