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Tracking Spending

October 3rd, 2014 at 02:59 pm

I'm attempting to track our spending for this pay period. I try to keep our basic spending to $1000 for groceries, gas, entertainment, flute lessons, and miscellaneous for each half of the month. I'm trying to determine if this is realistic. It seems it should be, but I'm using October to see how we do.

If I include two flute lessons that haven't yet happened and admission to quite a few band events for the next 10 days, we have spent $445 out of the $1000. This doesn't make me feel too great to already be at that point, but I will do the best we can to stay around that mark.

I will do the same thing again later in October as well. There are at least two birthdays I need to buy for late in the month, two road trips, two oil changes, and who knows what else!

I will be going to the store to get food for the weekend. We're having guests, but I think I have a good simple food plan for the two meals they will eat with us. I need to get toilet paper, dish detergent, and coffee also.

We were given two family movies on DVDs that we can watch for entertainment this weekend, so hopefully no Amazon rentals needed. I think we can avoid food at the band event based on the time of day. If my youngest thinks she will want something, I will have her bring her own money or at least a snack from the cupboard. I think we will stay in on Saturday night and watch our home football team play. We still have beer left from last weekend.

I think I'm going to start blogging over at

Text is Your Organized Friend and Link is http://yourorganizedfriend.blogspot.com/
Your Organized Friend this month, as there is a series called 31 Days to a Clutter Free home on the LivingWellSpendingLess website. I will just follow along with it. I'm two days behind, but I think I can commit to checking most days off the list. It seems like a good time of year to declutter BEFORE the holidays. It still often needs to be done after too, but if I do some before it will help lesson the need in January.

Do you check in on your true spending habits occasionally? Are you keeping your spending down right now for a particular goal? Are you interested in decluttering this month, before the holidays?

4 Responses to “Tracking Spending”

  1. PNWMom Says:
    1412379700

    We are keeping spending down as we are getting ready for a major renovation to our master bath. We were temped to eat out Thursday night but didn't!

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1412381759

    @PNWMom, great job refraining from dinner out! I'm sure your renovation will be worth it. Smile

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1412431354

    I'll be working on goals this weekend, and one of them probably will be getting back to tracking my actual spending more closely in YNAB. As I go through my moving boxes I have found many things that I'm okay with letting go of ... though there still is plenty that probably realistically could go.

  4. scottish girl Says:
    1412450563

    Yes I am to both. Decluttering is a nightmare, especially all of our paperwork. I'm working on it though.

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