The One Month Challenge: June 2009
So here’s the deal, put all your debit and credit card purchases on an Excel sheet and see where you’re money’s going. Use that knowledge to set goals.
Rent/Daycare/Medical: 27% (down 11%)
Entertainment: 21% (up 5%)
Car: 14% (nearly tripled!)
Fast Food: 10% (down 5%)
Dining Out: 10% (doubled!)
Groceries: 9% (down 3%)
Gifts & Merchandise: 6% (slight increase)
Transit & Grooming: 3% (slight decrease)
This month’s numbers are going to be heavily skewed by 2 factors: concert tickets and car repair but I still think some useful information can be gleaned.
Rent/Daycare/Medical is down just because other areas are increased. Entertainment is up due to concert tickets although not as large an increase as I expected although that’s partly due to free movies from my Scene card. Car is tripled due to repairs. Fast Food is down I would like to believe due to better diligence on my part. Dining out doubled because it’s that part of the year where everyone and their dog have something to celebrate. Groceries are down care of Mindi taking on some of that burden which is nice.
So for goals I think getting Entertainment and Dining Out costs down is a good idea however this probably won’t require much action from me. Entertainment was inflated by the concert tickets and I’m now working full-time so I have less free time to be entertained. Dining Out was inflated due to a seasonal slew of celebrations which have now come to a close, and again working more means less time to eat out.
So overall it was a weird month that produces goals that will largely take care of themselves.
My goal from last month was to cut down on fast food spending, mission accomplished both in terms of percentage and dollars spent – yay me. Had I not done that I’m sure I’d be much worse off than I am now. My secondary goal was to cut Entertainment spending…but who could have predicted the Pet Shop Boys concert?
