May Budget Round-Up

This is a good month. Not only are we under budget, but we're also down one more trash bag this month. Hopefully we can keep that up!

One big change, though...I was given a new responsibility at church - I'm now working with the youth, which means that I have to be at church on Wednesday nights as well as Sundays and will also be driving a lot for youth conferences, dances, camping trips, etc. Our church is 10 miles from our house, and our going there is non-negotiable (in case anyone was going to suggest switching churches), so I'm going to look for opportunities to carpool and other ways to keep my mileage down - like switching to a closer doctor and stores.

In case anyone is wondering how we did with the May extreme challenge - we did it!!! I turned on the A/C maybe four times: twice when it was just too hot to sleep and twice when we had company over. The heat is still off today, and we might be able to go longer - if I can convince my husband to quit closing the windows at night. (He says that the outdoor noise bothers him.)


Monthly Spending (budgeted amount) [year average]

• Groceries: $623 ($650) [708.75]
• Transportation: $167 ($150) [149.87]
  
• Energy: $82 ($150) [151.45]
  
• Utilities: $46 ($50) [44.96]
  
• Entertainment/Miscellaneous: $365 ($400) [362.71]
  
• Clothes: $0 (no set budget) [22.94]
  

• TOTAL: $1,283 ($1,400) [$1417.52]

The Numbers:

• Trash: 3 bags of trash (13 gallon bags); 1 recycling bin with plastic, metal, and glass; 1 paper grocery sacks of paper
• Miles Driven: 1012
  
• Average daily electricity use: 21 kWh
  
• Average daily water use: 122 gallons
  

Best of...

• Most Popular Posts: Make Your Own: Homemade Febreeze (486 pageviews) and Goodbyn Review (140 pageviews)
  
• Most Commented Post (excluding giveaways): Overshare (18 comments)
  

Next Month I'll Be...

• reading Raising Financially Fit Kids
  
• working on water use for The Conscious Shopper Challenge
• buying nothing new for the June Extreme Challenge
• taking some vacations!

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