December 2012 Goals: Recap

Well, this was an unreal month of spending for me. I couldn’t have imagined spending so much in such a short period of time. And while some expenses could have probably been scaled back, eventually I would have had to fork over the money for them anyway.

Over Budget:

• Car insurance – I don’t know why I didn’t think to budget in the purchase of my monthly car insurance, since I am now driving again.

• Household – This is a trip to Target!

• Entertainment – Meals and coffees out with friends in Victoria and Vancouver, as well as a couple of bottles of wine and beer from the liquor store.

• Clothing – I went a little bananas sprucing up my work wardrobe, but since I haven’t purchased work clothes in two years, this was long overdue.

• Car & Transportation – gas for my car, as well as parking.

• Personal Care – Had to restock on face creams and make-up. For those interested, I just use drug store make-up, and use the brand Origins for my face care.

• Miscellaneous – Whew, what didn’t I buy this week? This category includes my iPad 4 purchase, a tripod for my digital camera, renewing my driver’s license, and a few other small expenses.

Net Worth Change: + $583 (0.78%)

Even with my ridiculous spending this month, f I had gotten paid out for all of my outstanding invoices, I would have been able to save a lot more.

December 2012 Goals:

• Wrap up all invoices for 2012. FAIL. I still have two outstanding invoices that haven’t been accounted for. :|

• Increase my net worth by $1,000. FAIL. This was a combination of spending a lot, and being owed about $1,500 worth of invoices.

• Increase savings into my Retirement Portfolio. CHECK! I increased savings into my TFSA by $100.

• Organize my house. CHECK! I moved some furniture around and created space in my closets for Nic’s stuff. We still have some work to do, but the townhouse is coming together nicely.

• Work out 12 times. FAIL. I ended up working out 8 times, which is pretty good. Thankfully I didn’t have to pay for the gym because my friend had a few passes, and I had already purchased a punch card to another gym last year.

• Research charities. CHECK! I have a short list of charities I’m looking at for making monthly donations during 2013.

Ongoing 2012 Goals:

• Post a new photo every day on my Tumblr account, My Life In Pixels.

• Only post my own photos on GMBMFB. CHECK!

• Write one post for another blog or website. CHECK! I wrote two additional articles for the print edition of the Toronto Star. :)