Financial Check Up - August

This was not a fun month for us financially.  We had the unexpected bee situation plus the dogs annual vet appointments, all of which cost us about $1,000 this month in vet fees.  Topping off the month was back to school shopping with my daughter, school fees and the financial assistance we offered our son with his tuition and books.  I also spent some money buying organizing materials for my laundry/storage room project , that was money I would normally have spent on debt reduction.  While our results are pretty dismal, the bright lining is that we didn't go backwards and I think we should make some decent headway in September.


Add three months to our emergency fund

No progress, we will be focusing on this fourth quarter

Redecorate our living room

I was hoping to start the redecorating this week while we were on vacation but that's not going to happen.  After I finish the laundry/storage room I'm hoping to start on the new cushions.  I should have enough fabrice so that won't cost me anything.


Reduce our debt by 34%

We are only at 22% for the month which is not very good.  To make our 34% reduction I'll have to average a 4% reduction every month for the rest of the year.  The good news is December is a three pay check month, the bad news is I was hoping to use that 3rd pay check for the emergency fund.  My plan is to kick up the debt reduction for September.

Start a Christmas Club

In addition to the Christmas Club I've been doing a series about preparing for Christmas.  Yes, I know it's early but time has a way of sneaking up on me.  I've already procured six Christmas presents and one birthday present for next May.  I'm hoping to be done with the bulk of my shopping by the middle of October.  There are a few presents I'm not going to be able to buy until December because they are play tickets.
Plan a family vacation in Q1 2012

No payments made on the trip.

That's where we sit for the month. How about you? Is your budget going as well this year as you had hoped?

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