August 2013 Net Worth

I swear, 2013 is the fastest year ever. August wasn't really too good to me health wise, and I also hinted that it wasn't to good to me financially. Well, without further ado, here it goes:

Overall, my net worth increased by $789. Sure, I increased my net worth, but this is the smallest increase since I started tracking. Let's break it down.

Cash: ($623)
I usually don't touch on my change in cash, but I feel like this month I really should. Now, I have a confession to make: I've been lying to you all. I am no longer on a Spending Fast *gasp* It's funny because I know that all my friends/family probably figured this one out, but for those who don't see me on a day-to-day basis, it's something I haven't been addressing.

Now, I don't know what it was about August, but my money handling skills just completely sucked. I didn't meal plan, which meant I bought my lunch daily. There were tons of hangouts with people who were returning to school soon, so I just had to go out with them. Not to mention all of the birthdays toward the end of the month. *sigh*

Savings: ($251)
I withdrew from my emergency fund to cover my estimated eye care expenses. Even though I ended up spending less than I expected, the money just didn't find its way back into my e-fund. Instead, I used it to...

Credit Cards: ($679)
...pay off a ton of CC debt! I now have only $92 left to pay off on my last card and I'll be CC DEBT FREE FOR GOOD!!! I'm so close, I can almost taste it!

My August Spending Debacle:

Note: this excludes savings, debt payments, and regular monthly bills

Yuck. $300 on eating out?! No wonder my fitness progress has been reversing! The health category was due to my eye exam this past month and gas is just unavoidable. Seeing these numbers made me realize that being on a "spending fast" just wasn't working. I would accidentally spend on one small thing and once I messed up, I completely let myself go! Moving forward, I'm going to give myself a little more leeway.

From now on, I'll be attempting a spending diet, instead of the fast, which is where I allow myself $100 a month to spend on anything (this is after all of my bills, savings, and debt payments). I realized that having strict rules on myself was making me feel incredibly negative and guilty whenever I slipped. This way, loosening up a little bit will allow me to splurge once in a while without the intense guilt. It allows me a little bit of wiggle room, and it also ensures that I don't go overboard (like I did this past month).

Well, August definitely hurt the bank accounts. Here's to September being the month I finally pay off all of that CC debt and move on to my other goals!

How did your August goals go? Did you stay within your budget? I hope y'all did better than I did!

AMDG,

Lisa