Monday, September 25, 2006

BAD spending (and saving) month

September isn't even over yet and already the damage is mounting. I get paid once a month, so I am acutely aware of how much I spend each month. (This month in particular is a problem because Boyfriend isn't getting paid at the end of it as he is between paychecks for the summer job and the academic-year job.) But this month just happened to be a constellation of events that invited spending.

$105 - H&R Block class fee. (Apparently some people get to take it for free. I was annoyed to find that out.)

$60 - Greyhound ticket to go home for the holiday this past weekend.

$55 - Buying lunch for family and friend at my favorite restaurant while home. (I have more disposable income than my parents do.)

$300 - Or something close. We ate out a LOT this month, partially because I am stressed from waiting to hear about the potential new job and wanted crab rangoon about 8 times. This is pretty bad both for my health and my wallet, especially since I paid for most of the eating out because Boyfriend isn't getting paid. This is BAD BAD BAD. We will be much better next month.

About $500 - CashDuck related expenses. This month I did not put anything into savings and took out about $150 to prevent an overdraft, which I haven't put back. The rest came from skipping the savings this month. (I know, not good, but it's a one time thing.) Includes $76 in VistaPrint supplies for CashDuck because my business account wasn't set up yet and I didn't want to wait forever to get them.

$85 - Doctor visit/prescription expenses. I put in an FSA reimbursement request for the prescription but neglected to get appropriate documentation for the two $15 doctor visit copays. Evidently a receipt is not enough. I will not make that mistake again.

$200 - At least, in groceries.

$100 - Used laser printer off Craigslist. Another $30 too for the little wireless device that will network it wirelessly and let both Boyfriend and I print from it.

$450 - Very beginning of month, made BIG payment to credit card so that all of the debt would be gone so I could do the 0% balance transfer. Probably more than I had room in the budget for, but what's done is done.

Oy. Not the best, but I'm only down $150 from savings. I did take out an extra $1000 on the 0% balance transfer over what I needed because Boyfriend isn't getting paid this month. I don't expect to need all of it so at the end I should be able to send back $500 or so. Or I might just add it to the emergency fund, I don't know.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't count the CashDuck spending against you, because it's an investment. The eating out, however...well some months are just spendier than others, I guess!

GolbGuru said...

greyhound ticket !:) ...you still didn't get your hands on a reliable car you were looking for?

Kira said...

Nope, the car is only if I get this new job - otherwise, I'd rather spend the money on Greyhound than insurance. ;)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like my July/August that I wrote about last week. It really killed me to derail my savings for a month, but I guess life happens.

Revanche said...

For the FSA thing, you should be able to contact your doctor and ask for a reprint of their itemized receipt from your previous visits so that you can get that money back. At least call and ask - they might be able to help you.

Then Things said...

This month was a dissapointment for me as well. I only spent $100 clothes shopping but it ended up being 100 less savings.