Weekly Financial Check Up: May Week 3
Every Friday I post on my weekly income and expenses in an effort to keep on track of my budget for the month. By breaking down my transactions on a weekly basis I can see where my money is going and see if I am going to be able to stay under my total budget for the month.
I bought more food this week and I am now over the food budget by $9.25. Since I am working with a rolling budget I will see if that amount can come from the remainder of the gas budget since I have been under the gas budget for the last few months. As long as I am under the total budget for the month I will be ok even though I have gone over the food budget.
(Working on) Reorganizing My Things And My Life
I recently had a very bad wake up call and it has been weighing heavily on my mind. I have been feeling overwhelmed with a few things lately and this one major event has pushed me further into a negative head space. I need to make a few changes in my life in order to be able to get back into the positive mindset that I was in previously.
During the last part of the semester I have had books and papers piled everywhere and my desk is a mess. I decided to begin cleaning out papers and things that I don’t need and then realized that I need not only a physical clearing out but also a mental and emotional one as well.
Books
I have to go through the books that I am not going to need in the future and see what I can sell off. This will not only clear up much needed space in my tiny apartment for new books, but it will also free up some cash that I can use towards buying new textbooks for my upcoming classes.
5 Small Ways To Save Big
Every day we think about ways to save money and think that it is just too hard sometimes. It often seems that the more you try to save the more the unexpected expenses keep piling up. Pretty soon you are so caught up in the day to day drudge of paying bills and buying food that you even forget that you need to save.
Here are a few simple ways that you can save without having to think about it all the time. You don’t have to worry about actually taking the time to save because by simply making the following a part of your daily life you will eliminate the ‘I have to save’ mentality and you will just start saving automatically.
Finally Bought Gas
I have been averaging only having to buy gas about every two months. This is because I live close to school and take the campus shuttle most days. It is included in my tuition and fees and student parking is not only horrendous but you still have to take a shuttle from the parking lot anyway.
I have been very fortunate (or cursed, depending on how you view it) to not have to travel much to hang out with friends. Usually we will be on campus and decide to walk to a place that is nearby to eat. In other cases someone will just swing by my apartment to pick me up and I don’t even have to spring for gas.
I normally fill up when my tank gets to about half full because I don’t ever want to be caught in a situation where I need to get gas on the run. This time it was a little below half and I spent $39.65 to fill it up!
Although this is almost half of the gas budget for the month, I did not buy gas last month so I have that extra amount to roll over to this month just in case the price of gas goes sky high or I do decide to get in some extra driving.
I will also earn cash back on the gas that I needed to buy anyway so there is a silver lining to the shock of the high bill on this purchase.
Finals And Light Posting
Hey everyone,
I have finals coming up this week and next week so posting will be lighter than usual for most of the next few days. I will resume the normal posting schedule once I am done with exams!!!
Until then, keep monitoring your budgets and try to find new ways to save money.
