November was a surprisingly good month for my budget but not such a great one for meeting goals. I only overspent in two categories, and the money I saved in other areas more than made up for it. I should note that my monthly budget does not include our Christmas budget, which we set up separately.
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
october recap & november goals
October was another month that just flew by. Did I miss a memo somewhere about time speeding up in 2010? I can't believe the year is almost over! Seriously, where did it go?
Budget-wise, I didn't do too badly, but also not as great as I had hoped, either. I was actually feeling really confident about coming in well below budget all month until a few days ago, when my husband unexpectedly handed me a pile of receipts for purchases he had made during the month. It was nothing shocking--gas, haircut, auto parts store, pizza, a night out on the town with friends--but it definitely added up!
Budget-wise, I didn't do too badly, but also not as great as I had hoped, either. I was actually feeling really confident about coming in well below budget all month until a few days ago, when my husband unexpectedly handed me a pile of receipts for purchases he had made during the month. It was nothing shocking--gas, haircut, auto parts store, pizza, a night out on the town with friends--but it definitely added up!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
september recap & october goals
I meant to post this budget recap yesterday but I was so excited about my new couponing series that I decided to put the boring stuff off for a day. I don't know how it was for you, but September flew by for me. I actually felt like I blinked and the month was over. I had a lot of things on my list that I wanted to accomplish, and looking back, perhaps I was a little overly ambitious. (Me? Overly ambitious? No!) I think I ended up being able to cross off only half my list, but as my 4 year old likes to say, "neh neh, nevermind." On a brighter note, I did once again come in way under budget for the month and ended up putting a lot more in savings than I was shooting for.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
august end-of-month budget recap
September marks the beginning of my third month on my new budget.
When I started this adventure two months ago, our marital spats about money had reached epic proportions. We had just spent the first half of the year remodeling our home, and while we had saved for our remodel for more than three years, done much of the work ourselves, and shopped around as much as possible to get good deals wherever we could, we still found that everything cost more and took longer than we anticipated. Remodeling is expensive!
By June, my husband, by nature a thrifty and money-savvy guy, just couldn't take any more spending. It didn't matter to him that the house wasn't done yet, that though the large projects were mostly complete, there were about a billion details left to finish. I, by nature, just like things to be pretty. And finished. So I kept spending. He would get mad, and then I would get mad back, and the cycle just got worse and worse.
We realized that for the sake of our family, something had to give.
Which brings us to our current solution: separate bank accounts. Out of his account we pay all of our fixed expenses--the mortgage, insurance, & utilities. Then every month, he deposits a set amount into my account, out of which I pay the rest of our expenses--groceries, gas, activities, clothing, etc. The deal was that I could spend it however I pleased, but when I had spent it all, that was it, even if that meant eating nothing but PB&J for the rest of the month. But he promised not to comment and to eat said PB&J without complaint.
To be perfectly honest, I didn't know how I was going to possibly live on a budget. I really like to shop. I mean, I really, really like to shop! One of my favorite book series are Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic
books because I SO relate to the feeling of elation the heroine feels when buying something. Anything. When we moved back to Florida from Seattle last year, I left behind an amazing group of mom friends and a life I loved. Our Florida friends from before were still our friends, but we now had 2 small children and not a lot in common anymore. I missed my social network and for me shopping was the only way to fill the void.
And yet now, only 2 months into it, I have been amazed to discover that not only can I live on a budget, I actually enjoy it! I like the challenge of finding good deals. I like how much more creative I am when I try to get what I want for less money. I like knowing that my marriage is stronger because my husband truly appreciates how hard I am trying. And I especially like that in only 2 months, I have not only been able to stay within my budget without feeling like I have sacrificed our standard of living at all, I have also managed to save $1,137.89 on my own.
So here is how I did for August (over budget categories are in red; under budget in green):
For September, I have adjusted a few of my budget categories. My stockpile pantry is now pretty full, so I would like to start lowering my monthly grocery bill even more. I haven't quite figured out a good way to save on gas yet. Hopefully it will be another savings-filled month.
Happy Savings!
I love to receive comments! Tell me, how did you do on your budget and/or savings this month?
When I started this adventure two months ago, our marital spats about money had reached epic proportions. We had just spent the first half of the year remodeling our home, and while we had saved for our remodel for more than three years, done much of the work ourselves, and shopped around as much as possible to get good deals wherever we could, we still found that everything cost more and took longer than we anticipated. Remodeling is expensive!
By June, my husband, by nature a thrifty and money-savvy guy, just couldn't take any more spending. It didn't matter to him that the house wasn't done yet, that though the large projects were mostly complete, there were about a billion details left to finish. I, by nature, just like things to be pretty. And finished. So I kept spending. He would get mad, and then I would get mad back, and the cycle just got worse and worse.
We realized that for the sake of our family, something had to give.
Which brings us to our current solution: separate bank accounts. Out of his account we pay all of our fixed expenses--the mortgage, insurance, & utilities. Then every month, he deposits a set amount into my account, out of which I pay the rest of our expenses--groceries, gas, activities, clothing, etc. The deal was that I could spend it however I pleased, but when I had spent it all, that was it, even if that meant eating nothing but PB&J for the rest of the month. But he promised not to comment and to eat said PB&J without complaint.
To be perfectly honest, I didn't know how I was going to possibly live on a budget. I really like to shop. I mean, I really, really like to shop! One of my favorite book series are Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic
books because I SO relate to the feeling of elation the heroine feels when buying something. Anything. When we moved back to Florida from Seattle last year, I left behind an amazing group of mom friends and a life I loved. Our Florida friends from before were still our friends, but we now had 2 small children and not a lot in common anymore. I missed my social network and for me shopping was the only way to fill the void.And yet now, only 2 months into it, I have been amazed to discover that not only can I live on a budget, I actually enjoy it! I like the challenge of finding good deals. I like how much more creative I am when I try to get what I want for less money. I like knowing that my marriage is stronger because my husband truly appreciates how hard I am trying. And I especially like that in only 2 months, I have not only been able to stay within my budget without feeling like I have sacrificed our standard of living at all, I have also managed to save $1,137.89 on my own.
So here is how I did for August (over budget categories are in red; under budget in green):
Groceries: budgeted $500.00, spent $516.90
(my grocery budget is still significantly higher than I would like it to be because I have been working on creating a stockpile, but still quite an improvement over the $1000+ a month I was spending just a few short months ago!)
Eating Out: budgeted $100.00, spent $145.90
(this was a hard category for us this month. sharing a car means I often have to pick C. up from work right at dinnertime. sometimes he's not ready, which means a quick stop to McDonalds.)
Gas: budgeted $200.00, spent 209.49
(this is my most annoying expense!)
Date Night: budgeted $75.00, spent $0.00
(we really need to try harder to spend this one!)
Kids' Activities & Crafts: budgeted $150.00, spent $124.16
Home Decor & Organizing: budgeted $100.00, spent $49.02
Clothing: budgeted $150.00, spent $28.33
Gifts: budgeted $100.00, spent $100.93
Entertaining & Parties: budgeted $150.00, spent $171.46
(M.'s party was a lot of this expense; we also had friends over a couple of times. Beer & wine goes into this category as well.)
Babysitting: budgeted $150.00, spent $116.00
Health & Fitness: budgeted $50.00, spent $15.99
Starbucks: budgeted $25.00, spent $9.70
Beauty: budgeted $50.00, spent $0.00
Misc.: budgeted $50.00, spent $71.58
Total amount spent: $1,559.46
Total amount saved (from coupons, deals, & discounts): $2,376.67
Savings Goal: $150.00
Actual Money into Savings: $494.49
For September, I have adjusted a few of my budget categories. My stockpile pantry is now pretty full, so I would like to start lowering my monthly grocery bill even more. I haven't quite figured out a good way to save on gas yet. Hopefully it will be another savings-filled month.
Happy Savings!
I love to receive comments! Tell me, how did you do on your budget and/or savings this month?
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