Master the Art of Saving

Welcome to another weekly edition of “Where Did The Dough Go?”. Below you can get a completely open and honest view of what we’re spending money on, how much we’re saving, investing and putting away for retirement. Please feel free to learn from our financial mistakes if at all possible, it’s way better than making them yourself.

Friday 29th
+ $1,499.41 Honey’s Paycheck
– $82.33 (cigarettes)
– $20.95 (honey whiskey)
– $40.94 (gas @ 3.379 per gallon)
– $50.28 (groceries)
– $24.89 (Olive Garden)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to Xmas fund)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to savings)
-/+ $2.00 (transfer to ING to save for Car insurance)

Saturday 30th
– $250.73 (bills)
-/+ $199.70 (50% over root income to Emergency Fund)
-/+ $50.00 (transfer to Travel Fund)
-/+ $25.00 (to Roth IRA)

Sunday July 1st
No spend day
-/+ $5.00 (START transfer)

Monday 2nd
No spend day
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to savings)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to Xmas fund)
-/+ $2.00 (transfer to ING to save for Car insurance)

Tuesday 3rd
No spend day
-/+ $66.96 (transfer to health & dental fund)
-/+ $90.34 (transfer to car expenses fund)
-/+ $257.29 (transfer to Emergency Fund)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to savings)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to Xmas fund)
-/+ $2.00 (transfer to ING to save for Car insurance)

Wednesday 4th
-/+ $8.08 (Subway)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to savings)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to Xmas fund)
-/+ $2.00 (transfer to ING to save for Car insurance)

Thursday 5th
No spend day
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to savings)
-/+ $1.00 (transfer to Xmas fund)
-/+ $2.00 (transfer to ING to save for Car insurance)

Total Weekly Spending: $1,192.49
Pre-tax 401K Contributions $173.03

Categorized:

Savings $679.29
Rent & Bills $250.73
Cigarettes $82.33
Groceries $50.28
Gas $40.94
Alcohol $20.95
Dining Out $32.97
Roth IRA contributions $25.00
Save 4 Car insurance $10.00

Left-over for remaining week $306.92

Notes: I love 3 paycheck months! We’re really happy that we have this extra opportunity to save money. It looks like we’re still spending money on dining out, but we can’t keep this up. We have a lot of stuff going on right now and sometimes it’s just easier to grab something while we’re out. Excuses, excuses…I know. I hope your week went good too.

How did your budgeting/spending go this week?

Comments

Where Did The Dough Go? #61 — 16 Comments

Jai Catalano on July 6, 2012 at 5:27 AM said:

I stopped at cigs. I am sorry.
- Jen @ Master the Art of Saving on July 6, 2012 at 4:13 PM said:
  
  It’s all good; I’m sure most people do it too. I’ll still be honest about it because that is where a lot of our money goes.
Daisy @ Add Vodka on July 6, 2012 at 7:48 AM said:

Three paycheque months are amazing. I was able to save a pretty big chunk of my pay this month because I had three cheques!
- Jen @ Master the Art of Saving on July 6, 2012 at 4:13 PM said:
  
  Yep, they rock!
Joe @ Retire By 40 on July 6, 2012 at 11:40 AM said:

nice month! I love the 3 paychecks month too.
- Jen @ Master the Art of Saving on July 6, 2012 at 4:14 PM said:
  
  Thanks Joe. It’s a lot nicer now that we’re actually more responsible with our money (most times) and don’t just blow it because we can.
Holly@Clubthrifty.com on July 7, 2012 at 10:01 AM said:

Stop smoking!!!!!!! = )

My husband and I only get paid once a month so we do not get to enjoy 3 paycheck months = (
- Jen on July 8, 2012 at 6:42 PM said:
  
  Yep, if we quit smoking we could save a lot more money.
  - Holly@Clubthrifty.com on July 10, 2012 at 7:01 AM said:
    
    Yes, you could save a lot more money if you quit smoking!
    
    However, you can probably quit saving so much for retirement since you probably won’t live that long.
    - Jen on July 10, 2012 at 8:21 PM said:
      
      We weren’t planning to continue smoking for much longer, so I’m sure the impact on our overall health won’t be too much worse than it is now.
      
      As for saving for retirement, if we continue to smoke we’ll end up spending TONS and TONS of money on medical expenses, prescriptions and oxygen tanks, lol. 😉
Hank on July 7, 2012 at 11:59 AM said:

I only get paid on the 1st and the 15th. So, I don’t get any 3 paycheck months either.
- Jen on July 8, 2012 at 6:43 PM said:
  
  That sucks, especially since you’re about 2 weeks apart anyways.
Michelle on July 8, 2012 at 12:45 AM said:

June was a 3 paycheck month for me. LOVED it!
- Jen on July 8, 2012 at 6:44 PM said:
  
  😀
Shane @ Beating Broke on July 8, 2012 at 8:15 PM said:

You realize that the log for the 29th makes you sound like a drunken chimney, right? Seriously, I’m a smoker too, and those things are so darn expensive. Of course, it’s not so easy as just quitting, or most of us would have done it already. Well done on the no-spend days too!
- Jen on July 10, 2012 at 8:49 PM said:
  
  Lol, it does look pretty nuts. We buy cartons (for the 2 of us) on payday and try to make them last 2 weeks. So it’s not as bad as it looks.
  
  Each time I try to cut down (with the hopes of doing it until I’ve quit), I get all stressed and end up smoking more than I normally do. It’s dumb, I know, but it still keeps happening.