stick to a budget

I’m calling this done. I don’t follow my budget exactly, but I’m within my limits. It just doesn’t work for me to say something like “I have $90 to spend on clothes and $20 to spend on movies”. Some months I may not buy any clothes but I may go to lots of movies…
I’m doing very well recording where every penny goes and I haven’t bounce a check or used my credit card in months. So calling it all good.

Where do you think halloween candy fits into a budget?

Groceries – even though I won’t be eating a single peice
Gifts – it is kind of like gifts, I am giving it away
Entertaining – very much like entertaining, I’ve purchased this to give to kids in a festive type situation
Cultural events – halloween is part of our culture
Charity – they are begging for food afterall!

I don’t have room in any of these catagories! I’m going to realocate from sporting goods, but to where? I’m trying to make this as accurate as possible.

I just got the MS Money 2007 (I’d been using 2002).
There are some newer features that I think are going to help me. The “savings and spending” budget that uses broad catagories is more in line with the way my budget works. Previously I was constantly re-allocating, this should work out better.

Vacation food threw a wrench into my ‘dining out’ catagory. But between vacation and business travel I’m on track to spend very very little for grocieries and gas and electicity, so it should even out very well.

One full month on this goal and its a miserable failure. I did manage to say within my total spending limit. But some catagories (most notably food and gas) were WAY over and I made up for it by not spending anything on clothes, books, music or without having any medical expenses.

I will be doing some resturcturing, but I’m not sure how it will shake out. I may just never get a new pair of jeans ever again.

September will bring much traveling which kind of makes this all hard to judge.

Its only the 16th and I’ve almost exhausted my dining out fund! Eeek. This is just not realistic for me. I’m going to have to make some modifications.

But I’ve not been following it. The last couple months I had some extra income. That is stopped now, so I don’t have the extra wiggle room to go over.

I’m trying to stick to it as close as possible. In another couple months I’ll reevaluate and see if my alocations are realistic.