Budget Challenge- August Recap & September Goals

Can you believe that it’s almost September?! Where did the August go? Where has the year gone?! This picture of my boys, I feel, is the perfect end to summer.

But I’m not ready for summer to go! I’m not ready for the cold weather, and the boots and sweaters, and the cute Halloween costumes and snow. Ok, I may be ready for some of that; just not everything that the end of summer brings. Not only is it the end of summer but it’s also the end of my first ever Budget Challenge. How did the month go for you? Did you hit your goals? Did you make new ones? Did you learn anything new?

I learned something new…Jeremy (my husband) and I are never allowed to watch the Disney Channel again! Long story short, we saw an interview with a toy maker and thought that our boys NEEDED these toys so we spent an entire weekend driving around buying Every. Last. One. So needless to say, I did not include these toy trips into the budget challenge. Jeremy has had to work a little overtime this month so we figured we could spend a little bit of extra money.

I didn’t post an update last week and I apologize. It has taken me longer than I though to set-up my new site but I am LOVING being on WordPress and having my own domain! You’re reading the very first post I’ve done on here. What do you think of it?! I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how I can make it even better!

So here’s the breakdown for the last 2 weeks and the monthly total:

Balance from week 2: $184.08

Smith’s: $91.12

Costco: $35.64

Franz Bakery Outlet: $.81

Total for the Month: $311.65

So I went over budget a bit. I don’t feel too bad though because we did buy quite a few snacks and toys for the boys (all the toys we bought were included except for the ones we got that weekend). I did realize that I probably am not budgeting enough for snacks…If I am not going to be making them. I read a great post over on Oh Sweet Basil how to lose the mommy pouch… and there was a paragraph that stuck with me. It basically said that if you eat food with long shelf lives, there’s obviously not so good things in them that make them last longer and those not so good things stay longer in you too. It is a great article you should definitely read it…whether you are wanting to lose weight or not. But it made me think of all the things we eat. Dinners and breakfasts are almost always made from scratch so I wasn’t worried there. But what about everything else we eat through out the day?

So that is going to be my #1 goal for September… make more healthy snacks. No more buying Hot Pockets, or Totino’s Pizzas, or Doritos. I am going to (attempt to) make all our favorite snacks from scratch. Not only will it cost much less but I think we will feel better too. I don’t think the boys or Jeremy have a problem with feeling bad/tired; but I know by the time 2pm hits I am almost always in a slump. I’m hoping by creating more snacks that don’t have so much ~~crap~~ not so healthy ingredients in them I will have more energy.

Goal #2- Spend no more than $60 eating out. Just like with goal #1 I always feel sluggish after eating out. We hardly ever, like 3 or 4 times a year, go out to eat at an actual restaurant but we do make the frequent McDonald’s trip or late night Sonic run (darn you half price shakes!) I am being realistic… I know right now we can’t completely cut these out, and financially we don’t need to, but I would like to be able to save those few extra dollars and use it for something more enjoyable than french fries and burgers… Like our upcoming California trip!

Goal #3- Spend no more than $325 on groceries. I gave myself a little extra wiggle room until I get the whole making all things from scratch thing down. That way if there are some extra things I have to buy I’m not feeling like I have to cut other things out. Plus I know I need to buy flour at Costco.

What goals do you have for September? I would love to hear them so we can keep each other accountable! Have a great week and a great month!