April ended up being a pretty tight month for us money-wise. Being self-employed can be unpredictable at times, especially right now. So we were not able to meet all our goals.
You can go here if you missed last months set of goals.
April Overview:
Okay, for the good news first - we bought a new to us SUV that is big enough for our expanding family, and paid cash for it! I was pretty sad to see our other car go because I loved it, but I really like the new one too and am so happy that we will never have to make payments on it :)
Goal #1 - Unfortunately, we put no money into savings. It was a tight month for us and we had more financial obligations than normal with a couple family birthday's, a birthday party for my son, baby and wedding showers plus a vacation! We just got back yesterday so I haven't totaled up what we spent, but it was less than $1000 for a week in Hawaii including air fare and hotel. If any of you have been there, you know that's pretty good. It's expensive there!
Goal #2 - Met! I paid all the mortgages on time. I think that's the first time I've done that since I've been tracking my financial goals. Yay!
Goal #3 - Met! I had the accountant file an extension on our taxes.
Goal #4 - Didn't meet this one either. Some, but not all business charges were paid this month. I'm hoping I can catch that up this month.
As for the envelopes, we stayed within our budget this month, but I'm not sure on the totals because all the extra money we had left over we took with us on vacation.
May Goals
This month I have 5 family members with birthdays, Mother's Day and my brother is getting married so it's looking to be another month heavy on the expenses.
I also need to get working on Journey's new room (entails paint, blinds, dresser and decorations). Luckily, since I'm having another girl, I don't need to do much to Journey's current room (will be the new babies), just a new bumper pad.
1. Pay all mortgages on time
2. Catch up on the business credit card charges I didn't pay last month and pay off all current charges.
3. Put $500 into savings
4. Contact accountant about taxes (I keep telling myself it has to be done by August!)
5. Catch up on work that needs to be done in the office
So there they are. I'm keeping them simple and hopefully doable. I'll be filling the cash envelopes with $250 for groceries, $350 for household (including gifts) and $250 for dining out.
Erika
4 comments:
I really want to know how you went to Hawaii so cheap. We really want to go as a family, but are fearful of the price. If you could let me know of come cost cutting things you did we would be so happy. Thanks Bree
jimnbree@comcast.net
Bree,
Honestly, we don't have many travel secrets. We were able to do the trip for that cheap because we used our airline miles to pay for both our plane tickets as well as our hotel. We didn't rent a car because we stayed downtown Waikiki and they have a good bus system (and we walked A LOT!).
Basically we paid for food and entertainment. We also did go to a timeshare presentation while we were there. They always sucker us in :) They are usually worth it to us because we spend 2-3 hours with them and then get a $200+ activity for free. This time we got a dinner cruise for free.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you are able to take your family there on vacation. It was a blast.
Erika
I am just wondering.. are you doing the Dave Ramsey program? We are, and loving it!!
We've never done the Dave Ramsey program, but I've heard a lot about it. I'm not sure how well it would work for us being self employed because our expenses and income are changing monthly.
Erika
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