At first glance, my budget is in shambles! I had not carved out time to do any real checks over the last few months. This morning I spent time combing over my finances and discovered some huge expenses that I hadn’t properly prepared for:
- $540 on a friend’s bridal showers
- $1400 attending her wedding.
- That money was definitely not saved! I suspect the $1400 could have been lessened but I was emotionally and physically exhausted from my work schedule that I did very little research into the trip and my cost saving alternatives.
- $780 on a conference, I will be reimbursed for this
- $600 on a vacation where I hosted someone.
- This was fairly frugal as it was 2 weeks of entertaining and is largely us eating out. This vacation served to highlight that I still have difficulty saying no to things in stores and I’m apt to fall for ‘good deals.’
There are also a host of charges for things that I felt I should get:
- outdoor furniture as our last set had to be retired after 8 years
- outdoor covers for the furniture so that it won’t get damaged by the elements
- Just Junk – removal of the items that have been in the basement from the previous owners as well as our own accumulation of items
CLEANING UP
When I thought I was only going to be working 2 days/month from May – June I started putting away some money. As I had picked up a part time job I hadn’t touched the money. My hope had been that it would get moved over to the Pay off the Mortgage fund. That money will now be moved to pay for all the wedding related costs and the vacation.
MOVING FORWARD
This year, I haven’t managed to work within my budget as yet. I’m aiming to change this in August. My plan is to only use my debit card and keep a running tally of my spending in my wallet. I also need to submit my item for reimbursement quite soon as I find I get a bit lax on paperwork and end up paying for things I shouldn’t.
Saving Without Scrimping 