The Savings challenge, update number #1.

Pin It    I know it's been a few days since I posted or read any blogs. I promise I'm OK. We all occasionally need a break. I think this was time for mine! But I promise I'm back for a while :)

  My hubby's amazing Grandma hurt herself again. This time she fractured her hip. She's a couple of weeks away from her 97th Birthday, and she's so inspiring and amazing. It was a pretty scary couple of days. We weren't even sure if she was going to survive. She had some serious problems with her breathing but luckily they could stabilize her. After that she needed a hip surgery which is on it's own very scary for somebody her age. But the surgery went well. She's still pretty groggy and on lots of medications but she's so strong. She is just one amazing little lady!

  Now that we can keep our minds on something else, I think it's time to update on the September Savings Challenge. These were my rules:

1. Spend no more than $250 in September. So far we spent $135.12 this month. I know it's a lot but at the beginning of the month our fridge was bare. Like, really empty. So last Saturday I spent more than $90 to stock up on a few things. I still believe it's very doable for us to stay within a budget. I actually have a mini-challenge next week - I want to spend no more than $5. I wouldn't even need to spend anything if it wasn't for a case lot sale that's going on at Smiths right now. I specifically want some peas for 50c/a can if you buy a case ($6 but they were all out this week). But I also have a $2 coupon off any purchase at Smiths which should keep me well within my $5 limit. Other than that we don't need anything at all! Our fridge is full, we have plenty of fruit and vegetables, meat, cheese and other stuff. We might be low on milk by the end of the week but I still think we can do it!

2.Spend no more than $50 eating out (and use coupons and deals).We got Subway yesterday because I was just swamped with work and never got to making dinner. We will also go out on Monday to celebrate Kid's Birthday ( and him starting a Kindergarten) but I have some coupons to make our bill a little lower. We are still well within a budget!

3.Spend no more than $65 for Kid's Birthday party.We spent $75 and some change but I will mail $13 worth of rebates for some food we bought for the party, so I think I can say we did it!!

4. Save everything I make on the side. Our goal is to save $250 this month but it will mostly come from some extra income more than from the actual savings. I will get paid for my part-time job only at the beginning of October( I get paid once a month) but I will count it towards the extra income anyway. I submitted some work this week but didn't get the actual number yet. So I'll probably update on it next time. But I made about $20 from the diaper cake and another $3 for a survey. We also sold a baby shelf on KSl for $5. All of it is not much but it's a start!

5.Count every penny. Oh, I'm absolutely counting! It definitely gives you a peace of mind to know where your money goes.

How are you doing on your goals? Is September going good for you so far?