The Month of Personal July Money

The Month of July in money

I have had several months where my income was dwarfed by what I bought. June the deficit was $176.40 and the month before was $390.63. Operating out of deficit has been really rough for me and this month was no different. How did we break it down item by item?

Entertainment was another huge line item at a total of $1604.14 I had a Royal Caribbean Cruise to pay for which really should not have been in the budget. This was $1200 that attacked my budget. One that I wasn’t planning for this month, but it is one that happened. Other than that, it would have been $400 for the month, a very respectable number. One within my means. This is just another poor financial month in the stack of poor financial months. Where I say yes to things I have not planned on and will figure out later.

Tolls were $50, other charges were $10, and gas was $171.62. These are right on schedule with my usual charges.

Housing was once again the $1300 new normal. No complaints anywhere.

Well.

Until the hidden costs in my grocery bill. Walmart doesn’t categorize my items between groceries and golf balls. My Walmart bill was $602.38. This was the lowest in a few months but once again a huge line item. We have also added a dog to our household that has added a few costs. Just random household items, life jackets, dog training clickers, dog treats, dog food, just all sorts of new items we would like for the house and that we buy. It has now become a theme.

This added up to a total of $3738.14 and dwarfs my income once again. It’s the third month in a row as I try to right the ship. My income was $3282.88 for a total decline in net worth of $455.26. I have lost $1022.29 in the last few months. I should be done with all vacations. Done with all purchases. I have insurance next month, but it is also a three-paycheck month so that will help. Throw all the funds back into the emergency fund. Refill that as quick as possible and then finish strong the rest of the year. $200 in budget being spent at Walmart each month. That is something that can decrease. Also, the large entertainment budget paying for a cruise will not happen next month. Start working harder on adding revenue streams and push harder in the budget. This has been terrible. The budget was wonderful to work with last year. I was able to improve my finances incredibly well. Unfortunately, now, I have been steadily reducing my money saved. This is just a downturn but I will turn 2025 around.