I did end up in the red for April. The good news is this is the first month in 2007 that I spent more money than I brought in. The difference was only $44 so for 2007 as a whole I am still doing OK.
I have a few challenges in May coming up. We are taking a little vacation near the end of the month. We have saved up for it, so I hope nothing vacation related comes out of our regular budget. There always seems to be something that comes up however, so I do need to make sure I have a little extra room.
I am also trying something new with my household and gas purchases. Instead of using a cash based system for these types of items I am going to use my CC and earn points on my purchased and maybe a $ or two in interest on the money left in my account. At the end of the month, I will pay my CC on-line. I have always been very responsible with credit cards – I have never carried a balance. However, with the cash system, I could physically see how much money I had left for the month by looking at my wallet. With CC, I will have to keep track in my head when I am out shopping.
