July Financial Challenges

By Briana on June 24, 2011 in Budgeting, Money

Wait, where the heck did June go? I swear it was just Mother’s Day, then Father’s Day snuck up on me, and now my father’s birthday (today) caught me too! June was a financial challenge within itself, and I’m hoping to not go through it again in July. July is supposed to be fun! There’s Independence Day, my mom’s birthday, and it’ll mark one year since hubby and I have been living under the same roof. A year sure did go by fast, and my how a lot has changed. Financially, I want July to be a success.

I went back to adding my credit due dates on my Google calendar, and set up e-mail reminders 3 days ahead of time. This helped me budget in the past, and ensure nothing was late. I know how much I need and when I need it by. I also scheduled when my unemployment checks will be coming in to make sure I have enough to cover it.

One thing I would love to do in July is the No Spend Challenge. Girl with the Red Balloon inspired this, when she had a year without frivolous spending, which I was awe inspired about! I want to do something similar. I don’t want to spend money, although I know I have to. If it’s not in my budget (bills, groceries, gas), then I don’t want to buy anything. David from My Two Dollars went a weekend without spending, and Christine from MoneyFunk went a week without spending. Can I go a month?

I think it’s possible. There’s nothing I have my eye on in regards to wanting anything. I recently splurged on the Only72 sale, and that’s all I wanted. As far as needs, obviously, that doesn’t count. I need to pay bills, and I have a doctor’s appointment I’ll need to pay a $15 copay for. I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that nothing comes up in July like they did in June (paying 2 tickets really set us back this month).

Another challenge I want to complete is Use It Up, from Penny at The Saved Quarter. I think everyone buys things before using the previous amount, and I’m guilty of that. I won’t be buying anything additional until I run out. Toiletries, food, nothing. I don’t think that’ll be hard at all, but I’ll definitely have to keep watch on toilet paper and dog food. Those are 2 things that shouldn’t run out without proper notice.

The next challenge: I want to save. My savings account is depleted. There’s a lousy $3 in it; how embarrassing. I know it’s not much, but I want to save $100 in July. It’s hard to save money when you don’t have much in the first place, and the little you have has a designation. I’m going to work hard to deposit $100 into a savings account.

Last, but not least, get financially organized. I need to re-do our household budget, and even come up with a strategy. I have a SmartyPig and PerkStreet account, both of which I’m not using anymore. I need to reconsider if I should include them in my financial plan, and if so, how to do it so that I’m earning money (or perks). This will be extremely important.

So what do you think? Are these feasible? What are your July financial challenges?

Twelve Tips Toward Financial Independence (turbotax.intuit.com)
5 Reasons to Open Savings Accounts (thebrandbarry.com)
Single Purpose Savings Account (visualeconomics.com)

About Briana

Briana is the head blogger and founder of 20 and Engaged. She's a 21 year old newlywed, psychology student, and freelance writer.

View all posts by Briana →

no spending, Personal finance, savings account

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http://deneilmerritt.com Deneil

Wow, you have a serious challenge on your hands. My financial challenge for July is paying off some extra bills besides the normal monthly bills and making enough money to maintain my writer and hire a second writer.

http://newlywedbliss.com Briana

You can do it! Keep me posted and don’t forget about me for the second writer position

http://www.erica.biz/ Erica Douglass

Here’s what I do with my credit cards: I set them up so that they always bill on the same date. You can call your credit card company to do this. That way I can just pay them all at once instead of having to think about when each one is due.

http://newlywedbliss.com Briana

Great idea! I need to do this to make life a lot easier.

http://www.southcountygirl.blogspot.com Southcountygrl

I think its doable to do a no spend month because I’ve done it before… Multiple times. It helps to have a reason… and friends who understand when you aren’t going to spend money.

With your “use it up” challenge, part of me wants to warn you about emptying your cabinets. I find it really helpful to keep a well stocked pantry of food… That way I can stock up on missing items when they are on sale (not when they are full price)… It’s really expensive to have to buy a bunch of stuff all at once when you run out of everything. Sure its good to use up food before it goes bad and there should be things you run out of by weeks end that you replace the following week… but its good to keep staples on hand for a quick meal (it also helps us from not breaking our no spend weeks by getting fast food because there isn’t anything to throw together to make one actual meal.)

http://newlywedbliss.com Briana

Great points! That’s the worst feeling, to know you need something and go to your cabinets and see you don’t have it. I’ll try to adjust this goal to make sure I can still live without panicing lol

http://ptmoney.com ptmoney

I love the use it up challenge, and I would apply it to the entertainment items we have lying around (movies, board games, etc). I like the idea of trying to do more with the things we already have. My personal challenge right now is whether to stay in the stock market. I’m a buy a hold investor long-term investor, but all this down-turn/depression talk is putting the fear in me for the first time. It’s going to be hard to stay calm.

http://newlywedbliss.com Briana

Try to stay positive! It’s definitely scary but maybe you can find less risky investments. Have you considered P2P lending?

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