A Thrifty September Recap

 

TO BEGIN WITH:  I began the month of September with $42 in my checking account, $28 and some coins in my wallet, a full tank of gas in the car (I barely drove it in August) and three quarters of a tank of fuel in the truck.  A good way to get the month started off, I certainly have no complaints.

 

My first paycheck was a good one because we had an extra two days of pay on this one, just how the work days fell.  I made good use of the extra pay by slugging it away into savings.  I paid our monthly bills that were due and made the October mortgage payment an entire month ahead of schedule.  I set aside our grocery budget money and we only purchased the items we felt we absolutely needed keeping our spending fairly low.  Mid month I was able to put pretty much all of my paycheck into savings and for the first time this year I was able to exceed my monthly savings goal.

 

NEXT STEPS:  As we are heading toward the end of the year my goal is to stuff as much cash into savings as I possibly can in hopes of making up some of the ground I lost while on medical leave and then working part time.  I will also need some of that savings to cover my trip to Minnesota next month.

 

WAYS I SAVED $$:  We were super careful with our power use, we made sure to have virtually no food waste, and we only spent money on items we needed, particularly to finish stocking up for winter.

 

WAYS I EARNED EXTRA $$:  Sales this month in my Etsy store were phenomenal thanks to many of my lovely and wonderful readers.  I took ALL of the proceeds from those sales and tucked them into savings.  I think I now have enough to cover my transportation costs because of those sales.  That is amazing!!

 

LOOKING BACK:  Wow!  What a great month we had.  Expenses were relatively low and our income was higher than it has been since last spring.  I feel so much better and much more confident having had such a great month financially.

 

LOOKING AHEAD:  I have A LOT of things coming up in the not too distant future to plan and get ready for and Lord willing I think I am well on my way.  It is super exciting when you stay the course and work hard to see your hopes and dreams unfolding.  I can hardly wait to share more about what all of those are, but first I need to get through this year and all that might entail.  It has been a bumpy one so far with quite a few challenges, but I am not defeated.  Not at all!