August was almost exactly as I
expected it would be: exceptionally busy, a little
boring - yes, apparently you can be busy AND bored at the same time! - and
tight on cash. The Kiddo started at his new school. (Verdict so far: he likes
it. This is the first year he travels from class to class each hour, and I
think he's relishing the independence and big kid-ness of it all.)
Fortysomething launched into his new job. (Verdict so far: it's exhausting -
he's a teacher, so no surprise there - but he loves it.) As for me, work
alternated between slow as molasses and 200 miles per hour. There's really no
in-between with my gig.
August views |
Outside of work insanity, I struggled a bit with boredom this
month. I'm used to filling my thumb-twiddling time with going out to eat or
activities that have an entrance fee. I'm still acclimating to evenings and
weekends where we're just hanging out at home, taking walks, or making a mess
in the kitchen. In August, I realized that my tendency (one shared by many
people, I think) is to combat feelings of emotional discomfort by buying
STUFF.
For me, it's not so much physical stuff. I've never been that into
material possessions. Rather, I am obsessed with THINGS TO DO, which frequently require money, and I often
judge myself based on how much I've done. I have serious FOMO when it comes to experiences. Yet... How often do we just sit and BE? Not
often, if you're anything like me. I'm sensing this will be an area of growth
throughout our debt reduction journey.
Bottom line? Not spending was
harder than I expected. Aside from one impulsive
restaurant meal, though (more details below), we managed to hold back.
BUDGET RUNDOWN:
Our complete budget is shown at
the end of the post, for anyone wanting to compare our
intentions with what actually happened.
Where we were right on the
money: We came in at $36 under budget this month, despite our payday constraints. I credit this to careful
planning and penny-pinching. Particularly rewarding: we filled up at the gas
tank only once, spent little on the Very Expensive Feline, and paid far less
for school supplies and new school clothes than I'd anticipated. The school
clothes were a big win for me. Thanks to a combination of thrift shopping and
Target deals, the growing-like-a-weed Kiddo snagged several almost-new shirts,
new pants, and a new pair of shoes for less than $80.
Where we went over: The only categories in which we overspent were Groceries (we exceeded by 77 cents... I'm not even going to go there, because this mama's
tired and a 77 cent excess is close enough) and Unexpected Expenses. Our August
unexpected expenses included medication for a cold that refused to let up, a
doctor's office visit, and some cleaning supplies. But I can't blame the excess
$12 on any of that. No... What happened was that we made a last-minute decision
on a Saturday afternoon to walk downtown, grab veggie sushi at our favorite
restaurant, and chase it all down with some coffee. I figured, Hey, we have
all this money we haven't spent! Let's go have a good time! The sushi was
well worth it. I don't regret that. The coffee was a total waste - overpriced
and overrated. Lesson learned.
This sushi was worth it. |
DEBT REDUCTION:
We threw $1600 at debt this monthand reduced our debt load to $73,939. Nothing
monumental, but hey, we stuck to the plan. If you're interested in
the details, check out the link to The Current Debt at the top of the page.
SAVINGS:
We budgeted $150 for savings but
were able to ramp that up to $200 thanks to savings in other areas. The
savings/emergency account now sits at $1298.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
I'd give us an 8 out of 10
for August budgeting and finances. For the most part,
we did what we said we were going to do and kept our eyes on the long-term prize. I think, though, that we need to be a little more realistic about
going out to eat. I know a lot of frugal people eschew restaurants and
kind of consider it a badge of honor, and for the most part I'm on board with
that... It's all too easy to overspend when going out. But we enjoy having a
meal together and eating food we normally don't make at home. We also enjoy not going bonkers. Perhaps we need to incorporate one restaurant meal a month into the budget.
SEPTEMBER GOALS:
Financial: Both Fortysomething and I have some side hustles lined up! My
goal is to put everything I make into our savings account and set it aside for
holiday air travel and gifts for family. Fortysomething's extra earnings will
also go into savings, but we plan to use that to purchase new tires for our
car, something we've put off for months. I also want to make a list of items
that we need/want for the winter - like new boots and ice spikes for icy days -
and start saving for those. You can find our current budget at the top of the page... or just click here.
Personal: I slowly ramped up my running in August, and I plan to continue
doing so in September. Another goal: figure out how to juggle my day job and my
side hustle without turning into the world's crankiest human being. Lastly, I'd
like to find a hobby outside of work and running to which I can devote my
energy and time.
My favorite park for running. |
Planned
|
Actual
|
|
Rent
|
1447
|
1446.95
|
Internet
|
76
|
75.89
|
Phone
|
78
|
77.53
|
State
Farm
|
70
|
72.35
|
Student
loans and credit cards
|
1300
|
1299.83
|
Car
|
300
|
297.84
|
Thousand
Trails
|
108
|
108
|
Compost
|
10
|
10
|
Gas/electric/utilities
|
70
|
67.78
|
Food
|
750
|
750.77
|
Gas
in car
|
45
|
20.78
|
Cat
|
50
|
19.98
|
Netflix
+ Hulu
|
26
|
24
|
ACLU
|
10
|
10
|
Sam
School Clothes
|
80
|
73.18
|
School
Supplies
|
100
|
66.18
|
Laundry
|
10
|
10
|
Savings
|
150
|
200
|
Unexpected
|
150
|
162.68
|
Total
Expenses
|
4830
|
4793.74
|