The first quarter of 2017 went out with a bang. Or a boom. Or maybe a thud. Instead of sharing how much our net worth soared (we don’t track it) or how much our investments made (I mostly try not to look), I want to share another kind of truth with you. Sometimes you will bust your budget; sometimes you will spend your savings. And you will be OK.
At least that’s what I told myself as I slotted in our expenses for March into my incredibly low-tech Google Sheet. While I had initially waxed poetic about saving our tax refund and my extra paycheck this money, we made the decision to part with some of it. Does $1068.36 qualify as some? So let’s take a peek at where our windfall went, shall we?
$178 – New toilet for the Master bathroom
We’d replaced the guts on the old one twice. But even without the leaks, the toilet was original to the house, so it was a wasteful water guzzler. Then, the finish started coming off the porcelain. When concoction of chemicals kept it clean, we figured we’d bit the bullet and replace. The new one is so much quieter, fills in an instant, and only uses a gallon and a half of water. #thisis30 has never seemed like a more fitting hashtag than when a toilet was the highlight of my spring break.
$153 – Memory foam mattress topper
There are all sorts of gizmos and gadgets that exist to make sleeping more comfortable while you’re pregnant. After weeks of DIYing my own and at one point, sleeping with seven (seven!) different pillows, I called in the big guns. Namely, a sale at Kohl’s. Because it was always the hip I laid on that felt like a small fire had been lit in the joint, we opted for a mattress topper instead of a Snoogle. When Hubs threatened to cut the mattress topper in half to keep his side even if I didn’t like sleeping on it, I knew it was money well spent.
Sidenote: My hunch is the only way to truly make sleeping while pregnant a cozy experience is to wait until after Half Penny arrives. Or turns into a teenager and learns to sleep in.
$488.05 – Garden beds
One of my favorite things in the world is growing my own vegetables. Last year, we had amassed a conglomeration of four different raised beds. They were definitely a bit hodge-podge looking, but I didn’t mind and neither did the plants. In fact, I’m not even going to try to justify this other than saying we’re not taking a vacation this summer, and it’s something Mr. P and I both love to do. So we now have all the trappings necessary to make a 16×20 bed plus all the dirt, peat moss, and manure you can even imagine stashed in our garage right now. My car is going to smell like roses. I can feel it. And we’re totally counting this for my birthday present. Mr. P just doesn’t know it yet. Speaking of Mr. P, the last I saw him, he was looking up hydroponics on Pinterest. Google gods, help me.
$83 – New phone experiment
Mr. P was our budget guinea pig, switching cell phone carriers a few weeks ago. As a result, he had to buy a SIM card and pay a $15 activation fee. We’re due a partial credit from Sprint, which will take this number down $30 or so. Still, if this helps us save over $80 a month inn the long run, I’m all for it.
$62.33 – Groceries
That’s $62.33 beyond our $200 grocery budget. Gulp. I’m not sure what to say about this. I ate a lot? I’m growing a human? Really, it has more to do with my strategy to stock up on household items before my unpaid leave than anything else. And maybe, just maybe, there was an extra carton of ice cream or two thrown in there.
Sidenote – Mr. P wants you to know there was also some beer involved. I’m eating for two. He’s drinking for two.
There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be back on track in April. In fact, that’s the only reason I’m typing this post so calmly. We have our budget set. We’ll continue to track our spending to avoid end-of-month surprises. While our savings didn’t necessarily go according to plan this month, I don’t regret any of our spending. If nothing else, at least I didn’t buy shoes.
So Tell Me…What’s the most recent thing that’s busted your budget? If you want to help me revive my Best Money Spent guest post series, I’d love to have more contributors.
I spent $172 at Home Depot this weekend! ? All of it on necessary home repair/improvement items, but it wasn’t in the plan. I did all the repair work myself so at least there was no additional cost. And hopefully the new programmable thermostat will save money in the long run.
No regrets on purchasing the items – I’m glad we’ve fixed these things, but it hurts to not put that extra $ on my credit card bill.
There’s always a trade-off, I suppose. But it sounds like you bought exactly what you needed. And I bet the thermostat will certainly save you money, Jody!
After my husband and I purchased our first home, we found ourselves shopping at Home Depot almost every day. We must have spent close to 1k if not not there. Small trips add up fast!
It adds up so fast. If Home Depot had a rewards program like Walgreens, I’d be the happiest of campers! Instead, I’ll just have to settle for the 5% cashback bonus months on my credit card.
The house. Getting all the inspections finished off, misc forms to pay for, closing costs, random odds and ends needed in the new house (batteries and light bulbs), renting a moving truck…. All adds up to tears as Gwen reconciled her accounts this month. I know though, that it’s just a small blip in the grand scheme of things and this will pay off in the end. ….pretty sure, anyways.
YES! I started imaging all the expenses as little stick people coming out of a clown car. They just keep coming and coming when you buy property! I’m sure it’s worse as a landlord, too.
I’m having a really hard time with spending some savings – even for things I NEED, like new tires. I want some new sandals and a new backpack or my trip this summer, and I am freaking out about spending the money. I could also go ahead and get LASIK, but I want to get my emergency fund to 10k. I don’t want to get it there and immediately spend it, though. I’m not doing great with keeping within a grocery or entertainment budget. Maybe that’s where I should start.
I was shocked at what we were able to cut out of a grocery budget when I tackled that last year. I’m not keen on the idea of spending an emergency fund (like ever). But I also did the “will not spend ever” thing for a while and made myself pretty miserable. And did a number on my back by refusing to buy new shoes even though the heels were different heights.
Travel for sure. I booked a cruise and flights for June. Headed back to the Northeast in July, so booked flights for that. It’s all prepayments but from a cash flow perspective it all hits at once. All for good causes though – mainly visiting friends, family, and relaxation 🙂
Those are good causes! I hope you’ll blog about them!
Oh you poor thing! Mr. Picky Pincher’s sister also had to sleep with a crapton of pillows to be comfortable. I hope the mattress topper helps. 🙂
Seems like all of these things were pretty good purchases. We also built garden beds, so I know how pricey those can be! But it’s so worth the food savings and the fun you get from growing your own food.
Don’t feel too bad. 😉
The mattress topper is AMAZING. I plan on sleeping on it long past Half Penny’s arrival, and even if it was just for the next 100 days or so, I’d gladly pay $1.50 a night to sleep better!
I just swung by and saw all of your food/garden updates. So jealous!
Memory phone toppers are super-awesome. We’ve been using one for years, and so cozy! I wish we’d been wise enough to buy one when I was pregnant.
Still a great job on the grocery. And ice cream has calcium, pregnant ladies need calcium plus it can soothe the heartburn.
or memory foam toppers, geez
Maybe that’s why heartburn is just about the only symptom I haven’t had 😉
My husband bought fruit trees. We planned to put them in, but the costs of the trees, berry bushes, etc was well over $600. And we need to install a fence to protect them. That will be a few hundred dollars more for the materials. But it is an investment, that will pay off in savings on fresh fruit many times over when the trees start producing in 3-4 years.
That is my dream, Carolyn! You have to promise to update me on their progress. I would love a few apple trees in our backyard. And maybe a pear tree. Or a cherry tree!
Ooooh hydroponics! You must write about this if Mr. P ever decides to dip his toes in those waters. Love that you are working on the garden. Money well spent, in my opinion. I just planted some of the cold weather veggies this weekend – peas, lettuce, etc. and the tomato and pepper seedlings are growing under the light!
And if you are more comfortable and sleep better on the mattress topper, it was well worth the expense (we have one and I love it – my arm no longer falls asleep at night).
Our March budget was busted by various things, but mostly unplanned trips out of town. And we have two more coming up this month. May is going to be a catch up month, for sure.
I can’t wait for your garden updates, Amanda! We just planted our seeds (indoors) last week, and they’re already sprouting. I’m trying to hold myself back. I planted early May last year and had to go back to square one after that darn late frost.
Haha, drinking for 3 technically!!
Mrs AE got a huge pregnancy pillow after attempting the DIY route as well. Seemed to work ok.
I need to start plotting out the Garden as well, thinking about going really simple this year
I think that’s ultimately what we did. We have a lot more gardening space and even more beds in general, but what we grow will be less cramped and easier to maintained. Plus, we adjusted the fencing this year, so I won’t have to be stepping over 2+ feet of fence. I’m not coordinated to begin with. Having a relocated center of gravity is only complicating things 😉
I thought I was the only one that used 7 pillows when pregnant! Anyways, March was a budget buster cause the tax man cameth and he tooketh away more than anticipated, ouch!
I also, am planning a new set of garden boxes and lawn fertilizer to keep our beautiful sod beautiful! Lastly, I ended my “no spending on clothes” era, (7 months long) and bought a much needed wind breaker, new exercise pants and a t shirt, total splurges but it’s done and I am moving on, dressed in spiffy new workout gear.
Like you, April is a new month and am planning to pull back to my frugal ways.
Congrats on the spending ban, Karen! And as far as splurges go, after seven months of not shopping, I’d say that’s pretty mild. I’m sure you had plenty of time to think long and hard about what you’re buying. Here’s to frugal Aprils!
Tell Mr.P his drinking for two comment made me laugh…but I’m not sure how funny I would find it if I was the pregnant one 😉
I wouldn’t feel bad at all for going over budget on any of those things, almost all will likely save you money (or sanity) in the long run! I just planted my seeds (indoors…it snowed today so gardening season seems very far away) and I’m hoping they do way better than last year. I actually bought a uv light for them this year instead of trying to strategically place them in the one available, sunny window so hopefully our veggie bounty will make that a worthwhile investment.
That’s awesome! I would love to hear more about what you’re growing. I will swing by your blog!
As for the drinking for two comment, that doesn’t bother me nearly as much as when we go out for sushi and all I can order are the veggies ones 😉
We just moved. Very happily as we are now two HUGE provinces closer to family and friends. We bought a house that allowed our mortgage to drop substantially. We now live somewhere where we hope we can reduce our living expenses even more (some went up, others down) as my husbands income will go back to his base pay without the overtime opportunities he had before.
But the unexpected budget killer was realizing while I attempted to cook a simple grilled cheese for my daughter the first night in our new place, that we inherited an induction stove. So not one of our pots or pans worked. Not one. Off to the store to buy a whole new set. Ouch!
But I was able to pass the older ones to my mom for her new cottage. She just took care of our dog for almost 3 months while we travelled and moved, which means that getting my pots is the LEAST I can do (she is also getting my extra table and chairs and a couple beds we no longer need as well).
Ooooooh no! But having cookware is definitely a necessity, and it’s great that you were able to pass those along to your mom.
Sounds like a bunch of wise purchases in my opinion! At least they are things that you are excited about and can enjoy. My budget buster has been $2,800 for one tooth. My wife needed a root canal and a new crown. And while having your teeth is something to appreciate, it’s definitely not exciting as you fork over your money and the dentist tries their best not to hurt you.
That was us last year, Gary! My husband stalled and stalled and stalled…until I finally threatened to be “that wife” and make the appointment for him. Dental work is so expensive even when you have insurance. Still, it’s hard to put a price on pain-free chompers!
An iPhone (~$700) and an airline ticket (~$400) busted my budget in March. Oh, and dining out as well. On day I’ll stop acting surprised at my restaurant bill and just freaking budget for it.
That’s how I feel about a lot of things. I try to squeeze it all in our general $300 spending. But there’s only so much stretching I can do with that!
Your garden boxes look fantastic! They’ll be well-worth every cent, and as my husband says about the money he spends on our trees, they’re a hobby, and I’d rather we spend money on them than on golf or going out to bars.
As for toilets, I LOLed. We got some new ones last year and had the same feeling. A few months later my hubby really splurged and upgraded the seat. Now he can do his business in style and comfort. Oh my!
Yay for the mattress foam topper! I remember the aches and the discomfort that was not sleeping before pregnancy, which finally prompted a new ($$$$) mattress, so we only added a Snoogle for pregnancy but it’s true – sleeping was pretty much just uncomfortable all around until well after JuggerBaby was out of me. If it wasn’t that I couldn’t fall asleep, then I was waking up in a panic because I’d steamrollered my pillows and ended up sleeping on my back. It was all fine, obviously, but it felt panic-worthy in the moment.
Also yay garden beds! My hope is that if we have to buy a dang place, it’ll come with just enough yard space for me to plant some veggies. Our produce bill isn’t usually more than $20-30 a week so I’ll have to choose carefully, lest I spend many more times that to get a lesser result, but I’d love to grow at least a little of our own food.
We had to book and pay for travel this month and holy moly that was a lot of money for something that’s not vacation. It went on the CSR cards to hit our spending minimum (this was planned, if the trip was going to happen, it’d go on those cards first) and we’ll pay the balances in full of course, but OUCH it’s going to hurt. Well it hurts now in theory and then again later when I actually pay the bill 🙂
….I’ve been calling my Snoogle pillow a Snoodle for the last three months. (It’s been a joint saver). I think we might be due around the same time too. 🙂