I accomplished so much this month and it feels really, really
good. Especially since I didn't have to
go broke in the process. Yay! Yay! Yay!
I began the month with half a tank of fuel in both my car and my
truck. I got paid on the 5th and was
able to get all of our usual monthly bills paid, buy some groceries, top off
the gas tanks in both vehicles and make my savings goals. Because our power bill was the lowest it has
been in a year I was able to put even more $$ into my savings account which is
wonderful as I still have one more balloon payment due to the orthodontist by
the end of the year. If I can pay that
off sooner, all the better!
My next payday was on the 19th.
I paid the mortgage ahead of schedule and added more $$ to my savings
accounts. I paid the last of my
daughter's medical bills with the exception of her emergency room visit. I am currently in the process of negotiating
a reduction on that one. The hospital
had me fill out some paperwork and it is currently under review. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
I worked a lot of
overtime this past month and after defrosting and cleaning out our chest freezer in the garage I used some of that money
to take advantage of a really great sale going on at the grocery store. I've got a jumpstart on restocking it for the
upcoming winter and that feels pretty darn good, I must say.
I used money from selling eggs to get the chickens a 50# bag of
feed. I also used a $50 gift card I had
earned at work plus a $10 OFF $30
Purchase coupon to buy my daughter some new bedding - a comforter on
clearance for $39.99, a mattress cover for $19.99 and a waterproof shower caddy
for $9.99 for her dorm. Final cost out
of pocket just over $13. That was pretty
much the bulk of any shopping I did.
I helped my daughter with a boatload of repairs to her car which
has saved her a ton of money. She has a very small budget and so far she has
only spent about $100 out of the $250 she set aside. We are being extra careful and working hard
to make every dollar count. We hope to
have these projects pretty well buttoned up by the time she leaves for college.
For entertainment I took the girls to breakfast on the 4th Of July
to Denny's. We ordered from their value
menu and I used my AARP card for a 15% discount off the final bill. Total spent including tip was under $15. I also treated the girls to a couple$1 movie
nights. Total spent at the movies came
in at a whopping $5! I used $15 of my pocket money at Wal-Mart on some
inflatable water toys. We used our state parks pass to go swimming and on a couple picnics so no extra money out of
pocket was spent on those adventures. Lastly, I used what was left from our entertainment budget to pay
admission into county fair (next county over).
I used money I had left from our family vacation to buy two $15 wristbands for unlimited rides. Not too much money spent on summertime entertainment
last month, but we still had a lot of fun!
Looking back we had a really great month. I honestly was dreading going into July with
all the extra bills and expenses to worry about and not knowing how things
would shake out. I was extra careful
with my spending and put in the extra hours at work to bump up my pay a bit and
it really did pay off. I feel so much
better about things right now and ready to take on August and all the
back-to-school stuff that goes along with it.
You definitely had some fun, among the busyness of life!
ReplyDeleteIt was a really good month for us
DeleteThis is a master class in frugality! We are also prepping our daughter for college (her junior year) and this year for the first time we have had to buy furniture for her new off-campus apartment with roommate.
ReplyDeleteD.
Oh mercy! That is my daughter's dream. She wants her own apartment so bad. Soon enough. :0)
DeleteI'm always so impressed with how far you make your money go, and how you still all have fun & adventures along the way. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThank you. July was a super good month.
DeleteYou did well! I need to use my AARP card more often, But, I FORGET.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, I forget about it sometimes too.
DeleteYou give me hope! I just made it through my first "bare,bare bones" month and while it was tough we made it. All the doctor bills are being taken care of so that is good. As it turns out my daughter is requiring longer care so this will continue into August and maybe beyond. I am hoping we don't get frugal fatigue from this but it can't be helped. I think you proved that the way to make it work is to build some fun into the equation. I'm sure I can find some free (or nearly free) outing for us to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI bet you can. Even a picnic can make all the difference. You can do this! :0)
DeleteCongratulations on a very successful, productive and fun month. You can flat out make that money dance!
ReplyDeleteLOL Thank you Anne!
DeleteIt sounds like you girls had a great summer... fun stuff and at a great price! You rock!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :o)
Delete