Budget Recap – July
Wow, July went really fast. Maybe because it started with wedding madness or because there was simply so much going on. It is requiring extra discipline to focus and reflect on my budget for July because I’m already all wrapped up in August’s spending and needs. I thought July would be the last month of my individual budget, but since the partner and I still haven’t joined finances and since I was out of town for a week, we’ll wait until September to join forces, I mean, money.
Dining Out – $134.48
Since this is usually a sore spot, I’ll start with it. I’ve seen another decrease in what I am spending eating out — hurrah!. I am very excited about this. Hopefully, this trend will continue.
Transportaion – $111.95
A slight dip in transportation costs. However, I’m betting that will go right back up this month since I’ve made several 70 mile drives to camp and back and there is still one more to make before the month is over. Gas prices have also shot up and I actually paid $3.17 a gallon recently, that is the highest I have paid in many, many months and I did not fill up. So, I need to stop and get gas asap and will still be paying over $3.00 a gallon to do so.
Orthodontist – $100
This has been a recurring bill for over a year now and, huzzah, it will no longer be. This is the bill I spoke of here when describing a bill pay error. I expect that I will get this money back sometime this month, hopefully, since I was not able to stop payment on it without getting charged a fee.
DD – $257.96
This is an unusual month to have such high expenses for the daughter. $31 spent is actually her money — she turned in all her coins from her piggy jar and had to put 50% in her ING account (which first gets deposited into my account which is included under deposits). $100 also went into her ING savings because I felt like transferring more than just $31. It wasn’t planned, so that did take a small bite out of my budget. Also, I had to make her a mattress for camp and that end up costing $116.49 in materials — anyone who still thinks that sewing things yourself is cheaper, is mistaken. That $116 should really be listed under “procrastination” because I could have saved money if I had ordered a mattress several week prior to camp.
Overall, I’m pleased with my budget, even if I did go over somewhat. The mattress purchase and the moving supplies were what really pushed me over my budget.