Wow, hard to believe it is February already! Yesterday's 60 degree weather had me thinking Easter should be right around the corner! One year ago today Chicago was in the middle of the blizzard that dumped 13" of snow in a 24-hour period. Today it is warm and overcast.
January's finances were on autopilot. I was not pleased with how I managed (or didn't) the grocery budget. I feel that my budgeted amount is reasonable, but I blew it by spending money on items that weren't necessarily needed but I had coupons for. I must break hold of the allure of couponing.
Feb Goal: Stay within grocery budget!! "How?" you ask, given how much you spent last month? Menu plan and price list from Aldi's. That's it. Skip the circulars and coupons and the drama of that for the month of Feb. Plug pulled! I'm fine on dog food and personal care items, so that should give a bit of breathing room. Also transfer two Rxs from Osco to Dominick's to take advantage of their $25 off of $50 coupons.
I am pleased with the amount that we didn't spend on extraneous things. There were expenses for the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Cars, but we used 50% off coupons at Michaels. For clothing I spent just uunder $20 buying DS jeans and DH a shirt at the resale store, and buying younger daughter's swimsuit on clearance at Kohl's for $10.
Passive Income Challenge: Presently at $350 with another $81.33 coming in February.
Still waiting on federal tax refund direct deposit. Turbo Tax said 2/1 was the deposit date, with the IRS website saying 2/7. Please, give me my money back!
Gift card challenge: January I ended up redeeming points for a $10 Target Card and we got the $50 Prepaid Visa from switching our energy provider (I forgot about that so it was a nice suprise).
Financial concerns: DH is contemplating a change of career of sorts which would represent less income and I'm wondering what our long-term financial moves should be. Sell rental property and become virtually mortgage-free now? Downsize to a smaller house in the near future? Lots of things to think about and mull over. I have also found it necessary to have some boundaries in listening to other people about their money concerns because it has a sort of residual negative affect on me, causing me to worry needlessly about my own situation. Best friend is now on short-term disabilty (but I fear it is laziness that it keeping her in her present situation) and brother's situation isn't really looking up given lack of severence, lack of interest in the resumes he's putting out, and lack of things like reliable transportation and health insurance. Me oh my!
Off to catch up on others' blogs now!
Lost my long post :( Quick Recap
February 1st, 2012 at 03:43 pm
February 1st, 2012 at 03:52 pm 1328111545
February 1st, 2012 at 03:53 pm 1328111589
Thanks, ccf! I was wondering about that.
February 2nd, 2012 at 01:17 am 1328145430
This month, when the $100 is gone, it is gone. I have plenty of good food already, so really no reason to buy much more than fruit and juice.