{November} Financial Friday – wrap up

I was doing so well with blogging and keeping up with my weekly financial posts. And then I started back at work, we traveled and life just got in the way. But I wanted to wrap up my November financial frugality posts. So here I am. More than a week into December.

One category I didn’t put out there was savings. I wasn’t sure how much I’d still be able to put towards savings. I ended up using some of that money towards Christmas gifts. In the end, I still had $60 left over to put into savings. (And that’s with factoring in the little bit I went over in at least one category.)

Now, for the rest of the expenses….

Housing
$209 Budgeted ~ $209.99 actual
I did just as I had planned on this one, but starting in December, my cell phone bill actually goes up $10. My plan changed when I got a new phone this week. (And I got a new phone because my previous 2.5 year-old phone that I kept dropping bit the dust when I dropped it – yet again.)

Food
$210 budgeted ~ $205 actual
I did great here! I normally allot $140 for every two weeks. I cut back, and still had $5 to spare.

Personal Spending
$168.50 budgeted ~ $178.73 actual
I had a few (small) doctor’s bills that I had to pay and I took them from personal spending. I still did pretty well going over by just $10.

Social
$76.50 budgeted ~ $74.99 actual
I barely made this category. Good for me, though.

Home
$94.25 budgeted ~ $100.22 actual
I reigned it in, but still went over by a little over $5. Not bad, all things considering.

Clothes
$54.25 72.39 budgeted ~ $38.83 actual
All items were for the kiddo. Now, December is a different story. I’ve already spent from this category (and I think I’ve almost hit my allotment.)

Transportation
$250.75 budgeted ~ $97.70 actual
I used barely any gas (we took husband’s car on our trip) and my car taxes cost more than gas – still in the $35 range. It really does pay to have your car paid off…and to drive one that’s efficient.

I did pretty well during November. Let’s see if I can do it again in December. (This time, I think I’ll be posting on a different day. And maybe not every week.)

Now. How are you doing, and do you have any tips for me (and others) with budgeting during the holidays? That’s what’s going to hurt me the most, though I still think I can stick to a budget.