Hey, y’all! It has been WAYYY too long since I’ve sat down to curate my little corner of the internet. And I have to admit, I really miss it. I had three friends mention to me last week that it has been awhile since I’ve posted. And it has. And I have no excuse other than just letting life get in the way. I can’t make any promises that I won’t continue to post sporadically, but I’m here now so let’s get down to business…..to defeat, the Huns 😉

Essential (59% of income)
I’m pretty proud of our essential spending for the month. We came in under budget on groceries at $886 and most of our usual essential spending was either at or under budget. The only reason this percentage is relatively high is because we had almost $2000 in medical bills from Ryan’s appendectomy in August. We also did a bit more spending than usual for the kids. Toddlerdom meant it was time to upgrade the car seats as well as get a training potty for each child so we could begin the long road towards potty training!

Lifestyle (13% of income)
While we kept grocery costs low, we balanced it out with some much higher than average restaurant costs. $325 total in prepared foods. $149 of that dining out is a mix of Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, McDonalds, and a few meals out with friends. The other $176 is PF Chang’s…..so you now where our (aka Ryan’s) weakness lies. I’m honestly a bit perturbed by these high costs. We also had some high costs in the personal care department…..that’s allll me. I got a hair cut for the first time in over a year, and I bought a new styling tool. Since I only wash my hair once a week, it tends to look a bit blah a couple days in. Adding a 2″ curling iron into the mix has been really fun. There was also my monthly Beautycounter order which totaled $125. If BC would just start making toothpaste & deodorant, I wouldn’t have to purchase consumable beauty products from anyone else #thedream

Goal (28% of income)
We were able to save a bit more this month despite the additional medical costs and new car seats thanks to it being a 3-paycheck month. Don’t you just love those! This percentage is nowhere near where I want it to be, but I’m glad to finally have a month where something is going into short term savings.

Next Month Projections
Seeing as that we are more than halfway through the month already, these “projections” are pretty accurate. And I’m “projecting” we are going to go over budget. We’ve actually already exceeded our budget for the month. And it’s due to a variety of purchases – vehicle tools & parts, cable TV that was way more expensive than expected, bedding for the twins, items for the fireplace (grate, screen, and tools), and a new winter jacket (for me). But we also sold Ryan’s truck! Which I’m excited about, but it still doesn’t make me feel better about going over budget. So with 14 days left in the month, I’m capping our remaining spending at $500.

Any cheap and healthy dinner recipes you wanna share to help me meet my goals? Any areas of your budget you need help with? Let me know! Thanks for reading!