Goodbye June, Hello Summer!

All of a sudden, it's very hot around here! I have been very busy and trying to adjust to the new schedule we all have for the summer. As I have just started working part time and my son has changed seasonal activities there has been a lot of juggling of routines. This has made the budget and menu planning particularly interesting because more responsibility has shifted to my husband in the cooking department, except the last week, which I was flying solo and subsisted off pantry fixin's and fresh veggies. The boys won't east couscous and chick peas, but I enjoyed simple cooking for a few days on my own.

For June, we set some goals for the month to see if we could be disciplined enough to really reign in our finances on our own. We have several long term goals but for now, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step, or five I should say.
The goals for June were:

1. Keep all receipt for 30 days, all purchases, no matter how small. Write down expenses that do not have receipts.

This was done far above and beyond my expectations, I was able to account for almost every purchase in the month of June.

2. Try to use cash instead of debit.

We have a way to go here, I noted many small purchases under &15 so I set that as a limit. Under $15, pay cash. Seems to work, though I'd rather it was higher limit, like at least $20, but compromise is key. As I said, small steps.

3. Keep using lists and menu plan. Avoid junk and fast food.

With the exception of a minor Bucket o' Rebellion on Father's day, we did very well here.

4. Batch errands to save fuel.

Hmm...we haven't done as much walking as I would like, however, with the lists, we are more organized when we do go out to shop.

5. Use information gathered to track expenses, find out our true income and budget for July.

I am still working on the budget, things have changed again, but we did do a menu plan and list and we seem to be off to a very good start for the month.

I plan to solidify the Plan for July tomorrow, this heat has been kicking my butt. Maybe I will bring my pencils and calculator to the beach.