April Wallet Watch

Back in March, Steph created this April Wallet Watch linkup. I loved this idea because there were no "set" rules- you could make up your own. The main thing that I noticed during this month was how much I was spending and in what categories. It was a bit of an eye opener. 

I decided on 3 simple rules: track spending, no unnecessary/non-budgetted purchases, and stick to my budget. I'm glad I only had three rules- even sticking to those were hard at times! Here's the recap...

My Rules:

-track spending daily: (mostly) Success!

I did this. If I was using cash, I noted it in my phone on the same day (otherwise I know I would have forgotten). If I was using my card, I was able to just double check the statement. Except I hate checking my account. So a few days might have gone by without me checking.

Solution: I set an alarm on my phone to check my account every MWF.

- no unnecessary/non-budgeted purchases (gift cards not included): (mostly) Success!

The only thing I bought was a round trip train ticket because I couldn't find my transit pass, and a gift for my friend who had a baby. Oh, and I "bought" Gravity, so that will be added to my cable bill which I'll be paying for this month. Also, I did get my couch (finally), and it was $200 UNDER budget! #winning. I didn't use any gift cards, mainly because I usually am terrible and spend a little more than the gift cards are worth. I decided it was best if I just didn't walk into any stores, and delete all shopping related emails.

- stick to budget: Fail. 

I was under my grocery budget, which was set at $60. I guess buying some non-perishables at the Dollar Store really helped! And I paid all my bills, but that was it.

I failed the most miserably in the eating out/entertainment category. Week 1 was probably the worst for me. There were THREE unexpected (non-budgeted for) nights out, because two people who were unexpected came into town, and my work wife quit. Which meant eating/going out aka completely blowing my eating out/entertainment budget. Actually, the first outing only cost $20, because I was careful choosing what I got, didn't get any drinks, and got a free appetizer (thanks Yelp!).

But then my friend and her fiance came up for the weekend completely out of the blue, and I haven't seen them since last summer, so we went out. And my other friend quit, so we went out. One night I spent too much- the night my friend finally was able to go out because her bf was watching the baby. It was one of the very few times she was able to get a night out, and we took full advantage. (Which didn't end up well for her or my wallet, but that's another story.)

Overall, I think I did pretty well. I'm going to continue this through May and see if I can do a bit better. One thing that will help is that there are basically events every single weekend, so I know what I will be spending for them. Less free time = less frivolous spending in my case.

I've redone my budget, since I had to add a "Gift" category for May (hello, Mother's Day, a baptism, an engagement party, my Godson's graduation from Kindergarten, and 2 birthdays!). I think I need to be a little more realistic regarding my entertainment/eating out category. Or maybe separate the two. Plus, I need to save for an upcoming mini-vacation.

Do you budget? How did you do?