Its been a bit of a budget busting month this month, what with my sister's visit and all and the opportunities that it gave to go shopping and go out and about together. As a consequence, I did go over my budget by quite a bit, but time together is precious and I'm not going to quibble over the money I spent, as I consider it well spent.
I managed to keep much of the spending on things I/we needed or use on a regular basis, Christmas gifts for my sister's family and filling my donation box for this year's Operation Christmas Child, that needs to be handed in in a couple of weeks, but I have to admit that a few extras did slip into my shopping basket on occasions.
Starting with the positives, I was under budget in the miscellaneous category this month by just short of £10. I didn't need to spend much money on LB this month either, as there wasn't really anything much she needed, so her budget came under by £24. I did treat her to a new pair of shoes (with heels) that she really wanted and was really happy with. The only other budget that remained under spent was the home budget, which came in at £35 under budget.
In addition to these under spends, another positive was that I did put away another £100 into my savings account, so this helped to keep me on track for the year with regard to my planned savings. Over the next two months I need to put £250 into my savings account to meet my £600 or £50 per month target for the year, which may or may not be achievable, but I'll do my best.
The good news ends here though, as all other budgets were busted. Food went over by £60 approximately, which wasn't too bad in the circumstances, as we ate out quite a lot and there were four of us for most of the month, instead of the usual three. I also have lots of food left in the cupboards at home to carry over to next month, so I'm hoping to definitely rein this budget in during November.
The household/toiletry budget was very nearly kept to, but I did go over by £2. I have, however, stocked up on a few products that were running low, which should keep us going on these items for most of the next month or so.
The worst overspend was on myself, which was pretty bad really considering it was my birthday this month and I received lots of lovely presents. All told this budget was busted by just over £150.
In my defence, it is harder to keep spending in check when you are enjoying a few much awaited shopping trips together, plus any spending from now on will be on Christmas and presents for everyone else. Maybe I was subconsciously getting in a few last minute treats before the serious business of Christmas shopping begins and the opportunity to spend any money on myself is absent for a few months.
As a consequence of the above, I'm very much looking forward to trying to get on top of things in the next couple of months and staying within budget on every single count. It would be great if I could achieve this, as it would be unprecedented this year and would also help end the year on a positive financial note.
I'm already thinking that next year I want to save more and spend ever less and I am willing to set myself even bigger goals to reach next year. I'll let you know more about this when this year ends and the New Year comes around.
Anyway, enough about me, how has your October been? Did you manage to stick to your budget?
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