College
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$21,000
|
|
Show Choir Trips
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$1,970
|
|
Graduation Party
|
$900
|
|
Move in Weekend Trip
|
$175
|
|
Parents Weekend Trip
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$175
|
|
Choir Concerts Trips
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$350
|
|
Home Improvement
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$5,430
|
|
Total
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$30,000
|
Here is how we ended March towards our priority spending:
($ 0) Borrowed from Savings
$ 550 Cash Deposit
$2570 Show Choir Trip #1,#2, #3 + Nashville (we are over in this category by $600)
$ 100 College Deposit
$3,220 Net Result
It feels good to have repaid the savings loan from January. However, here is my twist. We have made a decision to heavily tap into savings to do much more home improvement than this priority budget reflects.The Home Improvement category will be really high, at least $15,000 more. We also spent about $600 more on show choir weekends and trips. I'm not sure how I will track progress. I'll probably track when we tap into savings as a negative "loan" so that I can see new funds and compare the original plan. I need to realize this was just a plan and real life, and how we choose to use our money will take detours. Eventually, though, I know if we keep tapping into savings instead of not spending on priorities until we have cash in hand, there will be no savings. Funny how that works. However, we do have the funds in savings, we'll still send the kid to college without loans, and still have our minimum of six months emergency. It's just timed differently than originally planned. I think this will allow us to enjoy our home more and help us transition into our next couple stages of life with mental calm.
I'll continue to be thrifty and challenge myself to get the most return when I do spend. March was a splurge month in household and groceries, entertainment, and travel. I feel ready to hit April with a frugal mindset. Please comment how your managing in 2019. If you blog and track, feel free to link below.
I think that if you can put your kids through college without a loan and have a six month emergency fund you are doing pretty darn well. Good on you on cutting yourselves some slack so that you can enjoy your home and get some (mental) relief too.
ReplyDeleteIt will be tight and of course there are a lot of unknown and unforeseen things that could happen, but investing in the house now should help over time save money or increase what we get when we sell.
DeleteYou have done really well, and life just has surprises. We can plan and plan and still things go the other way. My April will be uber tight due to overspending in March. Blah!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try and keep a positive mindset. Yes, cash flow will be tight, but the enjoyment of my house will be worth it. We can have a lot of fun with very little money when we put our minds to it.
DeleteWishing you a skinny April after the March expenses. Some months just cost more than others and you can't beat yourself up about it.
ReplyDeleteSkinny in multiple ways-need to trim the fat in the fiannces and me. April seems like a fresh place to start.
DeleteI'm trying to similarly track my goals before I quit, and it's hard because one of my goals is to fund: tax payment, all of our 2019 expenses, and save an extra $10k. Because the money is constantly shuffling in & out of our accounts, it's hard to track. Basically, I have removed the tax payment (it's saved for, so check that off), but also remove it from the amount we are saving, as it will be gone in 2 weeks, and then measure our net new savings in 2019. Because the rest of my goal is to pay all of our expenses for 2019 real time, as long as i end the year with +$10k in savings, I"ll be happy. Oh, and all side income/non salary income towards college savings + mortgage paydown.
ReplyDeleteI could look at our new home improvement budget, take the money targeted towards it for 2019 savings, and just call the rest funded. You gave me a good idea. Good luck to you on your change. I think your time out of the work force will help you figure out how you envision what your life and family life will look like, then, when you go back, be able to set the terms that keep that vision first.
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