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I set some goals for August in this post and some of them turned out a little better than others :). I also have some goals that I’ve set for September.
My goals for August were to
- Reduce grocery spending from $198.99 to $125.00
I was able to reduce the grocery spending to $157.31, so I’m getting closer :) And I’ve got a nice stockpile of a lot of stuff, so I feel like I did ok this month even though I spent more than I planned. Hopefully this will allow me to keep my spending low in the coming periods.
- Reduce pet spending from $115.25 to $55
The pet spending actually went way up, because we had a $160 vet bill, and then another $120 or so for some medicine. I wasn’t sure when I made my August goals whether I’d be taking them to the vet in August or September, and it turned out to be August.
- Pay off card balance in full ($2259.01) thus eliminating interest fees ($43.99)
The card balance was paid off in full for most of the month, until we put $621 in car repairs on the card. So, we ended up with no interest charges (yay!) but we do have a lingering balance of $500 or so. This should be paid off this Friday. So, I’m going to say we came pretty close to meeting this goal.
My goals for September
- Consolidate & Organize Debt
We have some consolidations underway right now, and I am hoping we are able to complete the process this month. I have a balance transfer request in place that will allow us to consolidate 2 of Fiance’s high interest credit cards. And I also have a pending loan consolidation with Direct Loans that will allow me to reduce the 10 loans I have now to only 2.
I should be getting more hours at my job this month, so I’m hoping that we will have around $2500 extra to put towards our debt this month, instead of the $1500-$1700 that we’ve ended up with. I’m including our minimum payments (around $550 for each of us) as part of our fixed monthly spending. So when I say $2500 extra, that means we will really be putting close to $3500 a month toward debt repayment
I really want to hit the $125/month mark and I think its a feasible goal. Once I hit that, I’m going to try to get it down to $100/month. I ultimately hope to get this spending down to $800 a year. If
this blogger at Jane4girls can do it with a family of 4, then I should be able to do it for 2 adults and 2 dogs!
- Have a $0 card balance (on my card) at the end of the month
Our plan is to put everything on our card (for rewards) and then pay this card off in full with each paycheck. This month, we had a lingering balance because we charged stuff between the last paycheck we had and the one that is coming on the 5th. That may happen again next month, but as long as we can pay it in full by the 1st paycheck of the next month, I’ll consider this goal met.
I’d like to only spend $25 this month, since I have a decent stockpile of chicken and meat in the freezer for them. I’m also hopefully going to be getting some meat from people I know who hunt in the coming months, which I’m hoping I can build a nice stockpile from. And, when those free-or-almost-free Thanksgiving turkeys come out, I plan to buy 4 of them like I did last year and freeze them for the pups to eat until next November.
I put $45 of gas in my car yesterday. I’m really going to try to stretch that out to last the whole month. Fiance’s gas spending is relatively fixed because he drives too and from work, and that’s pretty much it. But, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to do more work from home and consolidate my trips to various stores. Plus, gas prices are a little lower, so maybe I’ll be able to do it. If I cut my gas spending in half, then our gas budget will go from around $200 to $150, freeing up more money to put towards debt
I think thats it for now, maybe I’ll have more later. And I’ll keep you updated :)
