I ended the month with a car nearly on fumes and $95 left in
my checking account, not enough to cover the power bill, but pretty close so
I'm not complaining about that. On the
first day of the month I filled up the tank on our car and we were good to go.
I was able to make it last all month too.
On payday I took care of our monthly expenses, made my savings deposits
and picked up some more groceries. I
also bought items to stuff some stockings!
That was a fun little shopping trip.
We started off the month in pretty good shape, but by the
end it wasn't feeling like we had a very thrifty month. Our kitties had a rough go of it I'm
afraid. Jack ended up at the vet with an
upper respiratory infection and a week later we discovered a large lump on
Stella. Fortunately it turned out to be
a cyst, not a tumor, but it did require surgery to have it removed. Two unplanned vet bills in the span of a
week!
By the time my second paycheck arrived I was able to pay the
mortgage ahead of schedule. Because it
was a short check (80 hours instead of the usual 88) I modestly took care of my
savings goals and paid the water bill.
The vet bills went onto my credit card and I was given a substantial
discount for paying it all at once. I
also got a couple doctor bills in the mail so I added those expenses to my
credit card as well. I'll be tackling
that debt in 2020. Right now I am just
grateful to have the means to pay for these things.
I stayed on budget with my grocery spending and was happily
surprised to get a lot of things on sale and with coupons as well as to find a
ton of stuff on markdown. Not only was I
able to keep our pantry and freezer stocked, but we gave quite a bit away for a
Christmas drive that my daughter's high school held. That made us feel pretty darn good.
Our Christmas gift spending was pretty much nil this
year. Nonetheless, we still had a pretty
fantastic day and exchanged a few inexpensive and useful gifts. It was more than enough. There was plenty of good food, cookie baking
and we enjoyed our traditional holiday meals thanks to some pretty fantastic
sales and digital coupons I downloaded.
Although we had some bumps this month I still think it
turned out pretty well all things considered.
Right now everyone in the household is currently healthy and doing
well. You can't ask for more than that.
Those unexpected pet bills can really throw a wrench in the budget! But you keep your costs so reasonable in every other aspect that I'm sure you'll have that cc paid off in no time! If anyone can do it, you can!
ReplyDeleteI took a lot of ideas from your own Christmas when we hosted my husband's family Xmas get-together. I made it a thrifty, simple affair. I made 2 big pots of soup, sandwiches, salad, rolls--good homemade food. The family all brought apps, desserts, and drinks. We also did not do a gift exchange among the adults! WHAT A RELIEF! Nobody missed it, either. We just played games, ate, and enjoyed each other's company. And it was the most relaxing family get-together ever! I even bought the decorations and partyware after the 25th (party was on Saturday) for 50%+ discounts. Everything was festive and cozy and all about enjoying each other's company. I really think everyone was relieved not to have to shop for/purchase pricy gifts!
Anyway, your low-key, thrifty Christmas was the inspiration for mine, so thank you for all the great ideas you share!
I am so happy to hear how nice your Christmas celebration turned out and no budget busting either! Yay! Happy New Year Sue.
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