So umm, I’ve not been doing too well lately with money. I’ve incurred a lot of expenses for various things (NIN tickets, train tickets to Ottawa, T’s bachelorette, clothes) lately, and have jumped back on the diet bandwagon, so that spending has gone up as well.
Although… I’ve just updated my progress bars, and things are looking up, I think. My condo fund has been totally pillaged to pay off my credit card bill (and there’s more to pay off, too! :S) but I’ve been beefing up my other accounts at the same time.
I feel really strapped for cash, but I guess I’m not too bad off. PPP finally paid me a few bucks and another possible blog-moneymaking venture is in the works, and my Travel & Entertainment Fund (read: Vespa savings!) has increased quite a bit since my last update.
Here’s the breakdown:
(this time I remembered to write down the old amounts for comparison! Yay!)
(this time I remembered to write down the old amounts for comparison! Yay!)
Emergency Fund
Was: $585.68
Was: $585.68
Now: $987.29
Change: +$401.61
Condo Fund
Was: $3,080.92
Now: $1,086.72
Change: -$1,994.30
Travel & Entertainment Fund (Vespa)
Was: $650.58
Now: $2,076.10
Change: +$1,425.52
Random HSBC
Was: $100.00
Now: $200.24
Change: +$100.24
Wedding Fund
Was: $1,818.45
Now: $1,989.24
Change: +$79.79
Ok, that’s not too bad. Sure, the Condo Fund went down nearly $2000, but I also was able to put away a total of $2,007.16 in the other accounts. It just about evens out, but I’m still pleased that I’m still maintaining at the bare minimum. The credit card bills have been sky high so I was worried that I was actually removing money from my savings to pay it off rather than saving.
Phew! I feel better!
However, maintaining just isn’t good enough for me, so it’s time to break out the old Saver’s Skills as I like to call them. Read any personal finance blog and you’ll find them. The main ideas to saving in my books are:
Get rid of debt. If you’ve got anything outstanding, clear it out so you can start with a blank slate. This is easy for me to say since I only have a small amount I owe on my credit card, and it has not yet accrued any interest. I can knock it off quickly.
Cut costs wherever possible. This is slightly more difficult for me, but I should be able to do it. I’ve been letting my spending get the better of me lately, so it’s time to crack that whip and slash my spending! No more eating out when I have Jenny food to get through, and no more summer clothing purchases until I’ve lost more weight. I also need to try and find things to occupy myself with so I don’t get depressed and go shopping to fill the void. Instead of filling the void inside of me it just fills my apartment with clutter. Sooo not zen.
Find/create additional sources of income. This is also a tricky one for me. Making money often involves spending money, and I’m not able to do that. I’ve taken a few steps and have done some PPP ops and have tried selling some clothes on eBay, but I haven’t really made more than pocket change. I think I will continue to try those avenues, but I’m also going to call in any debts to me outstanding. My parents owe me money for a garage sale we did, and for possibly a few other things. Again, it’s only chump change, but every penny counts!
I think I’m going to make this a monthly challenge for myself, but I’m starting it now instead of in June. I won’t bother to ask any of you readers to join me as it’s a rather large challenge and is more involved than something like a grocery budget, beauty budget, retirement savings, etc. challenge. (BTW I think those are excellent!). It’s also hard to track. I’ll just report back in a month or so and let you know if any of my schemes are working.