Despite the month of August being bang in the middle of the summer holidays, this month has been much less of a disaster than last month, I am pleased to say. Whilst I haven't had any money left over at the end of the month or any such thing, I have managed to keep within a couple of the budgets I set myself, as well as putting aside a little more money into savings.
We've managed a few inexpensive outings with LB and I've bought more items in readiness for her return to school, i.e. school skirts, bag, etc. There were still a few inexpensive things to purchase though, so these were bought this weekend out of the new September budget and she's all set for school now save for one thing.
I ordered her some glasses at the opticians, but when I called to see if they'd come in, they said they'd already been collected. I insisted they hadn't been collected by us, but I'm not sure they believed me, which was irritating. Why else would I ring? I'm not a person who would try to con them out of an extra pair. Anyway, they were going to re-order the lenses and get me a pair made up this week, but not in time for her first day back. We'll have to see if they do.
Anyway, I digress, the food budget was a bit over the £400 budget set this month, namely by £58.58 to be exact, but I'm getting closer all the time to keeping within it, so I'm pretty okay with that.
Home expenditure came in under budget, as I only spent £33 out of a possible £50, the majority of which was on a small rug for our bedroom floor, plus a few miscellaneous bargain bits from IKEA and TKMAXX.
I also managed to come under budget in the Household/Pet/Garden/Toiletry budget, only by £5.88, but this has not happened for quite a few months now, as I always seem to overspend in this category, so I was pretty pleased about this. Next month, I will need to buy some more bulk eco laundry liquid, but otherwise I'm pretty well stocked up on most things to see me through September.
Finally, the main budget that was busted this month, was my personal budget. I got a bit self-indulgent and bought myself a pair of TOMS trainers in their online sale. It's something that I've been wanting to purchase for a while, so I was pretty happy about that. There were also a few other purchases of second hand books. a moleskin notebook for my handbag and a pair of hareems for wearing to the gym, (which I purchased from another ethical company).
I'm not beating myself up too badly about the £60 overspend here, as I've spent very little on myself for the last few months. I will, however, be trying to rein myself in on this budget next month. A haircut will be the main expenditure here I hope, as it is desperately needed and there is very little, if anything, left on my personal wish list.
My financial intentions for next month are to put some more money into my savings account, finish buying LB's back to school necessities (Now done, save for some over the knee socks which I couldn't find), pay for LB and myself to have a hair cut (hers done, mine still to do) and stock up on a couple of things that we are running low on. I also have a dentist appointment, so that may incur some costs, depending on how much treatment I need. Any other purchases are completely dependent upon how much money is left after paying for all of the above and if there isn't any, then it's going to be a basic low spend month.
As Christmas is now approaching, I am mindful that I need to start thinking about gift purchasing to spread the cost. I think this may more realistically kick in properly in October, I may do some Christmas gift shopping with my sister when she comes and send some things back with her for her family. (If she has room in her suitcase of course!)
It's been a definite improvement on last month and next month it would be wonderful to come under budget in every category. I know that this is largely within my own control, so I need to make an extra special effort to make it happen. I'll keep you posted on progress.
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