Monthly Month Check-in: June 2012

I was just feeling bad about not making as much progress as I'd hoped, when I decided to compare really calculate how far I've come in an Excel column called “Situation Improved By:” It compares my net worth now with my net worth when I started my money rehab in October 2011. The situation has officially improved by $8,055. 

That's an average of $1,000 a month I'm putting toward saving in my 401(k) or paying off debt. Damn. Go me. Ok, so I still can't keep four digits in my bank account, but I'm working around it, and I'm making progress. 

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Planning ahead is almost the most important thing. Convenience costs money. 

So I have two vacations back to back, and I was sensing a possible disaster. But on the first one I did pretty damn well. We went to a music festival, where I would normally buy every little trinket on sale, drink $9 beers, and eat their crappy $10 quesadillas.

But the boyfriend and I actually went to the grocery store. We actually got stuff for good sandwiches -- sopressata and sliced gouda and even napkins and paper plates. We spent about $100 and it fed us for the weekend. Our only sin was two ill-advised $14 margaritas that tasted like a kid puking up Kool-Aid. I wanted a sweatshirt but decided to wait on the purchase, then I ended up buying one the next night when I was freezing. I've been in the market for a new hoodie anyway. It’s nice to be able to solve the problems that can be solved by money, because you actually have some.

And, the leftovers provided almost a week of lunches.

The AllRecipe app is the shit.

Part of me has this resistance to planning ahead, because planning ahead sometimes means putting down a chunk of change. Like grocery shopping, you're going to spend $100, at least. And that seems like a lot, even though the smarter part of you knows that you'll spend more on a $15 lunch here and a $25 dinner there. Last night we actually went grocery shopping, using Allrecipe.com's shopping list and accompanying app, which worked like a charm. 

I also have this resistance to getting out the $150 for spending money for the week (that has not been going well, btw.)

It’s like I don’t want to take that chunk out of my bank account. Somehow it feels like I’ll spend less if I don’t get that money out, which is BS. 

Here are the graphs for the month. A slowing down of paying off debts, but still on the way up! (Grr that stupid dip in the middle!)

I'm into the -$50,000s. Woohoo!

One of my retirement accounts took a $600 hit, I noticed. I was hoping to have my boyfriend paid back by now but it hasn't happened. Slow and steady is what I'm going for!