this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

The Tall One and I have a good habit of keeping track of our spending, but a bad habit of not regularly reviewing it, updating it, and learning from it.

So I decided to do just that. The two categories that sent up red flags are groceries and ever ambiguous household category. Last month I spend a ridiculous amount at the grocery store (I'm trying to stock the pantry and freezer for after the baby is born, but still...) but actually, on average, I'm right on target for the most part. The household category seems to be a bottomless pit. As the temperatures outside rise, so does the amount we spend on our backyard. We're finishing a landscaping project and then there's all of those gardening supplies. I kept the grocery numbers the same. Despite last month's failure, I had other months where I spent under enough to mostly make up for it. I upped the household number though.

So now it's on to the learning part. We have not saved as much money so far this year as we should have. I'll spare you my mile-long list of excuses, but they include a certain gift, a baby, and our state wanting lots of money from us (much more than last year). But hey, that's why we save, right?

Also in the area of learning comes the fact that I need to pay more attention to what's already been spent in a given category. Most of what goes into the household category (the only one where this is really a problem) is either not completely necessary or can wait for another month. If I (and I say I and not TTO and I because I do most of the day to day spending) pay more attention to that at least things might balance out nicer. And, if I wait, I may decide it's not really something we need.