Spending Roundup for March

 Here’s the breakdown of where my money went in March:

Fixed Expenses
These are the easy ones. My car payment, car insurance, AT&T bill, cable/internet, and CC payments fall into this category. I budgeted $750 and spent $750.

Groceries/Household
Budget was $250. I spent $212.20. Hooray!

Gas
Gas is currently $3.52/gal. in my area. Thank goodness my car gets 43 mpg! I budgeted $200 and spent $200.66. I may have to adjust my budget if gas prices keep rising.

Roth/Savings
I contributed $200 to my Roth in March and $200 toward savings, just as planned. This is automated so it’s easy to stay on track! I also rolled an old 401(k) into an IRA, so that $200 will be rolled into my Roth as soon as the paperwork is processed.

Utilities
Budget was $150. I spent $148.81. This is another possible area of adjustment, because I know my electric bill is going to rise when I start running the air conditioner. Time to get on levelized billing!

Restaurants
Budget was $150. I spent $173.32. FAIL!

Cigarettes
Budget was $100. I spent $101.92. I really want to quit throwing this money out the window, but it’s so hard to quit. I’m going to try to smoke less than a pack a day in April.

Miscellaneous
Budget for this category was $150. I spent $220.24, including $150 on random unnecessary shopping. FAIL!

Overall, my budget for the month was $2150 and I spent $2207.15. Over by $57.15.