Thursday, October 4, 2007

First Tracking Report

I lied. Only a little though. Obviously the spending for the past few days weren't posted this morning; they are being posted now during a break between classes.

10-01- Monday
3.29 - groceries (tuna, lettuce, bagel, cream cheese) - debit
1.62 - newspaper - cash
1.00 - fee for grocerygame.com - debit
8.90 - stamps - debit
----------------------
Subtotal: -14.81
Tips: +95.00
Total: +80.19


10-02- Tuesday
7.87 - groceries (crystal light, water, snacks for school) - debit
2.26 - fast food on campus- cash
Total: -10.13


10-03- Wednesday
16.65 - dining out (took little sister to lunch) - cash
3.70 - coffee - debit
31.27 - books/Christmas gifts
45.99 - clothes
203.63 - auto insurance
Total: -301.24


Reflection: As I stated in my previous post, I am chronicling my normal spending habits. At the end of the month I will create a budget. Regardless, I still try to save money as that is part of my normal spending habits. For example, the books/Christmas gifts purchased yesterday were a steal. I got 9 books (!) for nearly 32 dollars. Furthermore, those nine books stretched to include eight people. Seven of which aren't receiving any further gifts.

Also, as I've been reading other people's blogs, I noticed that there is quite a bit of mention about auto insurance being cheaper when you pay in full. Out of curiosity, I looked up the fees I am incurring by splitting my six month insurance into four payments. I found that I'm being billed a four dollar fee each time! Oy! That's sixteen dollars in surcharges!

2 comments:

Well Heeled Blog said...

But you preserve the liquidity of your cash by paying the $16 surcharge. I pay about an extra dollar an month to pay in installment, but that's worth it to me because I don't have to tie up my cash up front. It's also easier to budget for when it's a monthly expense instead of a huge chunk every 6 months.

VixenOnABudget said...

I'm in the same boat. The whole reason I split my payments up is because I can't afford to pay the large chunk all at once.

Regardless, I want to accumulate enough money so that I can.