So ... I spent about an hour entering all the transactions for May into YNAB. I hadn't entered anything since the 12th ... Let's just say it wasn't pretty at all.
The good: $207 in extra income (FB sales, SBs, Pact, Perk, etc.)
Sent 10% of net to EF + $37 ...
The bad: Only had $37 left after an extra $207 in income. Which means I came dangerously close to having to dip into my 10% deposit ... for no real reason.
The ugly: Spent roughly $360 on food/fast food/treats
The most I think I can ever remember spending in one month in those categories ...
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So ... June goals.
The past few months I have been doing an experiment where I did not set out any particular amounts in my flexible spending categories for my budget. For a few months this seemed to work okay ... May though has totally busted this idea. So for June I have decided to modify this approach - I have given myself budgeted amounts in certain categories (Groceries, Treats, Restaurants) and then left the rest unbudgeted (since it isn't the other categories tripping me up.)
My plan/goal for June and perhaps July is thus: 50% of the unbudgeted money will go towards my normal goal of the EF extra deposit (above the 10%.) The other 50% will be used in July (maybe August) to go somewhere for a few days - i.e. get out of town.
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been feeling the travel bug. Feeling kind of restless, listless ... bored in a way. So my idea is that the less money I spend in June (and possibly July), the nicer my little out of town excursion will be.
I could say NO FAST FOOD in June - but I'm hoping that knowing that every time I get Fast Food or get some junky item that it is reducing the quality/length of my getaway, will work better for motivation.
We'll see. (Snafu - the cash thing might work, except I have a bunch of cash on hand right now thanks to the FB sales this month. Getting to the bank to deposit it is a major hassle. So if I did cash only for fast food, etc., I'd have a lot of leeway for it.)
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I'm hoping to get a training shift for my part time job this coming week, so that money could definitely help the "extra" category - and help me also maybe to not be quite so bored ...restless.. listless. Hopefully.
May Spending :( June Goals
May 31st, 2015 at 02:34 pm
May 31st, 2015 at 03:45 pm 1433087138
May 31st, 2015 at 03:56 pm 1433087813
I'm hoping that having a getaway trip to look forward to in the near future will help me to curb some of the ridiculous spending I've been doing this month. I made 18 trips to a grocery store / Family Dollar this month ... Ridiculous.
May 31st, 2015 at 05:34 pm 1433093655
May 31st, 2015 at 05:36 pm 1433093765
May 31st, 2015 at 05:46 pm 1433094374
May 31st, 2015 at 06:32 pm 1433097120
I'm with Buendia -- we shop once a week -- two stores, but make a list. It keeps us from picking up this and that in between and saves us money.
May 31st, 2015 at 06:37 pm 1433097436
Buendia - the sad thing is that even with all I spent on food, my pantry isn't that full as of now. A lot of what I bought were convenience/frozen dinner type stuff. Maybe with being sick/tired with the allergies/cough I just did not feel like doing much food prep at all .. so kept going for the convenience stuff. I do really think that was part of it.
June 1st, 2015 at 06:52 am 1433141576
June 1st, 2015 at 04:03 pm 1433174589
...merely a suggestion