Wow, this month has a lot of positives and negatives.
This was the first month we didn’t spend exorbitant amounts on home improvement. We did pay $500 to have our woodstove and chimney cleaned and repaired, but other than that, it was a “normal” month in terms of home expenses. Oh, and filling our oil tank, which I somehow didn’t plan for. However, this month we had dropped our retirement contributions to re-fill some of our savings accounts, and it was able to help cover some of these expenses also.
Big victories for October:
We only spent $260 at restaurants. I was aiming for less than $200, but we had a hefty storm on October 29th and lost power, so we had to go out to eat on October 30th.
We didn’t buy anything we didn’t need for the house. I’ve found that with a new house (rented or bought), it can be easy to add everything to your list as a “need.” We “need” a new table for the entryway. We “need” a new area rug. Instead, I’ve added all of these in my wish list category in YNAB, and it’s realistically telling me that we cannot afford them right now, so don’t buy them.
We transferred our cable account to Eric’s name so we could get the promotional discount back. Long-term, this will save us over $600 in the next 12 months.
Things to work on in November:
Honestly, I want to say our grocery budget will even out in November, but I might be lying. We had to throw away every single thing in our fridge and freezer, and I didn’t file a claim with my insurance because I would hate for it to go up over $200 worth of food. But it does mean that I am slowly and surely buying all of those sauces and staples all over again. It also means that the $100 grocery trip I had on October 28th was useless. Luckily, we’re not hosting Thanksgiving, so I can probably get away with bringing cookies and a bottle of wine.
I need to spend less on myself. My fun money has been dipping into my savings pretty consistently, and it means that I am just overspending on silly things for myself. I need to set some little goals to save just a little bit more of that. Especially because we use our fun money to fund Christmas gifts for each other, and at this rate, Eric’s gonna get a handmade card and a kiss.
Retirement savings:
I mentioned that we reduced our contributions. It won’t look that way because the Navy paid out Eric’s re-enlistment bonus, and also paid the 25% into his TSP. Total contributions for October were $2729.46. We’re closing in on 6 figures for our total retirement savings balances, and I’m hoping that if the market cooperates, we can hit it by January or February.
We’re also shifting our goals and gears a bit with savings. We recently added a 3rd car into our family, which seems horribly wasteful, but Eric has an old truck that is paid off and he loves. It just doesn’t really work in the long term to be his only car, so we bought him a littler car that gets exceptional gas mileage. However, it means as of right now, we have two car payments. That doesn’t line up with our long-term goals, so we are pushing any additional funds to pay off both car loans as soon as possible. This means no more additional principal on our mortgage (which has a lower rate than Eric’s car), and a lot less to retirement accounts for the time being. After we pay off the first loan, we will re-evaluate.
It’s amazing to me how much financially can change month to month. If you’re struggling to stay on track financially, my suggestion would be to start a blog or a journal. It doesn’t have to be intense. But having somewhere to write and share and reflect on the goals you’ve set over time is extremely motivating. It keeps me on track to be responsible because I know I have to answer to it.
Anyways, here’s to an awesome November! Every day is a chance to improve our budgets and our financial lives.
