My spending has been slipping away from me. A quick review of my USAA statements online reveals that after bills, rent, a prescription refill, and charitable giving, I'll be down to $56.04 to last until February 4th if I want to meet my savings goal for January. Admittedly, I'm trying to wring an extra $70 or so out of my normal budget since my first paycheck of the month was reduced as a result of work missed after the car accident. Still, crud. I think I would have done a whole lot better if I'd been diligently tracking and had had more than a vague notion of how much I was blowing on minor luxuries.
Belt tightening is in order. I just bought a bunch of groceries tonight before I ran the numbers so I think this will be manageable, if annoying. Still, kick me or something if I don't get my act together and start acting like a responsible grown up at the start of February instead of halfway through.
(Also, hmm, if I do manage to cut $70 this month despite the shaky start, does that mean my savings goal isn't sufficiently ambitious and should be revised upward? Should I keep cutting the budget until it starts to hurt? Oh, wait, the point of managing money responsibly is to avoid having finances make your life miserable, whether in the future or right now. Never mind.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Yeah, I would probably hold off on increasing the $70 savings, at least for another month or two. Make it a sustainable, not painful, habit.
Post a Comment