Well the new year is right around the corner and it will soon be time to make resolutions once again. I have a few big resolutions that I would like to make but I want to break them down into smaller and more manageable chunks so that they will be easier to handle.

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to have a balanced budget. Usually I just want to stay under my total budget and I have been doing a good job of that every month. This time around I want to stay under EVERY category because I have been going over some categories even while staying under the total.

I managed to stay under in electricity every month because of my current housing situation but I have been ‘borrowing’ from the extra in the budget by going over a little on food every month.

This is not very good on my part because although my total numbers look good I have still been a bit irresponsible by going over different categories.

I will be monitoring my budget even more closely in the upcoming year because I need to take note of individual categories since I already know that I can stay under the total budget. I will have to make a greater effort to keep each category, especially food and household expenses, under control and not feel that I have wiggle room that I can play around with so much.

It will mean that I have to make a few sacrifices but it should not be too bad since I basically have everything that I need in my current living situation. I plan on renewing my lease here so I will not be moving for the next year and there is only so much I can fit in my tiny apartment without it being cluttered.

I will attempt to use the month of December 2012 as the testing phase for staying under budget in each category so that I have a good idea of where I need to focus my attention.