When I got up this morning it was -29c so is it any wonder my ass(ets) is/are frozen??? I've managed to have quite a few NO spend days this month because who wants to go outside?? That being said I did do some shopping on Friday in preparation for my Valentine's Day guests. But I'm still on track for February and may have some $$ left at the end of the month if I can stay the course!
Gas Budget - I have almost a full tank of gas and $120 left in the gas budget. If you don't drive anywhere gas stays IN the tank!! Also, I lumped ALL my errands together last Friday to use as little gas as possible. I've been averaging $30/week for gas so far which means I might have $60-$80 left in this budget line at the end of the month!
Food Budget - I spent more on food for the first half of this month than I did during the same time period in January. Some of that went for snacks for my party plus I bought extra food that I cooked for breakfast Sunday morning. There is still $116 left in the food budget and I won't be shopping for a a few days as I couldn't fit another thing in my fridge if I tried! I'm sure there will be a few dollars left in the food budget at the end of the month.
Misc Budget - Out of the $313 in the misc budget for the 2nd half of the month I have $230 left. Money has been spent on wine, chocolate treats from the Bulk Barn, movie rentals for the party, music downloaded from iTunes and a book from Amazon for my Kindle app. Upcoming expenditures include going to lunch with a friend tomorrow and the Bryan Adams concert on the 24th (though I've already paid for the ticket!) I hope I don't spend all of the rest of this budget by Feb. 28.
For the next few months any budget remnants will go to paying for my trip to England in Sept. So far I need to pay off my plane tickets and the deposit for my hiking trip with Annie. I therefore challenge myself to direct at least $150 (gas - $80; food - $30; misc - $40) towards my Mastercard at the end of Feb. Whatever is outstanding on my Mastercard will be paid off using my tax refund sometime in March.
Increased savings so far this month includes $350 from my pension and $200 in interest for a total of $550!! I have two more interest deposits from RRSPs to come yet this month. I'm surviving on my pension so far - I'm doing it, I'm doing it!!
Famous last words.....
and we will be cheering you on as you do it!!!
ReplyDeleteI find it is so much easier to actually save money towards a goal when it has a specific date attached - like your trip!
ReplyDeleteGood girl!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your frozen ASSets tho!...
You are knocking it out of the park with your finances Jane! Good for you!! Any tips?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your doing good with your money and having fun to boot! I'm so tired of snow and freezing my assets too. On a good note, only 19 more days until the time changes...
ReplyDeleteGas and money just disappear. I don't think we are spending it, it just magically goes away. I have $200/week for food and gas for the 2 of us and it is a stretch to make it. Please tell me why.
ReplyDeleteGood for you Jane! although I'm not surprised you're doing so well. You've been amazing at keeping your budgets in line for years now.
ReplyDeleteYou really should but some advertisements up on your blog. I know some people feel that it messes with the purity of your blog and all but you might as well make a few pennies off of what you write. Hey, you might even get enough money to buy a tank of gas!
ReplyDelete