Budget Update: November 2018

Our monthly budget does not change much. 

It is primarily fixed expenses, like rent, phone bills and car insurance, which remain the same month after month.  Even the amount budgeted to our miscellaneous line (more on that here) stays the same most months. 

So instead of giving a line-by-line breakdown for our monthly budget update, I do something a little different.  Each month, I share five highlights from our budget, along with three goals for the month to come.

Here is the update for November 2018.

Monthly Budget Update: November 2018

In November, we…

• PAID OFF OUR CREDIT LINE!!!

On November 15, we made the final payment on our line of credit. That means we paid back about $8.3K in roughly seven months!

With the credit line paid in full, we are officially finished paying off everything that isn’t a student loan.

Words really cannot express how satisfying it is to open our bank account and see a zero balance on this account.

• Renewed our Costco membership

We don’t shop at Costco often, but there are a few items we buy that justify the cost of the membership. One is our cat litter — with two cats, we use a lot and Costco is the best deal in town on the cost for amount front. Other things we buy at Costco include: toilet paper, printer ink, spinach,  cheese strings, and movie passes.

• Completed most of our Christmas shopping (and stayed on budget) 

I love Christmas shopping but I hate doing it in December. Every year, I try to get as much of it done in November as possible. As of December 1, there are only three people left to buy for!

• Spent a stupid amount of money on coffee

Starbucks is one of those things I keep in the budget as a treat. This month, I treated myself more than usual.

There was a reason for this: this year, for the first time ever, I completed NaNoWriMo! For those unfamiliar, that means I wrote 50K in a month. In the end, I wrote closer to 57K and completed a draft of a silly little novel. It was a lot of fun – and it was made possible, in part, thanks to coffee.

• Actually pulled off the purchase of Jeff’s Christmas gift

This is more a me than a we thing, but it was certainly a highlight of the month! I’m obviously not going to share any more details about this right now because Jeff does, on occasion, read (hi, honey!) but know this: this was an impressive feat. More to come soon!

December 2018 Goals

Looking ahead, in December we will…

• Start paying back the student loan

December will be the first month making an additional payment to the principle and is it nerdy to say I cannot wait to make it? Because I really, really can’t. I know this enthusiasm will likely wear off soon but for now, I’ll take it!

• Get my hair done 

December is hair appointment month! As an experiment, I put a little extra time between my appointments last time to see how I felt about it. I think it was OK, so I’ll likely go a little longer again. As much as I wish I could afford to go every eight weeks, it’s just not in the budget right now.

• Start thinking about my goals for 2019

I have a few ideas, of course, but December is, for me, the time where I really start to finalize this. I anticipate I’ll be sharing more about my 2019 goals in this space soon.

Your turn! How did November turn out for you? What are your goals for December?

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