I cannot BELIEVE it is the end of October already. I just don't know where all of the time is flying...! We didn't do too great this month, but in a way I expected that. Our anniversary was earlier this month, and my husband went ALL OUT and sent me to the spa, and then cooked a gourmet dinner at home. That cost a pretty penny, or two. Then last week I got into major hibernation mode and didn't want to do much but sleep through the week. As a result we barely had dinners, much less leftovers...so we ended up eating McDonald's for most of the weekend when my husband had duty. Not only is it unhealthy, it's also expensive.
As horrible as our spending habits sound, we still managed to put away $450 in addition to our monthly savings commitment of $600. That commitment is actually factored into our budget, so our total cost figure is actually misleading because we didn't spend it all.
All of this was thanks to the extra income that we had this month. I purposefully aim low when it comes to my husband's paycheck - total difference is only about $50, but I like to budget for wiggle room. Then we got his uniform bonus that was actually worth something for a change. I also had around $50 in rebates this month. That's not exactly "income" since I had to purchase something to get the rebate, but they were all deals or money-makers. Besides, from a math standpoint, they were already counted into last month's spending already.
We didn't exactly stick to budget this month, but I almost have a breakdown when I think about the last two months of the year. My grandmother is flying in from overseas for a visit, and she's going to fly over to our house along with my parents for Thanksgiving. And because my aunt and uncle and cousins haven't seen her in probably a decade, they're going to come too. In other words, I have a small family reunion on my hands for Thanksgiving. My family isn't expecting some elaborate feast and 900 count Egyptian cotton, but the inevitable extra outings will surely put a dent in our budget.
Then in December, we've been told that we have no choice but to fly home to California for Christmas. People want to see my adorable baby. Family members have graciously offered to chip in for our plane tickets, and they'll provide a place to stay and food to eat, but either way we can expect to go way over budget. The dogs will have to be boarded, and that won't be cheap. The phone calls I'm going to make to make sure they're doing okay every 3 hours probably won't come cheap either =P. We've been given a pass on buying presents on everyone (just stick a bow on the baby's head), but I'm not so sure about that. I'd feel bad receiving a thousand presents and giving nothing.
Oh, and my husband thinks he'll be transferred sometime in January. Which means another round of crazy moving costs, and waiting some 9 weeks for our moving money. Hopefully the moving company will be nice this time and NOT break $3000 of our stuff.
Life will be very insane for the next 3 months, but it will all be worth it. I can't wait to see my family again, and it'll be nice to be home for Christmas. And depending on where my husband transfers, life will get very good (think Hawaii...or San Diego). That is, if I remain sane enough to enjoy it.
3 comments:
I would LOVE to hear how you are saving that much money in a month?? Do you not have any debt or other large payments? Great Job!!
We do not have any debts. We managed to become debt-free thanks to an auto-accident settlement (mixed blessing). We didn't have much, and was able to settle our debts AND buy a new car. We charge everything on one CC for their cash-back, but pay it off month-to-month.
It's a matter of thought process. We don't buy ANYTHING that we can't afford, and getting money out of savings is not even an option for us. It was hard at first, but now it's a habit.
Do you have the inclination or the time to make, bake or cook little presents that you could give to your family? Then you wouldn't have to spend a lot of money but could still give a little token.
I've got a few things on my fledgling blog already and will be adding more as we get closer to the holiday. I think I'm going to make turtles this year. I'm going to buy some caramels in the after-Halloween sale, if possible, which will bring the costs down even more. Bath salts are also a fairly inexpensive thing to make and I've got a great "recipe" for homemade sidewalk chalk.
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