We began this month with the goal of spending less $1000 for all expenses. We are fortunate enough to have a paid off house, therefore we felt that this was something we could accomplish. I didn't have any big expenses that I could foresee for April. I paid off the tax dues last month, so the only spending categories we had to care about this month were regular expenses.
Keeping track of expenses, and consciously avoiding spending mistakes allowed us to stay under budget. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, it just required some vigilance on our part to ensure that easy mistakes wouldn't be made.
Summary of spending in April
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| Spending per category in April 2017 |
For the month of May, I intend to maintain the same budget, and spend less than $1000. I need to do a better job at managing groceries and eating out expenses. We did a great job until the 28th of this month. On the 28th, we went out to eat at a sit down restaurant, and that cost us $32 (I am generous when it comes to leaving tips). We definitely enjoyed the experience, but felt that getting take out would have been more fun, and would cost us less.
Spending in 2017 thus far
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| Spending in 2017 |