Not much to report here. Did my monthly spending chart for April and of course we are in the red again, living a lot off savings while I am still looking for a job.
What kills me is we WHY we went over our income.
Everything was too much. We spent in one month what you would think would take 3 or 4 months to spend.
I think the problem is neither of us had jobs. In FL BB was spending about 25 hrs a week providing pitching lessons, and I was spending about the same on eBay.
Now in GA we have TONS of free time.
I look over last months spending and see a lot of "free time."
We had 4 different groups of friends visit us in one month. Our "eating out" bill was outrageous. About $500 more than normal. So for every group of friends that came to visit, we spent about $100 on eating out. Sounds about right. After you pay for their meal, the bill is generally about $50.00. Add in a night of drinking, and a few pizzas for each visit...then BB and I also said 'goodbye' in April. He left for the season and we had numerous dinners together before he left.
Our home improvement category is high. I didnt realize we spent $350 on paint/paint tools last month. We painted the kitchen (and kitchen ceiling), deck, stairs,foundation,front/back door and front trim...yeah, maybe that adds up to $350.00. Wow. Adds up fast.
Another big expense was Gym and Gun range. $250 for me to get a 4 month membership. I only got the membership to last till BB is home from the season then we might want to join a new gym together. I'm not in love with this gym. Certainly don't love the price!
Gun range expenses have hopefully stopped. BB wants me to have a gun on me at all times now that I live alone in a city. So we took 2 trips out to the range for me to learn how to shoot my gun. I bought the gun 2 months ago- but wanted some more practice sessions so I don't kill anything I didn't intend to kill.
Actually, looking over the past month (and blogging about it), I can see where the money went, and what it accomplished. It was a lot spent. More than we had to spend. But it was extracurricular expenses that were so high, not the monthly bills. So in May I can cut back. Be more aware, and we will make it within our means.
Aprils excessive spending
May 5th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
May 5th, 2009 at 10:36 pm 1241563005
luckily we have no gun expenses here
i guess we are lucky to have a group of friends who pay for themselves whenever we visit each other.
it is hard to keep the expenses down, i have definately noticed too! but we have done alright and not spent a lot in the first couple of months. but we only saved in a month what i would hope we would save in a week! part of that is most likely due to DF's engine purchase though... *sigh*
are you still going to be selling on ebay any time soon?
May 6th, 2009 at 12:57 am 1241571475
To answer your other questions, the paint made nowadays dries very quickly. If you use a roller (thin layer), it will be dry within 20 min.
And in my opinion- the LOOK of a fresh coat of paint beats any smell/fume problem!
Seriously, we just put a fresh coat of white paint on our window trim (over the older coat of perfectly good white paint) and WOW it makes such a difference. It just covers up dirt, covers up scratches and nicks, it gives the painted wall a brand new appearance.
Do one room- open windows and close the door when its drying. When you are done, see if you want to paint more. I bet you will.
May 7th, 2009 at 10:49 am 1241693369
we have a professional painter friend who does work for DF on job sites sometimes, and he mentioned helping us out with paint and maybe even doing the painting for us with his apprentice - but I am guessing he has probably been flat out with work lately so I am thinking we will just make plans to do it ourselves soon. i am really not liking the timber panelling look lol!