Spending Didn't Match My Budget

Last pay period my spending didn't match the budget that I had so carefully planned out, so I need to sit down and figure out what happened.

I know I spent a lot more money on gas that pay period and I also had a few unexpected things come up. It's easy to get off track, but you just need to get back up and start over again.

Also, the longer I budget out my paychecks and track where I actually spend my money, the more accurate my budget will be and the fewer surprises there will be. It takes time to develop a solid budget, and constant tweaking is what makes a budget work.

One of the things that made my budget off this pay period is that my vehicle insurance bill came sooner than I expected. When preparing my budget, I went by when I paid the last bill, but because I am always late, and they bill one month in advance, I miscalculated when it would be due again. The bad news is, it made me go over my budget this pay period; the good news is, I paid the insurance on time, which is a good feeling and one I don't get very often these days. ~Mary