Okay, I have another confession to make. I have started seeing Target again. It’s very casual, not nearly as serious as it was right before I broke up with them in March. And I learned quite a bit in my four month (that’s right, FOUR MONTHS without Target) separation, the main thing being I’m just not a fan of my local Walmart. I also found myself spending just as much at Walmart but the end results were not nearly as cute. (By the way, this post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on them and buy something I may make a commission, thank you!)
I realized, though, that I couldn’t just go back to the way it was before, some serious budgeting needed to happen. Though it’s only been a few weeks, I have managed to get in and out of there for waaaay less than in the past. In fact, stay tuned next week as I’ll be sharing my 10 Tips to Surviving Target on a Budget. It CAN be done and I will help you do it.
Moving on to food. Instead of partying like it was 1999, last month we ate like we were 29. That’s to say, before all the bills and debt and kids came along, and eating out was a regular occurrence. Now I remember why it’s not a sustainable way of life, yikes!
Now here’s the nitty gritty:
GROCERY EXPENSES:
TRADER JOE’S – $668 (Meh, about average, maybe a little under.)
OTHER GROCERY – $179 (Not bad, about $100 less than last month. Props to the hubs!)
GROCERY TOTAL – $847 (Hey hey! This will balance the next part out.)
EATING OUT TOTAL – $795 (I almost didn’t put the full amount in because we had some totally necessary dining expenses. Our very good friends moved away and we had to go out for one last – expensive – hurrah. And my little brother was visiting so we had to show him a good time. But alas, full disclosure and accountability… blah blah blah.)
SHOPPING EXPENSES:
ZULILY – $45 (For those of you about to call me out on this one, don’t worry the app is still deleted off my phone. This was an exception to my rule.)
COSTCO – $132
WALMART – $0 (Compared to $265 last month.)
AMAZON – $100 (Paying off Christmas)
TARGET – $68 (Right… Not bad eh?!?!?)
HONEST COMPANY – $85 (This is the Diapers Bundle. These diapers are one of my favorite things, here’s a link for a free trial!!)
REI – $210 (Though I really shouldn’t count all of this because my husband bought shoes for work, so that’s really a work expense.)
SHOPPING TOTAL – $640 (About the norm.)
I figured it was probably time to start factoring in my blog expenses, since I am incurring some on a monthly basis. It’s hard to look at this and not get discouraged, but I know it’s leading to greater things.
BLOG EXPENSES:
PIC MONKEY – $5
IZEA – $1
APPSUMO – $39 (Stock images. I try to take most of my own pics, but occasionally I use the stock ones, like for these Budget and Expense posts)
ADVERTISING – $10 (Facebook boost)
TAILWIND – $15 (Oh yeah, and I had to upgrade my Pinterest scheduler. I know, this world is crazy isn’t it?)
BLOG TOTAL – $70 (I’m investing in the future, I’m investing in the future, I’m investing in the future.)
TOTAL EXPENSES – $2,352 (Hey, even with the crazy eating out that’s $33 better than March.)
And now on to the BLOG INCOME portion. If this is your first time reading, you may be wondering why I’m adding this in as well… It is my goal to eventually be able to earn a full time income on this blog. While I am still a VERY long ways from that, I wanted to keep track from the beginning to help see what’s working and what’s not. So in the interest of budgeting, full disclosure, and full accountability, I invite you to follow along on my progress. (By the way if you are also interested in starting your own website, Bluehost is a great place to begin, and if you use this link it’s only $3.95/month.)
GOOGLE ADSENSE – $3.24 (The exciting thing is I finally hit the payout threshold of $10, ha!)
IZEA – $0
AMAZON – $1.04
TARGET – $0
THE HONEST COMPANY – $0
ZULILY – $0
BLOG INCOME TOTAL – $4.28 (Womp womp… luckily I’m extremely stubborn, and still thoroughly enjoying all this, so not giving up.)
Even though it may not look like it, June was actually a good month. I wrote a piece near and dear to my heart (10 Things to Consider When Signing Your Child Up for Dance), had a crazy busy work month, and continued the steady stream of growth.
I started this blog when my “day job” had announced yet another restructuring, and my job was on the line yet again. Even though I know I’m a valued employee, you never know what will happen in these situations. I thought The Search for Imperfection was going to be my out if I lost my job.
Six months later, I still have my “day job”, complete with promotion. Thank goodness, because as you can see it would not be pretty if we were trying to live off my blog income. But instead of getting more and more discouraged, I am getting more and more encouraged.
My newfound job security (I do realize that’s not actually a real thing) has allowed me to sit back, relax, and enjoy this ride a little more without all the pressure to make money off of it so quickly. I can focus on doing things well, and I’m proud of where everything is headed. I’ve been working on a lot of exciting things this month that I’ll save for the July edition, but I’ve already started seeing growth I haven’t seen before.
As always, thanks for stopping by and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
