For me, May ended on June 3.
CC balance down to $2808 from $2972, a reduction of $164.
Emergency fund balance down to $681 from $716, a reduction of $35. (No good reason except I had to move money into checking because of a cash flow problem--bills being due just before paychecks coming in. Will be moving money back in as soon as the election pay comes in.)
Net improvement $129.
Everyday Expenses came to $594, well over where I want to be. I feel good about stocking up on some good deals, but I still wish I could have stayed on budget overall. So far this month, doling myself out $15 a day, I do seem to be spending more slowly. Hopefully, I'll end up with better results by the end of the new 4-week period.
Doesn't sound like much progress, but when I look at our overall "current" net worth, it jumped up by $1180 this month! There's way more sitting in checking accounts, gift cards, ING goal accounts and the HSA. So I guess it was a pretty good month after all.
4-week report, a bit late
June 8th, 2006 at 01:10 pm
June 8th, 2006 at 01:21 pm 1149772875
June 8th, 2006 at 01:51 pm 1149774664
June 8th, 2006 at 02:43 pm 1149777800
Ima, I'm trying to keep to the same grocery budget, but force myself to spend it slower--so I actually stay within the budget! It's not $15 cash a day, just $15 spent, whether it's the debit card, the cc, or whatever. If I don't spend it one day, the balance carries over to the next day. So far it seems to be working. It's the 5th day of my spending cycle, so I'm supposed to have spent no more than $75 and I'm right on target. I spent $60 through yesterday and can spend $15 at Pathmark today. This time last month I'd already spent $133.