Writing Down my Budget

So the name of this blog is quite deceiving. As it turns out, I don’t have a real budget yet. I have loose principles (that float around in my head) on how frugal I want to be and I definitely restrict my spending based on that. But as a newly professed pf guru, I know that sounds shady, so I have finally put pen to paper and gotten a REAL BUDGET calculated in a REAL EXCEL SPREADSHEET. Wow. Exhilaration. Here goes:

Rent & Utilities: 1,000
Food – Groceries: 150
Food & Drink – Out: 125
Entertainment & Fun: 50
Clothes etc.: 100
Gas: 100
Target-like expenses: 50
TOTAL: 1,575

This doesn’t include my automatic withdrawals and is loosely based on Mint.com reports, but at the end of April I will evaluate all of the spending on my credit card and see how realistic this might be. It’s definitely exciting to feel more in control of my expenses, and I’m determined to be realistic with what I really am going to spend so I won’t get discouraged. I think that’s been the main budget downfall in the past. Now I’m just going to be honest with myself, and work to get it where I need it to be gradually, over time.