If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Time to set some financial goals for October.  I’m hoping that it’s a slightly better month than September was for me (more on that tomorrow).

I’m back in school and working part time, so I guess we’ll see how these two events help or hinder my ability to stick to budget and save money.  Considering that my job is a slight fraction of what I used to make at my previous job, there is definitely no wiggle room for non-necessities.  This is hard to adjust to.  We’re really having to crack down, though.

So without further ado, my goals for October.

• $30 per week on groceries ($120 for the month) - I used to havet this set at $35-40, but I’m trying to see how far I can trim this back without it having serious side effects on our food intake.  I should have enough meat to last me the rest of the month (that still amazes me), so our grocery budget really should be lower this month than months prior.  Stick to the grocery list and don’t buy anything that is not necessary for the weeks meals.

• $40 monthly Sam’s Club budget - I’m not sure if we’ll need this, but I’m going to budget for it anyway.  We may need to get some more meat or other bulk items depending on how the month goes.  I’m leaning towards no, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.

• $15 out of pocket on drug store items - The drugstore deals haven’t been all that appealing to me lately, so I should be able to stick to this.  Especially since I have gift cards for Walgreen’s, which means the only out of pocket money I would really need to spend would be at Rite Aid if they have something I can’t resist.  But we’re pretty stocked up on personal items for now.

• Put at least $100 into the emergency fund - This will probably depend on how much money I make off of sponsored blogging and surveys.  We’ll see.

• Pay cash to renew auto insurance for 6 months - Our premium is due  the middle of the month and I’m hoping it doesn’t go up because I’ve been saving since our last payment and we should have enough to cover it in cash.

• Dining out budget down to $20 for the month - I’d like to cut it out completely, but with me being on the go between work and classes until 10pm, I know there is a very likely possibility that I will maybe be grabbing food on the go once in a while.  Not if I can help it though!

• Menu planning - Continue menu planning and cooking at home.  Try to incorporate healthier meal ideas using less quantities of meat and more veggies.