Budget Busters?

[Momto2Boyz]

So, DH and I have become a little bit lax lately with our spending. Not crazy unfrugal or anything, we've just relaxed how much we watch our spending. And I've noticed that not nearly as much is going into savings.

So, I decided to sit down and track every dollar we've spent so far this month. Ok, I admit...my plan was to bust DH for spending too much! But that came back and bit me in the behind!

It's me!!!! I'm the culprit! While DH did overspend a little bit, my biggest budget buster this month was GROCERIES! I have relaxed my grocery budget and was trying to keep it under $100/week, but I wasn't being totally stringent about it.

Well, we are a one car family, so Ds and I are home during the day without a car. We have a grocery store & a bakery close to us but not much else. Well, as I went through my expenses, I realized just how many trips I had made to that grocery store (on top of my normal grocery shopping). We would go there to pick up extra's to go along with dinner, get a treat, etc., etc.

I found that by doing this....I nearly DOUBLED my grocery budget! YIKES!

So, needless to say, my budget is back in check! I'm glad I decided to double track expenses this month, and no more extra spending!

After that, I was curious about everyone else and what they're budget busters are!

[justpeachy92]

My biggest budget buster is the kids schools. Everytime I turn around seems they are sending a note home and the kids need money for something. The most annoying thing was finding out my oldest has to pay class dues every month, and she was behind on those. Why we didn't hear about this at the beginning of the school year is beyond me. Apparently the class due replace having a PTA at the school, I have never heard of such a thing before.

[joyofsix]

My biggest budget buster is the kids schools. Everytime I turn around seems they are sending a note home and the kids need money for something..

I agree. Field trips, special supplies, mandatory school lunch for field trip, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention gym clothes, shoes, blah, blah, blah

[Ceashels]

Groceries here too. I have been trying to do my shopping once a week but I still tend to go to 2 stores to get it all done. Bj's has the best prices on milk and eggs, but I don't want to buy 3 pounds of bananas when I only need 2, so that means a second trip and more temptations.

[Lindsey]

Eating out. We have been moving and now we have a house, but with all the unpacking I don't feel like cooking at night.

[TinyDancer]

Mine tend to be my furbabies. I'm forever running out to buy cat food or kitty litter and these things never seem to go on sale. I think cats are totally discriminated against - always seeing dog stuff on sale, but rarely my cat supplies. LOL!

[pip]

Right now, it's my teenage daughter!!!! I've posted before how she needs to get a job, and does she ever need to get a job.
Otherwise, groceries and eating out remain areas that always need tending to....

[SweetCasey]

Mine tend to be my furbabies. I'm forever running out to buy cat food or kitty litter and these things never seem to go on sale. I think cats are totally discriminated against - always seeing dog stuff on sale, but rarely my cat supplies. LOL!

I have to agree here. We recently lost our beloved cat to kidney disease, but it is true that cat items are rarely on sale. I bought what he preferred anyway (he was a senior boy), but it would have been great to have gotten a little bit of a bargain to make it easier. Wal-Mart seemed to have the best prices on the brand he preferred, but I always found his preferred flavor out of stock - guess a lot of folks were doing the same thing in my area! I don't begrudge one dollar I spent on him throughout the years and we dearly miss him, but it would be nice to get a break now and again.

[gardenstategirl]

Right now it's eating out for us. Not even great meals but drive thru meals on the way from one things to another. I need to work on that.

[starsapphire]

Usually its groceries. Or I spend my monthly 'slush fund' money, and right after I do that, another unexpected expense comes up like having to drive out of town and spending extra for gas, or a birthday comes up or whatever.

This month? This month my budget buster has been my IRA Stocks are on sale! I've been throwing all extra money into my mutual fund, and what happens? I get a bill from my car insurance - two and a half months after we bought our new (to us) car. I knew our premium would go up but I forgot about it because its been so long. So it'll come out of the EF and I'll have to make up for it in November since October is already all budgeted out.

[DonnainME]

Our budget buster was DH not having a job and my business income decreasing.

Now that he's working (only seasonal - until Winter) I am trying to catch up on everything. We are still past due on some stuff but at least most things are a month or a partial month behind instead of 2 or 3 months behind.

[3tomboys]

Mine tends to be 2 things, eating out and groceries. These are 2 areas I always blow my budget. Eating out when I feel the day has been to long at work I tend to head straight for a drive-thru or pizza place. Groceries are also a challenge with 3 teenagers with three different schedules it seems I am buyong more convience items and that raises the grocery bill.

[frugal is fun]

My boyfriend! LOL! He insists on gowing grocery shopping with me and even though we split the bill 50/50 I know I'm spending more on food than if he weren't with me.

[HisDaisy]

Our budget buster this month has been our move. It seems like what worked in the old place does not work in the new.

[Squirt]

Clothing. I've spent $700 on clothes from April 1st until now. I do wear a lot of hats (bad pun, I know) as I have dress clothes for work, barn/outdoors clothes, "normal" clothes, etc. I don't buy anything full price, but looking at that figure makes me sick of myself...