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January was a tough month. We started off with high hopes, but there were times we messed up. No matter if we did good or not, the month's end is still a good time to look back.
Here's where we started and where we ended up :
:: Make a budget and stick to it - - we met half way. We made a spending plan, but we overspent. I took some personal days off work and indulged in Restaurants with my Besty, my Mommy and my brother. . in 5 separate occasions. $200 over budget. OUCH
:: Get all bills current and pay them by the end of the month - - DONE DONE DONE!! It's been a while since all our bills were paid by the end of the month. What a relief! I can actually close out January and file it away. YAY! We had 4 past due accounts and now only have 2. Still a bummer, but we're a few steps closer.
:: Start an emergency Savings fund - - DONE! I wanted to open an ING account, but apparently, about 7 years ago, I had an ING account that was closed due to inactivity. ING directed me to send a form, but I got lazy. I opened a Smarty Pig account instead. The features were enough for me and I got to post a nice little widget on my side bar =) I'm only 1% in, but it's a start, right?
:: Organize finances - - almost done. While I started to organize 2011, 2008, 2009 AND 2010 haunt me. I had so many unorganized bills I just had to get that out of the way. I finished organizing 2010 finances last week and I was fatigued. I did that 2 weeks straight - investing 30 minutes each night. I had to take some time off and I plan on continuing that this week. It was a hard day @ work today, so I already penciled that project in for tomorrow night.
I have 40 more projects around the house while dealing with the finances. I really need to find some sort of balance.
For February 2011 Our goals are
:: Create a spending plan and try our best to stick with it. I'm hoping to create something realistic this time around. I also need to find ways to avoid spending on stupid things. I recently changed my diet and choose to go 'sustainable' Not necessarily "all Organic". People do have the misconception that going Organic = expensive, but I think I can make it with our $400 budget for groceries.
:: Get all bills paid again! Mr. Broke didn't have the same 'WHOOHOO' reaction as I did. I guess it was something expected. . but I was ecstatic! I'd like to do it all over again. I'd also like to get the last past due account current this month. I also need to make pretty Spending envelopes. =)
:: Continue Organizing 2011 Finances. I'll be posting how we organize our bills next month when it's all done.
:: Make a TAX envelope. We're starting to get Tax Statements in the mail and they're mixed in with other junk mail. I need to make a pocket for these important documents.
:: Bump up the Smarty Pig. Although most money will go toward the past due accounts, I want to bump up the smarty pig to a few more %'s. As soon as the baby emergency is funded, I'll get to start saving for the Buffer. Life would be so much easier by then.
:: Submit our Home Modification to CitiBank. ARGH. I hate Citi. Most people I talk to are incompetent. But it's something we MUST do. Should our Home Modification be approved, we'd be paying 50% less. Something we really need right now.
Here's to a new month!
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4 comments:
Fingers crossed the Home Mod is approved, that would be a great time to rework the budget and get things moving along nicely!
Good luck with your mod being approved.
It makes me feel much better that others have to tweak their budgets, because I was feeling a bit guilty that I yet again blew my food budget out of the water :)
Yay for getting all the bills paid!
And I'm stealing your tax envelope idea, because I am getting estimate coupons etc in the mail too, and they tend to end up smeared with peanut butter and stuck who knows where.
Great start!
Thanks ladies!
Mandi : Yes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! It sure is a good time to get Finances in place since they go thru everything w/ a fine tooth comb. Good thing I organized my paperwork last week. There's a lot to submit!
Morethanmom: Thank you! Yes, I absolutely understand. I felt horrible going about $200 over budget - but If it wasn't for my budget, I would have easily spent $500! The tax Envelope was a life saver last year - and I'm doing it again this year! It's good to have this (and knowing where it is) thruout the year because I can easily file anything tax deductible / Health Spending Expenses and it's all there come tax season. =) Ill be writing about this soon.
"I felt horrible going about $200 over budget - but If it wasn't for my budget, I would have easily spent $500!"
Ha, this is so me! I am constantly tweaking the budget so I can make everything work and not end the month without gas money. :) Just paying attention has made a big difference for me.
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