Spending Plan

My January spending was not bad. My two concrete goals were:

1) to not step foot in Reitmans, not even 'just to look' for 31 days;
2) to spend less than 200$ total on food for the month.

I succeeded on both counts!

Food totals for January: 160.44$! It definitely takes off some of the bite from last month's obscene figure.

I'm finally admitting to myself how hard it is to make a real spending plan that does not amount to more than I actually bring in. It's especially difficult to concede that I cannot afford to spend what I've been spending on average on food. This is why the penny tracking thing is so important. I'm discovering some alarming patterns to my spending. I think it could take a full year of tracking before I get myself completely on the right track. Never mind that by the fall, I'll be embarking on a new life and mucking it all up again!

February is going to be a mess and March won't be much better. April will even things up again since I'll have three pays. I've noticed that the two months leading up to the three-pay month are always the most precarious. I think I'm finally learning how to balance things out so that I don't end up in such a situation again in October....

I'm taking a trip in April and as the planning stage creeps towards the realisation stage (ie. reservations being booked) I'm reminded of just why I decided to get my finances in order. Being able to go on a cool trip twice a year or so rocks.

Of course, I swore up and down that I would not be going to the US again for a while, but I am. :-) What can I say, Americans are so much friendlier in general (just avoid NYC) than Canadians and with the current exchange rate being just at par, there's no reason not to indulge in a little jaunt down the east coast. Where I'm going will remain a mystery for now. :-)