Sunday, February 2, 2014

Oh Those Expenses....January 2014

Because I'm not really into that thing called football, I'd rather be here getting ahead on some stuff. Not only was the day productively spent by catching up on some laundry (and TV of course) but a good chunk of time on reading all those books that are about to expire! No special snacks need to be made or rowdy people to attend to (and clean up after). It's just a quiet day overall.

Anyway, I have decided to bring back the expense report. The reason being is that the past few months I didn't feel as accountable for my spending because it wasn't out for the world to see. But at the end of the month, every other category was way over budget. Knowing that others will see my progress makes me want to try my best each day!

One thing you'll notice is I really don't have a savings category...

It's not that I don't save, there is no specific amount I wish to set aside each month. For me, student loan repayment and retirement savings are the two most important categories at the moment. However, I did set up a separate savings account for travel purposes and it's actually quite nice!

Despite taking a break at the end of the month, I did pretty well in terms of income and not going way over budget!

The rent is not actual rent but what I pay the bf to cover bills (electric, internet, etc.) under his name.

Groceries was on the smaller side this  month because the bf took care of most it. It made me feel kind of bad because I eat tons of fresh fruit, making the bill pretty high. My goal is to then make sure that I pay for most of the groceries this month!

Snacks were a bit out of control for some reason. I'm going to try and make sure that for February there are snacks in my work bag. Perhaps instant oatmeal and fruit bars?


Two things I forgot to include: Craft supplies for a project I just started which came out to be about $28. Also my vacation and the money I spent getting to places and eating. The whole trip came out to be about: $350. Not too shabby I must say. The reason it's not included is because some of the money came from the new savings fund set up for travel, but also some money that I found a few days before my departure. All in all, it really didn't come out of my budget!

How did you guys do in January? 

6 comments:

  1. Great job, you came in under budget in a lot of categories!
    January was bad. Ugh.

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    1. That doesn't sound good! At least January is only one month!

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  2. January was actually pretty good for us. Paid off more debt! YAY! Sticking to a budget is tough... there are categories where we almost always go over by a few bucks each month. But it just rolls into the next month and we try to do better :)

    I love setting aside money for travel! That was one thing we started doing last year and it was awesome. It is so nice to be able to plan a trip and have money to spend it on rather than trying to pay for the whole thing that month!

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    1. Good for you guys! It's great when a budget is realistic in that it tries you but does not make it feel impossible to live. Money should be a vehicle for living a good life.

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  3. Nice job Amanda. There are a lot of surpluses on several budget lines. I love that you have a line in your budget for wine - my friend does too :)

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    1. Hopefully the surpluses can continue and I can put more of that money towards student loans!

      I always feel that knowing what you like and want is the best way to start off a budget. Being able to have a glass of wine at the end of a long day of work really helps me. But wine is pretty awesome at any point during the day...

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