by Hope
Month two of tracking my spending. There is certainly some variance from my forecast due to the last minute trip to Texas and some medical expenses plus an unexpected refrigerator repair. But overall, I was able to stick pretty close to the forecast.
| Date | Category/Payee | Anticipated Amount | Actual Spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09-01-2024 | Groceries / Hygiene / Dogs / Gas | -500 | -230 |
| 09-02-2024 | Auto Insurance | -1346 | -1346 |
| 09-02-2024 | Amazon CC | -1391 | -1412 |
| 09-03-2024 | Mortgage | -1015 | -1015 |
| 09-03-2024 | Investments | -350 | -350 |
| 09-03-2024 | EF Savings | -790 | -790 |
| 09-03-2024 | Travel Savings | -500 | -500 |
| 09-04-2024 | City Utilities – varies | -150 | -100 |
| 09-05-2024 | Princess rent for Oct | -750 | -750 |
| 09-09-2024 | Electric – varies | -250 | -359 |
| 09-14-2024 | Verizon | -350 | -312 |
| 09-20-2024 | Kids’ Contributions | 1215 | 512 |
| 09-20-2024 | Frontier CC | -130 | -127 |
| 09-26-2024 | Windstream | -71 | -71 |
| Medical – Dr Visits | -394 | ||
| Refrigerator – repair | -120 | ||
Next month will pretty much be a wash as far as my debt payoff journey goes. But November will be full speed ahead again.
I am making calls about getting health insurance. Georgia is a terrible state for health insurance. The options are just terrible. And I still have to make a decision about my life insurance.
What the Future Holds
I’ve already forecasted out through the end of 2025. But with my new income and housing plan, I am beginning to revisit it. Plan for how to be completely debt free next year. And have a substantial emergency fund. I am planning to maintain my current savings plan through the end of the year. Then revisit beginning in January.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
