“Budget Roundup: End ‘O August”

Jase & I decided to have an end of the month chit chat last night so we could discuss where we are with our budget. It’s a time that I really look forward to because it keeps him involved, we’re able to make new goals, & talk about long term goals.

I’m excited to say that August turned out to be a pretty good month for us & we came out ahead in several areas. There were a couple of things that set us back but despite that we actually did pretty well. We’re both encouraged & talking things over last night really lit that fire again to keep pursuing Operation: SqueezeThe$.

High Points of August –

We lowered our utility bill by $81! W00t! In July our utility bill rolled in at a hefty $239. We don’t have any trees surrounding our place (yeah, yeah, I know we should plant some) so we have sunshine all day on our home. It hurts to pay a bill that high when no one is home all day. So we decided to unplug all unused electronics, crank our thermostat up as high as our pooch can stand it, & keep the lights turned off in rooms we’re not in. The results are in & the bill for August is $159. That’s August folks. When I told Jay how well that worked he was equally shocked. We expected it would go down about $20 or $30. We never expected an $81 drop. So, we have another $81 to pile on a debt.

We shaved our grocery budget even more. Although I tried to bring our grocery budget in at $250, it finally settled at $300. I’ve told a couple of people what our grocery budget is & they just kind of look at me like it’s no big deal. The thing is we’re not eating out. We have a TIGHT restaurant budget set at $30 a month. That means every other meal is eaten from home. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. That budget rounds out to aprox. $4.84 per person per day & lands at about $1.61 per meal. It just can’t get much cheaper than that. If someone is eating out a lot then a $300 food budget doesn’t seem that frugal. For instance, I viewed another person’s budget & they allow $200 for groceries & $200 for eating out per month.

Low Points of August –

My family was down from Michigan & we had our annual Christmas in August. This was not a happiness low point by any means because we were able to spend time with our family. Budget wise it’s a low point because the money spent on gifts was not previously budgeted in. August was our first real month on a strict budget & planning. The previous months we were trying our own way & working on creating a plan for our little family. Previous to August we were like my mom stepping into a swimming pool – One step & screech at a time. =)

Another unexpected expense was my allergy & bronchitis medication. OUCH. That squeezed us pretty hard. We could have taken the funds out of our emergency fund but we really try not to touch that money so we paid it from our monthly income. Because there were no generics for what I was prescribed, the outcome wasn’t fun at all.

All in all we’re very happy with our August budget. I’ve heard that it takes about 3 months of budgeting before you actually get it right & it’s doable. I’ve also heard it takes 30 days to make a habit. August was our budget habit forming month & I know September will be completed with a better mindset. Our goal for September is to pay the last $265 of a debt & kill it. It’s time to get intense so we can eliminate payments!

Nevertheless ~