Is it bad that I’m super excited that it’s September?
We have tons of exciting stuff going on in September like a 3-day weekend over Labor Day, our short trip to Branson and a wedding! Then we’re into October where we’ll celebrate baby girl’s 1st birthday, and I’m speaking at a women’s retreat! And then we’ll be into November, the holiday season, and time for another wedding! While I don’t love the fact that the days are getting shorter and the weather colder, I love the excitement this time of year!
Now, let’s take a look at how our budget shaped up in August:. I’m seeing a lot of red in our budget this month, but overall I am happier with how we ended up than I have been for the last few months. We’re really struggling to keep our spending in check!
Budget | Actual | |
Income | $4,260.00 | $4,206.58 |
Mortgage | $636.00 | $636.00 |
Vivint | $55.00 | $108.00 |
Utilities | $210.00 | $259.00 |
Phone | $35.00 | $31.00 |
Internet | $40.00 | $40.00 |
Vehicle Payments | $917.00 | $917.00 |
Gas | $300.00 | $341.89 |
Health Insurance | $232.00 | $232.00 |
Doctor | $50.00 | $111.00 |
Life Insurance | $31.33 | $32.00 |
Groceries | $225.00 | $427.78 |
Zaycon Foods | $75.00 | $0.00 |
Restaurants | $20.00 | $58.00 |
Barber | $15.00 | $0.00 |
Hulu | $8.00 | $12.00 |
Personal Loan | $650.00 | $650.00 |
Student Loans | $110.00 | $110.00 |
Credit Card | $150.00 | $0.00 |
Clothing | $0.00 | $74.00 |
Gym | $21.00 | |
Home Improvement | $122.00 | |
Auto Service | $25.00 | |
Blog Expenses | $172.00 | |
Vacation | $40.00 | |
Net | $0.67 | -$213.09 |
Losses:
- Vivint: We had an outstanding balance owed to Vivint from when our system was installed in June (or May?). They called us asking if they could put the charge through and I didn’t see any point in leaving the balance hanging.
- Utilities: Our utility costs are coming down as the weather gets nicer, but they aren’t quite where I’d like them. Still, I’m starting to feel about them.
- Gas: I can’t quite figure out how we managed to overspend on gas considering that we really didn’t go anywhere this month. Ugh!
- Doctor: Again, our health care expenses are high. As the month progressed I realized that these would be unavoidable this month and for the next few as well. Guess I’ll have to up next month’s doctor budget…
- Groceries: I really don’t know what the deal is. Part of it was that The Big Guy bought dinner for his unit to grill while at training this month and it kind of screwed us….
- Restaurants: in the red, but I’m ok with it. We were very conscious of both the fact that we were on a tight budget, but also that we badly needed a date night!
- Blog Expenses: These were 100% unexpected. The scheduling tool I use for Pinterest and Twitter stopped supporting Pinterest scheduling so I had to unexpectedly purchase a new (much more expensive) service! Also, I bought the rights to a new domain name (coming soon!) It put us in the red this month, but I’m starting to get a check from Google each month and dabble in some direct advertising, so this cost will soon be recouped :-)
- Unexpected Expenses: Clothing, the Gym, an Oil Change, and some Vacation expenses weren’t quite expected this month. There will be no oil change, clothing, or gym expenses next month, thank God! We are, however, going on Vacation, but I’l be paying for this with credit card rewards.
Wins:
- Phone: slightly less than expected. It’s not a lot, but I’ll take any win I can get!
- Credit card: We had a balance on credit card at 0% that we were working on paying off. Well, this month the balance got down to $200 and we decided we were done with it! It’s nice to get that $50 payment off the books!
September Budget:
Budget | Actual | |
Income | $3,630.00 | |
Mortgage | $636.00 | |
Vivint | $55.00 | |
Utilities | $210.00 | |
Phone | $45.00 | |
Internet | $40.00 | |
Vehicle Payments | $917.00 | |
Gas | $300.00 | |
Health Insurance | $232.00 | |
Doctor | $80.00 | |
Life Insurance | $31.33 | |
Groceries | $200.00 | |
Zaycon Foods | $75.00 | |
Restaurants | $20.00 | |
Barber | $15.00 | |
Hulu | $8.00 | |
Personal Loan | $650.00 | |
Student Loans | $110.00 | |
Net | $5.67 | $0.00 |
It shouldn’t be too bad of a month! We’ll be paying for our short vacation with credit card rewards, but other than that we’ll be facing the same challenges as before!
How did your budget shape up this month? Any challenges?
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Mrs. Frugalwoods says
That’s great you’re able to cover your vacation with credit card rewards! I am definitely looking forward to the fall and winter. I love the change of seasons and all of the holidays! Happy birthday in advance to your baby girl :)
Gretchen says
Thank you for the bday wishes! I’m super excited about vacation seeing as this is the first time I will use credit card rewards for anything other than stretching our budget!
Louise @ Good Financial Choices says
Very impressed with your budgetting – I’m just starting to track expenses, and working on finding a system that works for me and I can stick to.
Gretchen says
I highly recommend Mint.com – it makes the process super easy!
Louise @ Good Financial Choices says
Thanks – I’ll have a look and see if works for the UK
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer says
Keep up the good work, Gretchen, and know that fails will occasionally happen. Our August was MUCH better than our July. We’ve got a couple of big expenses in September (getting the wood stove installed and have to buy hay for the horses) but other than that expenses should be fairly low. I hope. :-)
Gretchen says
Glad to hear someone had a good month! That wood stove sounds awesome, and like it will save you tons of money!