One of my goals for 2010 was to better stick to a budget. Right before 2009 ended, I made up a monthly budget plan to stick to. I included all my bills and gave myself a certain monthly allowance for different categories. By writing things down, I instantly became more aware of how much money I was spending on things and what I could do to cut back. Setting limits every month and writing things down helped me tremendously and I would suggest this to anyone trying to stay on a strict budget.

Last month, I went over my budget in the three categories that I have a feeling will be a continuous struggle for me: gas, food and entertainment. At the end of December, I decided $100/month for gas would probably be a good amount, but then gas went up in price around $.25/gallon here. Although it is starting to go down in price slightly, I’m going to start budgeting $120/month now.

Entertainment was way over this month because I promised my friends son I would take him to the Monster Truck show that was last weekend. The look on his face was definitely worth spending the extra money.

Going over on the food budget was all my fault entirely. I got lazy the last week of the month and didn’t feel like going grocery shopping, so I went out for lunch instead of bringing it to work like I usually do. In just that one week, I went way over budget. It just goes to show you how much you can really save by bringing your lunch with you to work instead of going out to eat. This month, I am going to make sure that there is enough food in the house for the entire month so I always have something to bring with me.

I hope to stay better on track this month. We’ll see how it goes.

Tags: budget

Our vacation is FINALLY here! We are extremely excited to go to Vegas. The trip will be a much needed break for both of us. I’ve been spending a lot of the day packing and doing all of those last minute things you need to do before you go on vacation.

We’ve done a good amount of research and I feel like we are well prepared for this trip. Since we booked it a few months ago, I have been saving up my swagbucks and mypoints for various gift cards to restaurants in Vegas. I managed to get 4 gift cards! Most of the restaurants seem like places we wouldn’t go to normally, so it will be nice to try these places out without spending a fortune. My parents also gave me a few coupon books, so we’ll be able to save some money there. As far as gambling goes, both of us aren’t really into it, but my boss was telling me some blackjack rules yesterday and I might try it out. Of course, I will be sticking to a budget and don’t plan on going over. But hey, who knows, maybe I’ll hit big! HAHA. I had a special “vacation” fund that I was adding money to and don’t plan on spending more than what I had saved. I’d rather spend that money on shows and seeing different things, so gambling money isn’t a big part of the budget.

I more than likely won’t be updating the blog all week, but since I’m a twitter addict I’m sure I’ll be sending updates. I’ll be taking tons of pictures and will definitely have a super long trip recap post when I get back. Until then, see you next week blog!

Tags: budget, budgeting, coupons, fun, Las Vegas, money, saving, Vegas

Since my car has been giving me problems and I haven’t been tracking my spending as well as I should, my savings account balance has dipped down to a number I’m not very satisfied with. A year ago I was much worse off than I am today and didn’t have anything in savings, but now that I’ve gotten accustomed to having what I call my “emergency/new car fund”, I’d like to keep the numbers in that fund high. With that said, I’m starting my monthly budget again.

I attempted this a few months ago and didn’t have much luck…I have no will power sometimes. But this time I’m really going to try and stick to it. I gave myself $100/month, $25 more than my first attempt. My budget will include food, gas, and health and beauty items.

I think this time it will be easier to stick to my plan. I’ve done this before and know what NOT to do now. From now on I’ll be leaving my debit card at home. I’m more tempted to spend when I have it on me. And like usual, I’ll be cutting my coupons and tracking all my expenses.

Hopefully I’ll make it through a month this time! It’s day 2 of me starting this, and I still have $100!

Tags: budget, budgeting, saving