November Month Review

This is an update about where I stood in November as far as budgeting and paying down my debt.  Im hoping this will be all inclusive, but sometimes I do forget things, and will update them as I realize.

Budget For November

I do all my budgeting in mint, and its helped me greatly.  I’m not really into getting down to pencil & paper budgeting, but this has worked fairly well for me.  If you are struggling, I suggest you give it a try yourself.  If it doesnt work, move on to something different.

Rent $325 of $375 – I was able to get a discount on rent for this month for fixing a fence that the wind blew over.  It took the better part of an afternoon, but was totally worth it.

Auto Insurance $33 of $35  – Always the same, but I think my rate went down a dollar or two for my next cycle, starting in december.  Nothing to complain about there.

Groceries $99 of 110 – I was fairly close on this one, which is good.  This is just food that I buy to cook at home.

Transfer to Savings $50 of $50 – it’s great to maximize this transfer.  I set this up recurring every month, even though Im not finished paying down my debt, I still think it’s a worthy endeavor.

Fast Food – $68 of $35 –  This one obviously needs to be adjusted.  There is no sense in making your budget goals so unrealistic that you blow by them (like I did) and then feel bad for the rest of the month about missing them.  I’m thinking of raising this $10 or $15.

Gas – $189 of $200 – No, I’m still not happy about this, but due to some recent changes that I’ll detail in the future, this one will only get worse before it gets better.

For the Month, I spent $1361 out of a total of 2,330.  I’m living well below my means, and to ensure that I keep it this way, I have given myself a Monthly Budget of $1375,  with everything else going to debt repayment.

Status of Debt

My goal for this was to have the credit cards paid off before I really had to get into my student loan payments at the beginning of 2010.  Unfortunately, this didnt really work out as planned, and you can read the story about me not thinking properly here.  Just in case you were wondering, I prefer to get lessons from the school of hard knocks instead of verbal advice.  My

Chase WaMu Card 666.14 this is the one I’m most happy about.  I’ve had this card for about 5 years, and it’s been a burr in my saddle ever since.  I currently have the cash on hand to knock this one out, but I am reserving that until I get paid again, in case I will need said cash for an emergency.

Chase Southwest Card $1,534 This one was paid off in August of 2009, but I had to use it before I had the change to close it.  I had planned on paying it off with proceeds from the sale of the car, but that did not pan out.  Find the link above if you want more on that story while I cry forget about it and move on.

Citi Card2,622I’m not to worried about this, as it’s on 0% interest and does not expire until may.  It will be gone by then.

So…..how much did my debt cost me this month?  a whopping $69.  Not too happy about this, but soon enough it will be gone, and I can assure you that my lesson has been learned.


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4 thoughts on “November Month Review”

  1. I also use mint and LOVE it! It’s so hard to keep everything straight any other way. I also like mint bc it allows you to look at your own money habits realistically, good and bad. Using mint can teach you a lot about yourself!

    I also commend you for putting your situation out there. When I overspend or rack up credit card debt, I tend to hide it and I’ve learned that that only makes everything worse.

    Good luck!!

    • Im glad to find another mint user. It was eye opening (to say the least) when I first started using it. I was spending alot on fast food, then alot at the store. No more, thanks to mint.
      As far as putting my situation out there, Im think it’s for the best, other people will not feel like they are the only ones in debt, while all their friends spend money around them.

  2. Hey there. Nice to see another money/environment blogger around as well as another Mint user.

    I started using Mint in January when it was practically useless to me, but they have made so many improvements over the year that I am now really happy with it and it’s my only money management tool now.

    Good luck paying down that debt!

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