Ahhh….finally. With the end of august comes the end of summer, the childrens are going back to school, and the weather starts to get a bit cooler. It’s also the end of the month, which means time to review the progress made in august towards becoming debt free, and re-evaluating (or creating new) goals for my budget.
Income: This is all the income that I earned during the month of August.
- Paycheck – $1,100
- Gifts – $383 – This income is not normal, and I do not budget for having it every month.
Total $1,485.90
Spending: This is how I allocated my resources during the month
- $416 on Auto and Transportation – This is the most I’ve ever spent on this category, by far. I had some things happen earlier in the summer, and now I commute to work every day. This includes insurance, gas, and some repairs that I did myself, and some that I paid to have done.
- $441 on Home – This is rent ($375) and home improvement. Im comfortable with this number, although typically this would include just rent. I built a new bookcase this month.
- $232 on Bills & Utilities – This includes water, trash, electricity and cell phone and tv/internet.
- $226 on Food – This includes grochery shopping and dining out. I believe that I budgeted for $225, so im ok with this
- $40 on Education – This is to pay to keep me in school.
- $19 on Shopping – Not too sure what I bought, which is probably not a good sign.
- $40 on Travel – Went camping in the Badlands of North and South Dakota this month. Had a great time. Totally worth it.
Total: $1,414
Difference: $71 – Not much, but it’s better than a negative number.
There has also been some exciting news reguarding my credit cards. (wooo!). As you’ll recall in my paying off credit cards with savings post, I recently paid off one of my credit cards with my savings. It was a difficult decision, but in the end it made the most sense. Due to an inturruption in my cash flow, I was going to have to use a significant portion of my savings to live off of for a time, so I figured I may as well slay one of the beasts. Boy, did it feel good. Without further ado, My credit card debt levels:
- Southwest RapidRewards Card: $0 – I paid this card off, and im more than happy about that
- Chase/WaMu Card – $2,110 – I was able to direct 300 towards this account from my savings. It’s my next target for payoff.
- Citibank – $2,472 – This card is at a 0% balance, and will be my last card to pay off. The balance ends may, 2010.
Total Debt: $4,582 Im happy to see this number getting lower, and my net worth approaching $0. Then I can start building a positive net worth! Who else is with me?!
Note: As Im still a student, this does not include my student loans, which are currently are in-school status, and will be so until ~june 2010
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