Cabin Finances

last updated 12 Feb 2026

Proposed Guest Charges without Airbnb

2021 Income Statement



 Excel spreadsheet

History of Cabin Expenses.

2017  $26,680
2021  $29,190 
2025  $40,840
2026  $41,983 estimate with inflation (We saved $850 by lowering our phone and internet service.)

2026 Estimated Expenses:
Computed from 2025 expenses plus 2.8% inflation (average CPI for the first 3 months of 2026 compared to first 3 monts of 2025)
Less $71/month savings from Phone Land line and Internet price reduction.

I know no one has any idea what inflation will really be for the year depending what Trump, the great economist does.

Monthly expenditures range from $1,300 to $6,500 so it is difficult to to have a constant payment without the balance jumping around too much.

I came up with a payment schedule with an initial payment and a fixed monthly payment, so we can schedule automatic transfers.
This schedule minimizes the payments and keeps the balance over $1,000 all of the time except February where it never goes below $500 (we'll have to watch Feburary.)
We also need to watch the beginning of June and October with high expected bills; it would be good to check the balance. We expect it to be over $3,000 prior to automatic payments.
I get an email whenever it goes below $1,000.

We'll still have to watch the balance in case inflation is more than expected or there are price increases.

The account will have to be replenished to cover large special projects.

As we move to a new year, hopefully the existing balance will cover the initial payment.

The plan

We'll need $3,500 per month- ($1,750 each for Dale and Don).
Monthly Payment should be made at the beginning of every month
Balance below is what would be expected at the end of the month before the monthly payment for the next month.

This exercise reminded me of problems we had in Management Science when I was in gravitate school. Maybe some of my education was useful.

Initial Payment $700

Monthly $3,500

Balance

Bills $700

Jan -$2,757 $1,443

Feb -$4,411 $532

Mar -$2,997 $1,035

Apr -$1,895 $2,641

May -$3,017 $3,124

June -$4,948 $1,676

July -$3,704 $1,472

Aug -$2,452 $2,520

Sep -$1,265 $4,755

Oct -$6,546 $1,709

Nov -$1,550 $3,659

Dec -$5,590 $1,568

Total -$41,132

Here's a spreadsheet to experiment with different plans

	Initial Payment	$700
	Monthly	$3,500
		Balance
	Bills	$700
Jan	-$2,757	$1,443
Feb	-$4,411	$532
Mar	-$2,997	$1,035
Apr	-$1,895	$2,641
May	-$3,017	$3,124
June	-$4,948	$1,676
July	-$3,704	$1,472
Aug	-$2,452	$2,520
Sep	-$1,265	$4,755
Oct	-$6,546	$1,709
Nov	-$1,550	$3,659
Dec	-$5,590	$1,568
Total	-$41,132