September cash flow update

September was a disappointing month for tracking cash flow - I ended down $40! To be fair, I have an outstanding reimbursable expense of $300, which will be paid this Friday, but cash flow is cash flow, and even if I'd received that $300 by the end of the month, I would have missed my target by quite a bit.

I had $400 in blog income in September, which means that extra savings should have been at least $400.

Some negative factors in September spending

• Spent $200 getting some dents patched up on my car.
• Spent extra money on gas going back and forth to my parents' property this weekend. My sister was visiting my parents, so I went up twice in one weekend. I spent $155 on gas in September - if I only visit the parents twice a month, that's usually more like $80.
• Went to an un-budgeted-for concert. Manu Chao came to Atlanta! I think this was worth it.
• Utilities were almost $200 in September vs $130 in August. Of course, they were $220 in July, so maybe that's no excuse.

Extra costs ahead in October

• I realize we're already 1/3 of the way through October at this point, but there are still some extra expenses coming up!
• Car repairs - need to take my car to a body shop to get the side view mirror replaced. Also, my car is making a weird noise when it comes to a stop, so that needs to be checked out.
• Vet visit - my dog is due for her annual check up and shots. Need to make this appointment!
• Work clothes - busy season is coming up in January, and I need new shoes! I think I will spread it out and buy one pair of shoes each in October, November, and December.

There are a lot of purchases I have been putting off, thanks to my new budget, such as new shoes for work. I'm glad that I did put these off, because it made me realize that I don't need to own 10 pairs of work shoes, for example. I managed to get by with only 2 pairs all summer, without anyone noticing. The main problem is that the shoes get more wear, and need to be replaced sooner, but I think it's still better to buy one pair I really like at a time, rather than going out and getting 5 pairs, and then not wearing some because I like all of the others better.

Lesson: Putting off something you'll have to pay for eventually anyway can still be beneficial, because it forces you to understand what you really need, and how badly you need it (or don't need it.)

I will continue to stick to a tight budget, and tracking my cash flow, until I start to feel like I really understand where the money is going. It still surprises me that I had $400 of extra income in September, yet ended up $40 in the red, even though the reasons I laid out above are enough to explain it. I think the more I do this exercise, the more aware I will be of which purchases are going to push my monthly cash flow into the negatives.

Related posts:

1. August in Review
2. July Budget Review and August Goals