Monday, August 3, 2009

First weekend of the challenge

This weekend was a rocky start to the Spend Less Challenge for me. I got together with three of my friends from college and their children. There are six of us who try to get together a few times a year. I always look forward to seeing everybody and hanging out. This time, we descended on Gail, who lives about three hours from me, and somewhat equidistant from the six of us.
I estimate that I spent about $30 more than I would have otherwise. Here is a breakdown of my spending (and also how much I have left in each category for the month)
Eating out: Spent $8 ( $12 left)
Groceries: Spent $18 on trip, $32 at home ($190 left)
House projects: Spent $10 ($15 left)
Misc.: Spent $12 ($13 left)
Gasoline: Spent $25 ($75 left)

We went to a storage unit sale, and I bought a metal table for my deck for $10. The $12 miscellaneous was a CD of hymns that one of the kids had made.
Overall, I didn't do great on the challenge, and I will have to be more careful to come in under budget for the month. There is a lot of month left!
To see how everyone else is doing with the challenge, head over to Sharon's. Join us!

6 comments:

Money Funk said...

Maybe not great, but not too terrible either. Like you said, you will have to be more careful, but I think you will do fine. Because you have a goal and you know what are going to have to do to reach it!

I am glad to hear you had a great get together. :)

Notes From The Frugal Trenches said...

I think you'll do really well. Good Luck!!

Sharon said...

Not bad, but did you give yourself enough money for the month?

RTC said...

Thanks, MF, Ft and Sharon. I'm not sure I gave myself enough money for the month, but I'm going to try to stick with these limits for a couple of weeks. It's tough to stick to a budget and have fun!

jpkittie said...

you didn't do horrible - stay strong, you can do it!!!

Leigh in Tennessee said...

Trying to stay on track when you are with friends or have guests is HARD. We ended up eating out Friday night with my old roommate and her husband but my fiance picked up my tab so I'm not counting it. Saturday we took my nephew to see Dora the Explorer Live in Memphis. In addition to the ticket costs, which I'd budgeted for, I spent an additonal $30 in food and gas. *sigh* It's a process right, we're learning.