April 2010 Monthly Recap...

April was a decent month. My net worth improved for the 4th month in a row. That is a definite accomplishment.

My retirement account bounced back so that helped to improve my net worth considerably. I went over budget by $402. I used my Petty Cash Fund and the extra money I was holding in my Emergency Fund to cover the shortfall.

Beginning in June, you will no longer see the increase in my Federal Student Loans because all of my loans will be in repayment. While I am dreading the extra expense, I will be happy to see all of my liabilities decreasing on a monthly basis.

Below is my expense statement for April.

• I decided that my goal is to keep both Food/Dining & Grocery under $300/month. In April I spent $496 and that is still way too high. My grocery expense was a little higher since I tried out some new recipes.
• Transporation costs also hit me hard again in April. I decided to accrue $90/month towards my parking passes since I need them about every other month. This will reduce my expense from $450/month to $350/month.
• I also need to find a way to accrue for my quarterly water bill. It's about $120/quarter or $40/month. The next bill is due in July.
• I would really like to find a way to budget $100/month for both Personal Care and Entertainment - $200 total. When I look back at my expenses, this seems like a reasonable average amount that I tend to spend. I am going to cut back on the hair appointments even more from once a month and get just one pedicure each month and do one on my own.
• Credit scores remain strong and my credit history remains clean.