Mid Month Money

Sooooo,  yesterday I got the computer all set up and a title on my post and somehow I ended up in the workshop!  I'm one of those people who starts a lot of things all at the same time, instead of doing one thing at a time until completion. I might decide to vacuum but on my way to get the vacuum cleaner I see a lot of cat toys everywhere so I start picking them up and forget about the vacuum. Then I remember I need something from the truck so I head out to the truck and end up driving to Timmy's and buying a coffee.

Then, oh yeah, I need to vacuum; but I should pick up some milk since I'm out. Home again and guess what...it's time for lunch! I'll just take a minute to get the mail from my mailbox. Ooooooh! Flyers! I'll make lunch and look at the flyers while I eat - MULTI-TASKING!! Where did all of those dishes come from? I'll just do them first and then I'll vacuum! Oh wait, what are we going to have for dinner?  And so my day goes...

Obviously I'm much better at budgeting than I am at getting things done around the house! Which I guess is a good thing. March is one of those months that really seems to last a verrrrry loooooooong time! Perhaps because February is usually 3 days shorter.  Whatever the reason I would be happy if March was over, but alas, still two weeks plus a day left. Will I make it? Or more to the point will the money end before the end of the month? Possibly.

• my Misc budget stands at $230, it should be at $290. I accidentally downloaded a bunch of music from iTunes, about $33 worth.  But that's fun, right? It's the UN-fun uses of my Misc $$ that I resent. Like $27 for a prescription yesterday and the $7 I spent on the useless artsy craftsy get together but on the bright side it doesn't affect my bottom line by much. I visited a friend last Saturday and stopped to buy snacks on the way - I tried to be virtuous by going into the health food store instead of the grocery store and purchased some "nutritious" snacks HAH!! Two bags of handmade potato chips made with coconut oil instead of the usual - soooo good! And a container of those yummy stove-top chocolate/coconut cookies made with NATURAL RAW sugar! I felt so health conscious that we proceeded to eat all of it!!!!
• my GAS budget is doing well again this month - I have spent just $76/$160 (just filled up 2 days ago so might make it til the end of the month.)
• my FOOD budget is a bit low - I've spent $210/$280 with a big shop done Monday. I think I can make it on $70 for the rest of the month. 
• my small emergency SNOWFLAKE box is sitting at $49 which I can use if I need to. 
• That's it for my variables; everything else stays the same from month to month except, of course, utilities. So far I've underestimated my utility bills for Jan., Feb., and March by approx. $35 - $40. 

So there you have it. My budget lines are a bit low for this point of the month but the truck is full of gas and the fridge is overflowing so I'm not worried. I'm really hoping I can tsf another $50 to savings to make for some nice round numbers - I like my savings to end in nice round zeroes. We'll see. I know that I'm working with small numbers here which I am really happy about. I'm one of those people who plugs away very methodically with my budget (not like household chores!!) I can look down the road and see where I'm going to be financially. Saving $400 per month is pocket change to many people but over a year that's almost $5000 - more than enough for another fantastic trip and some household renovations!  I never go on shopping sprees except at my local thrift store :)

I finished that sculpture that was causing me grief - it's all sanded and polished and ready for the camera. It's not my best work but I like it. I'll take some photos and show you tomorrow.

In the meantime I hope your "Mid Month Money" situation is in good shape!