March Budget and Goals

Friday, February 29, 2008

Well, as my last budget was really only the second month I had made a budget, some tweaking is in order. Here is a side-by-side comparison of my Feb budget vs. my March budget:The $900 in the "extra funds for savings" is a conservative estimate on my tax-refund. It is supposed to be $928.93, but if there is a chance that I have made a mistake, I don't want to have to take it back out of my savings.

Since I didn't spend any money on transportation and don't plan to in March either, I have lowered the amount to $10 from $20. I have a semester-long bus pass, and don't own a vehicle.

I upped my clothing budget, as I can forsee some purchases I'll have to make in the spring. I'll most likely need a couple new pairs of jeans, and some more 'summer-appropriate' clothes for work. Given that I have crappy luck buying clothes, this is probably all I'll get to spend.

As I haven't bought a book or a magazine since January, I dropped this amount to $0. I can't think of any books I need, nor any magazines that I want. I used to buy several celebrity gossip mags, but now I get all the gossip I need from Perez and Egotastic.

The miscellaneous category is left the same. I have $70 I owe my mom for my sister's birthday present, so most of that fund is gone this month.

March Goals:

I will continue to:

  • Spend $0 on food from March 1 until March 31 during work hours.
  • Tidy my room and keep it clean.
  • Keep track of my daily spending.
I will start to:
  • Spend less than $100 on groceries.
  • Use my VISA less than 5 times this month.
  • Add $1,000 to the London Fund.
  • Pack away items from room in anticipation of move
  • Start a box for donations/garage sale.

Well, those are some lofty goals, but I think I'm up to the challenge!