This month we went over our $140 budget again. I have not been much of an example the last 2 months but honestly I am not that upset about it.
We were officially over $71.71 however I had $27.95 in rebates which I add back into the budget
making us $43.95 over. This month, I included a lot of extras in the grocery budget- postage, (2) printer ink refills, expensive carpet cleaner, diapers for the new baby, 3 large cans of formula and 2 jugs of ready to feed formula. This is quite a bit for $43.95! We also had a few medications and supplies I needed after the baby was born which are included in the $43 amount.
I fully expected to need to increase the budget in the event that we had to supplement with formula as it is a big drain on the budget. So overall I am happy with how the month turned out. We still have a very full pantry and I am hoping we have enough diapers for both little ladies to make it through June.
I am going to continue with $140/month or $35/wk into June and see what happens. I expect to spend about $15/week on formula now so I want to see how far I can stretch our dollars. Plus we have been eating a lot more convenience foods in the last few weeks of my pregnancy so I want to add a lot more fresh produce back in. We will likely need to increase the budget to $50/week but I will see how things go and make the decision in July.
While our financial goals and budget are extremely important to me, we also try to be flexible as life happens. I am happy to adjust our spending according to our family’s needs and a healthy pregnancy was the most important thing in May. It was also important to me to be very prepared for baby- with lots of wipes, diapers etc.. and I am pleased I got some incredible deals this month (here, here, & here).
How did your month go? I’d love to hear what your budget is and how you are progressing with your goals!
Well, this was my first month couponing, and although it's definatly going to take time to master this, it is going pretty good. We cut $400 dollars off of what we normally spend and our pantry is much fuller than it has ever been. My goal for this month is $50 a week. I'm not sure I'll be able to master this yet, but I'm going to try! As for our debt and savings goals, we working hard on paying off our last credit card. It's going to take a while but it will be nice when it's done! I want to buy Dave Ramsay's book, since I've heard so much about it. Anyway, that's where we are this month 🙂
Hi Faith, I did a focus group last week for $75 and I didn't feel guilty spending $40 of it at Old Navy! Saving $400 your first month is incredible! The savings get so much easier once you have a good size stockpile since you can pull so much from that. If you need meal ideas 5dollardiners.com is a good resource- I think her budget is $50. Since I don't eat meat it is a little easier for us to spend $35/week.
You should totally get Dave's book. I recommend Total Money Makeover before Financial Peace. I got the audio book at the library which is easy to listen to while you are in the car. You can also get the gist of his program by watching the tv show or listening to the radio show.
We are working on trimming back our budget. I wish we could get by on only 35 or 50/week, but scaling back to $100 is challenging us right now! I posted my plan today on my blog. If you want to see it,you can look here:
http://ahighandnoblecalling.com/2009/06/12/the-bare-bones-budget-can-i-feed-my-family-of-5-for-less-than-15-a-day/
BTW I love your blog colors!very soothing!