Thursday Budget Recap 2/28

Good bye February, and good riddance! Thankfully, there was nothing unexpected in the budget. I did spend close to $50 at my parents' house, but I had enough leftover in other categories to make up for it.

Surprising that someone could spend $20 in food to cover for two weeks. But that does come at a high cost: I'm out of a lot high-cost items like olive oil, regular oil and meats, so my budget will not be this lucky for this upcoming paycheck. I'm getting really good at buying only what I need and rationing it correctly. That makes purchasing of food, especially produce, a breeze. It also has completely eliminated food waste!... that is, if things go as planned.

Something that helped this month: instead of considering my part time job's money as extra, I counted it as a snowball and moved it that same Friday. Out of sight, out of mind, and completely protected against getting spent in one way or another. That made me a very happy camper! I will most likely continue to do that, maybe sending it to my Ally savings account with hopes that I can collect $1,000 to open up an IRA.

Last, March is a 3-paycheck month! I'm so excited, as this extra check gives me about $700 for my vacation fund. Vacation which I still don't have a destination for. But hey, why rush? It'll come when it comes. I have another 7 months to use my vacation time before I lose it.