Let’s Debrief: July

In my professional life we debrief. A lot. We do it after projects, events and even meetings. It can get a bit much but it really is helpful so why not do it in my personal life.

We really should take time to celebrate what we’ve done well and take a good look at the things that didn’t pan out.

Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days : 8
• # times used S’mores Maker (aiming for 15 uses): 3
• # times ate out: 6
• # activities with loved ones:15
• # local items purchase: didn’t track this month
• # months until home improvement fund: 30 months
• % over or under budget: 15% over(exactly the reason I began this blog!)
• % consumer debt paid off: Next month*
• % of savings used: this month I was silly and used my credit card to pay for some unexpected things. I’m going to leave it as is and be honest. Going forward  I’m going  to use my limited savings.

CELEBRATE:

• Spent 2 weeks on vacation and was tour guide to a guest while keeping to my budgeted amount for the vacation.
• Arranged a brown bag lunch with a colleague.
• Made a meal just using what was available and created my own version of something (I don’t love cooking). Ended up with ~10 servings.
• Gave great presents while shopping smartly.
• Sat down and revamped my budget to include things I should save for.

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Needed to include a medical line for items not covered by insurance
• Hello new car battery! Still cheaper than buying another car. Have now included a car maintenance line.

KEEP IN MIND

• My grocery budget also includes entertainment. I spent $100 on one event but it ended up including leftover for a few days and there’s no price on quality time with loved ones.
• Use grocery money to stock up on entertaining staples when on sale e.g. chips, hors d’oeuvres, pop.

OVERALL

I wasn’t  frivolous but I overspent. The big culprits were my health and car.

*As I’m now on my last bit to pay off I’m going to start using this month’s debt figure to start calculating going forward.

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