well, this is the second year in a row Iāve REALLY meant to join the Budgetober challenge. I managed to post on the 31st this year instead of not at all soā¦Iāll consider it a win?
Maybe year 3 will be the charm! Happy Halloween 
17 Likes
My check-in for the last week!
Last week was okay when it comes to my first goal the take out/eating out situation, my goal was 1 take out, 1 take out, which this week I did only got take out once, but ate out twice counting yesterday. Groceries were purchased but it was super little!
on the shopping side, Stationery was a win, did not purchase any stationery!!!
on the random expenses, my best friend is marrying next week and I realized I had no shoes so I did go out yesterday and got some shoes, but tbh I got very cheap ones, and it was kind of a necessary one, also my friend volunteered to do my make up which will save me more money!
overall it was a great experience, I do think I managed to spend less money on random expenses, on the food sideā¦ I guess maybe a little bit, however not too much since I spent more on groceries, but I still cooked more and ate healthier so I consider it a win.
Iāll try to keep it up next month!
logged all my expenses on notion and to be honest it was a good month, can I do better for sure! itās okay, we are all work in progress.
Will be mindful on the christmas shopping this year.
thanks for bringing this challenge up! and thanks everyone for sharing
10 Likes
[quote=āCereal, post:304, topic:3681, full:trueā]
Week Four +: 3 bubble tea drinks ($48.05 for the month, 75% of $64)
I think I may have shifted the focus of my comfort eating and drinking to other thingsā¦ but for the purposes of this challenge, goal met. 
In the wider context, I need to reduce work stress (and life stress, where possible) to reduce my need for coping mechanisms. Working on that right now. 
Thanks for this budget challenge, despite the frivolity of my budget goal it was still a useful exercise for me, encouraged more mindfulness in my actions and thoughtfulness about my general life situation. 
8 Likes
Final check-in!
-Food: mumble mumble mumble I went way over mumble mumble nothing to see here
-Clothes: $254.03/$500 Hey look, I was under in a category!
-Recreation/health: $783.41/$750. I um forgot that I hadnāt been charged for one of my fitness subscriptions whoops
Moral of the story: I am really, really bad at planning and anticipating expensesā¦
11 Likes
Final check-in:
October ended with 24 percent less food spending over last monthās appalling amount. We met our recast goal of at least 20 percent and just barely missed the original goal of a 25 percent reduction. Overall I am really happy with the results. Still a work in progress, one meal/shop at a time.
I have recently started segmenting our food budget into weekly amounts instead of just total monthly amount. This has really helped us reset after a bad week.
Going to continue with incremental progress and aim for 15 percent reduction of Octoberās total food spending. We have an anniversary, a birthday and are hosting Thanksgiving so we will need to really be focused to meet this goal.
9 Likes
Last day of the month check in! Well I wasnāt able to save much after a large vet bill and car repair but I was able to cover to expenses without going into to debt so I consider that a win. Next month my main focus is rebuilding my savings.
12 Likes
final check in:
I keep forgetting to post this so Iām gonna skip the numbers for today and plug them in tomorrow, when I have my spreadsheet in front of me, but Iām overall pretty pleased with how the month went! I overspent in a few of categories that I wasnāt expecting (food! what the heck!), but I was able to keep my totally spending equal to my income available for the month and didnāt have to dig into any long term savings to cover anything.
I think I might try to budget with more general categories as opposed to breaking everything down going forward, which Iām hoping will feel less restrictive. so saying āyou can spend $300 on anything in these categories for the next monthā rather than āyou only have $20 to spend on this specific thing for the next monthā. itās probably more of a perspective change than anything else, but it seems worth a try.
this was really fun and Iām so glad I joined in!
11 Likes
Final final update: Did another pickup grocery order over the weekend, so came in at $206.57. Once I started feeling better it was time to get some fresh produce in the house.
We did also finally work on the kitchen budget but not until yesterday which was November 1. But we still have the Halloween decorations up so it seems like it should still be October.
6 Likes
I feel weird making a final post because I am not yet done shopping for gifts. I havenāt gone over my budget as a result, because thereās still plenty of planned spending to do. However, I do have bigger takeaways to share:
- I often get stuck in this mindset that the only good budgets are 100% comprehensive budgets for my whole life, but now I can see the utility of a more specific, focused subset budget like this one for holiday gifts
- If I have a budget at the outset, I am more likely to stick to it than trying to hem it in at the end
- Sometimes the act of making a budget is clarifying my āwhyā
- If I have a budget, it is easier for me to talk to my partner about my expectations for our joint spending and make sure we are on the same page
- Accountability can be fun and supportive and not just restrictive and punishing (thanks, all!)
So this is a win for me, even though I am not yet at my destination!
12 Likes
Finally checking in. Went over the goal on grocery and fuel, but not by much, and wouldnāt have gone over on fuel if not for an unplanned trip out of state for an engine from a junkyard. We got a vehicle for just over $2k out of the deal (all the āautoā is getting the Wrangler running again, and we managed to get all of those expenses into October). Some of the grocery is home/household since itās basically just everything we spend at Walmart, but thatās my grocery category every single time I track anything, so itās just a little higher than average/what I wanted. But whatever. Itās pretty good.
| Category | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Cumulative | Goal | Notes Week 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery | $109.69 | $40.72 | $175.61 | $50.39 | $326.02 | of max $300 | Our contribution to take to a bonfire |
| Fuel | $36.20 | $114.20 | $96.45 | $63.58 | $246.85 | of max $230 | |
| Shopping | $58.06 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $52.53 | $110.59 | Just monitor this | Used bookstore! Also thrift store because I need warm not-rag things to wear |
| Puppy | $37.43 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $37.43 | Whatever they need (or āneedā) | ||
| Eating out | $9.36 | $65.99 | $18.35 | $93.70 | Just monitor this | ||
| Home/Hardware | $0 | $0 | $0.00 | Just monitor this | |||
| Auto | $650.00 | $450.42 | $1,026.00 | $144.87 | $2,126.42 | Just monitor this | So the vehicle tax situation in this state is a racketā¦ |
6 Likes
final check-in:
Groceries: $190
Resturants: $91
Final total: $281/$300
hurray! I did it!
9 Likes
Well, attempting to budget food closely while dealing with the stress & time-and-energy suck of moving was A Choice I Made. I did bring my groceries in under budget - but once I add in the amount that I ate out because I didnāt have the wherewithal to also cook food (which happened much more in October than my usual), I exceeded my budget by a good amount. Iām going to see if I canāt do a little better in November, now that my kitchen gear is all in one location.
8 Likes
Yes! Being able to handle emergencies without going into the red is such a great feeling!
3 Likes
When I was young we had a lot of people to buy Xmas gifts for and a limited budget. I shopped year round and would record what I bought and where I put it so I wouldnāt accidentally buy for someone twice. It really helped me not to overspend. It also helped to spread the cost over the year. Sadly I now buy for very few people because all the people I bought for are dead.
5 Likes
Alert! CUTE CATS COMING TO YOUR INBOX
Budgetober Stickers are getting shipped this weekend. PLEASE fill in this form, the sooner you fill it in the easier it is for me!
12 Likes
Oh dear. I just realized itās mid-November and I havenāt checked in in awhile. I guess Iām a Budgetober Dropout.
Well, I have kept up with tracking and budgeting, if not the reporting about it, so that is a win!
14 Likes
Iām sorry I was late on the form fill out! I went on vacation and fell off the online map for a bit. I hope Iām not too late!
1 Like
I havenāt sent them out yet due to envelope issues so youāre fine!
5 Likes
same! totally missed filling out the form, Itās been a crazy month
Hi! Iām really late checking in for Budgetober. Company extended their visit by two weeks, causing mild panic and major hiccups to our budget. I wasnāt going to have her sitting in the basement getting depressed. We took her on a whirlwind tour of the Maritimes (where we live). Thankfully we havenāt been on a major vacation for 2-3 years due to our cross country move and Covid. We had money saved up in gas and stayed with friends and relatives. We treated her visit as our vacation.
The food budget, which was my Budgetober goal, fared well because company liked eating at restaurants. Sometimes she paid. Often we did. My goal was under $600 for groceries. The actual tally?
$381.95 Groceries. Yay! I certainly made it!
However, dining out? It was $357.85!!! Itās a good thing dining out came from our vacation budget.
5 Likes