August was financially so much nicer for us. The fact that we didn't have a lot of
back-to-school expenses was a big part of why we had much more breathing
space. We enjoyed ourselves by eating
out a couple of times and going to the movies on dollar night.
Back-to-school was made
easy this year when I found a fantastic online clearance sale at JC Penney back
in June and was able to get all of the girls new clothes. Our school supply box in the linen closet
still had most of the items we needed. I
filled in with notebook paper found on sale super cheap at the grocery store
and composition notebooks on sale as a loss leader at Fred Meyer. Everything else we are using is stuff we
already had including backpacks and lunchboxes.
I was pleased to be able to pay all of our monthly bills on time
or early and to make the mortgage payment early as well which saves me on
interest. Even though we have the added
monthly bill for the orthodontist I was able to incorporate it into the budget
just fine.
Last month I wasn’t able to meet all of my savings goals. In fact, I had to take money out of savings
to meet certain one-time expenses. This
month I was able to make all of my savings goals as planned which made me very
happy.
Along with my savings goals I was able to make some really good
progress on my financial goals. In June
I paid off one of my debts, financial goal #1, and now I am diligently working
on the next one. I made a big debt
payment on financial goal #2.
I listed and sold some inventory I had in our storage area on
eBay. I used all of that money to pay
toward my PayPal account. I added some
extra cash I had after paying bills and made two payments last month. The sewing table is nearly paid in full and
once that is taken care of all I'll owe on is the dresser I bought to store my
fabrics. Not one cent has been paid in
interest either.
I used coupons and gift cards to do some shopping for supplies to
make Christmas gifts at JoAnn Fabrics. I
also used money I had set aside at the beginning of the year for additional
Christmas shopping. I have a good head
start on my gift list already.
Using items I already had on hand I was able to make two birthday
gifts, one for each daughter. I also
made items to list and sell in my Etsy store.
I plan to make more items in the coming months to sell and to give as
gifts. My project bin is overflowing.
Our pantry and freezers are full, our chickens have started laying
and we have been doing really well not to waste food and use things up. I bought a 50# bag of chicken food and we
have plenty of kitty food stocked up. In
the next couple of months I'll add to our supplies in preparation of winter as
much as I am able.
I have seriously counted my blessings and been very thankful this
month. We are so fortunate to have the
bounty that we do. We have everything we
need and most of what we want which is pretty phenomenal.
We are very fortunate indeed.
So happy that you had a good month. God is awesome, He does supply. I am always so happy, when all the bills are paid and the pantry/freezer is full. A very good feeling,for sure..
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
God is awesome, to be sure! Take care Judy.
DeleteGlad you had a great month. It is always so encouraging when I hear people acknowledge their blessings. We, in North America, have so much to be thankful for even in the tight months :).
ReplyDeleteWe really do Theresa. Sometimes it is easy to take things for granted but in a funny way a tight month seems to give you perspective.
Delete