April Budget Review

The March budget quickly rose at the end of the month with a purchase of the furnace filters but was still below the budgeted amount.  The first quarter spending is as follows:

First Quarter Spending $517.23
First Quarter Savings    $1342.50

I didn't have a big plan for April but I was certain that I was going to come in under budget even with a trip in the month (we tend to buy more junk when we are out of town and I can't bake).  I tried to get things going ahead of time to see what I could bring with us to be prepared since my parent's house is also filled with junk food!!!  UGH!!! 

Half of the way through the month, I had only spent about $30 with trips to CVS, Giant and Wegman's. Then with preparing for going out of town, I was thinking about all the other things that I needed to get so that everything would be at the house ready to go when we got home.  I added a little more to the budget but was still well under.  I didn't spend anything while we were out of town although I planned on getting some things at my mother's Aldi's store but their prices were different than she thought and I didn't really have the time to look up and down the aisles. 

Then, triples started!!!  It is a good thing that I had a little extra budget because there were a lot of deals and I went a little crazy.  There were some missed coupons but my favorite customer service rep gave me back the coupon money because I was going to return two of the items to get the money back.  She saved me the step and without a fight.  I was sad that I didn't get the oatmeal that was on sale but I got lots of other deals.

The greatest windfall this month was in addition to my $10 Giant credit, I won a recipe contest and got $30 gift cards in the mail just in time for me to get some of the things that I needed with lots left to last in the coming months (over $23 left).

Total Monthly OOP $102.31
Total Monthly Savings $435.51
81% Monthly Savings

This is a great amount of savings over four months

Year To Date Spending $619.54
Year To Date Savings     $1778.01

The Average Monthly OOP is $154.89 which is below my budget of $160 per month.

74% Total Savings YTD

I hope that your month worked out as well as mine did and here is hoping for another good month!!!