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30 May 2011

Bits and pieces

Happy Memorial Day!  :)


Today is my parents' 52nd wedding anniversary.





 We made it thru the weekend without too much snow.  Friday and Saturday were beautiful.  Yesterday was cold with a wind that took my breath away and we did get a little snow but it didn't stick.  Last night the temp fell to just below 20F, but checking the apple tree today, it doesn't seem to have effected it too much.  It looks as though we will be having a good chance of a few apples this year. 

Memorial Day weekend is a huge weekend for yard/garage/rummage sales here.  Duane and i went out both Friday and Saturday mornings for a couple of hours, but i over-did it and have had to do a lot of resting since.  


It is hard to want to do so many things and see so many things that need to be done in our house, yard, and garden, and know that i MUST rest or i will get very ill.


I came across this blog post today:  How to make a budget even if you hate making budgets.  We have been working on trying much more diligently to save.    I am doing much better managing money since i began reading The Simple Dollar a couple of years ago.  However, i have struggled with keeping track of expenses, etc.  I get started at keeping track, but then get bogged down.


The "how to make a budget . . . " post really inspired me to give it a try.  Duane has been telling me for some time that we spend what we bring in.  We are not going into debt, but we are not saving.  I denied it.  And especially for the past 6 weeks or so i have been working very hard at saving - putting money into our savings account.  It is, in fact quite amazing how much i've been able to transfer to savings in such a short time. 


Duane and i also decided to give ourselves an allowance.  


Since i love to craft, i tend to spend money on it.  I now have a set amount to spend.  If i save it, well, all the better, but when i run out, well, i am done.  He has the same amount to use on his own projects as well.  May was our first month of doing this, and i did pretty well until the end of the month.  I am starting June with only half my amount because i spent half of June already.  Sigh.  But it is a start.  :)


Anyway, i spent most of this afternoon making notes on our income and expenses.  I went back 6 months to 1 December to do this.  The result on paper is pretty much what Duane said:  We are spending just about what we are bringing in.  However, i don't think those numbers tell the whole story.


 
I've noticed that we are spending much more on gas since we drive That Jeep so much!  I also noticed that my expenses in crafting are in line with what i am now given in my "allowance," however, i know i spent quite a bit more than that in cash.  :(


So i know that my numbers and accounting is not "clean."  The result is i think i'll be more inclined to keep accurate records now.  I know we spend a lot of money on food, but those numbers are inflated as i often get cash for other things when i check out at the grocery.  In fact, a number of things rather cross over.  I know i pay for many things with cash.  Some things have gotten put in with the grocery or miscellaneous numbers because i cannot tease them out with simply the info online from the bank.  I am sure that the savings is hidden in these numbers, but i cannot prove it.  


Anyway, those numbers certainly give me the motivation to keep better records.  

So, that was our weekend.  How was yours?  Did you do anything exciting with your long weekend?  Do you have friends or family members you remember on this day formerly known as "Decoration Day"?  My family in the Southeast still decorates the gravestones of family members on this day. 

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6 comments:

Amrita said...

Good to hear about your weekend.

Ours was a hot but peaceful one. We are enjoying the company of Sonia and Abner.

Wish we could get some of you snow LOL.


That big jeep is using too much gas it seems.

lisa said...

Doing a budget for us is impossible! First you have to have the money saved back to get on one and then the next problem is sticking to it. I have tried it a million times and can't seem to do it, so, don't feel bad. We decided we can't take our money with us so we might as well enjoy it now while we can. We both have retirements so that is good. We figure maybe we will be able to do it a little easier once the kids are out of the house but I don't hold my breath and as long as I can pay my bills we are good.

Kathryn said...

Hi Amrita, i wish i could send you a cool breeze! Hope you have a great time with your company. Yes, That Jeep takes a lot of gas!

Lisa - i'm not trying to change anything about how we spend money (currently) except to limit my craft spending. I'm simply trying to track it and where it goes right now. (Sneaky stuff tends to slide between my fingers!)

I think it is easier for us because we don't have kids. Although, i noticed that we had a number of kid-related expenses from our rent a kids in the past 6 months. :)

I'm thankful we are able to pay our bills, too.

Have a great week!

Imaginography said...

Making a budget and sticking to it is so disciplined of you - good on you! It sounds like it's having a positive result with you being able to save. Good luck! :)

Bev said...

Snow on Memorial Day? Yikes!

We do all our budgeting with the Crown Financial software which is helpful. What's hard for me is if I find a good bargain, I want to buy it whether the "budget" tells me it's OK or not. :)

Dustytoes said...

I didn't do anything for the holiday weekend - as usual! So funny that you have morning glory flowers at the top and I just posted about the same flower.
Good luck with your budgeting. I find that it is much easier to save now that I don't have a husband spending all the money as he pleases.
But I don't recommend ditching the hubby to save - LOL..!!