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Tuesday, August 7, 2012
60 day challenge: Part two!
Today is August 7th....which means that the first part of my own little 60 day challenge has come to an end! Let me just tell you.....the Horrors!!! You may honestly think you are being completely frugal with your money, but until you actually break things down and add up all expenses, there is no way you can actually know the beating your wallet is taking.
If you haven't taken part in this challenge with me over the past 30 days......get yo butt in gear and do it! I'm excited to see how much money I will have saved by this time NEXT month, but for now, the dreaded moment of truth. *GULPS* (Thankfully, my husband didn't kill me....He was as shocked as I am that we had actually spent this whopping amount of money IN JUST 30 DAYS.) I'm tellin ya, $20 here and there ADDS UP.
Here is a breakdown of what we spent in each area.
Groceries: $512.57 (for two people...WHATT!??)
Gas: $192.02
Eating Out: $215.51
Entertainment: $109.99
Shopping: $387.50
Orion: $237.07 ( We did have a vet bill, plus a fence to patch where he and the neighbors dog tore a hole through it, and those two totaled up to $150.00)
Household Items: $115.77
Misc. $101.84
Now, keeping in mind that these amounts don't include monthly bills, of which we have 6, (and two more that we will be adding next month) plus tithe, I'm thinking WE HAVE NO MONEY LEFT! (exaggeration, obviously, but you get my point.) Deployment money is pretty good, but it doesn't last forever when you spend it away. So, here is the total of money that we spent last month.
$1,872.27. Don't judge, I bet you spend just as much without realizing it.
So, the lowdown is that next month, I am going to cut that amount in half by at least 50%. I've been working on a master budget, and I will hopefully get that posted within the next few days so you can see how much I am allotting myself per area. that way, I can keep myself accountable, and give you guys an idea of what a realistic budget might look like for someone on a regular income.
What do you guys think? Have any of you ever given budgeting a shot?
****FYI, I've been budgeting since the second or third month of our marriage, but as my job has recently taken a new turn and put me in charge of money matters, I decided to take on some new approaches to budgeting and try and re-work a few things in hope of getting better at my job. ***
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Hey Good luck cutting it in half!! You can do it! I have been using learnvest.com and its amazing because you link it up with your bank accounts and it automatically sorts your spendings and stuff for you. And its free. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks!! I'm hoping it works out!! I'll have to check that website out, sounds really cool!
ReplyDeleteHey Kiddo,
ReplyDeletegood work!!! It takes a lot of work and patience to make and stick to a budget. Just remember that life is not a constant and we have to adjust our budgets to fix the moment.:) Did I ever give you a copy of my book "State of the Family"? If I didn't I'll have to figure out a way to get it to you soon. Lots of good tips and tricks in there. Things I had to learn the hard way :)
Hey! No i don't think you ever did, but I'd love to read it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, it's not realistic to be able to stick to your budget per penny monthly, but having one to follow as a general rule is a good idea. This budget is actually a little tighter than what we normally live on, I am just trying to challenge myself for this month to see how much money I can save by cutting corners and just focusing on central areas! Also, I'm hoping to inspire people who don't budget to see the savings they can have by better managing their money. Several of my friends have recently been discussing budgeting with me, and I realized how few people actually have no idea how to budget, what a realistic budget should be, and how to stick with one, let alone balance their checkbooks and bank accounts to actually realize where there money goes unnecessarily. That's the main reason I did the first part of the "experiment", in order to show that $10 here and $20 there will add up, even if you think you are being frugal with your money.