I dont think thats so bad! You didnt go into debt and you still put money in savings! Give yourself a break! You can work on the areas you would like to correct but dont beat yourself up.

Don't be so tough on yourself. Sure, you spent more than you wanted to. As others have said you didn't go in debt. If I overspend some bills gets shorted or we have to grab the cc.

Be thankful you had some left over and aim to have more left over next month.

I think it's great that you kept such good track. For me that is a very difficult thing to get in the habit of.

Wow, if I could spend $755 a month at Walmart I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven! Honestly, I don't even spend half that on my groceries/household good etc. each month.

Like Cathleen said, I can't feel too bad for you since we never have $1,100 left over each month after all our bills are paid and after going out to eat a handful of times. I think we would be lucky with $100.

It does suck to not stick to being frugile. I just try and stay positive and be accountable for every cent because I worked hard for that cent and I want to know where it is spent.

WOW!

I agree that you can only try to do better next month.

I have also been in a place where I felt sick to my stomach when I looked at how much I spent in a month.

The important thing is that now you know. It's like people when they start keeping a food diary and they suddenly realize just how much they eat, or sometimes just one thing. I knew someone that just cut out the 2 liters (2 pints) of pop she drank everyday and lost 12 lbs!

When I started keeping track of where I spent money (which I still do) I was also SHOCKED at the amount spent on groceries. I hated the fact that I had nothing to show for it (save for a few extra lbs) at the end of the month, where if I had been more frugal with food, I would have more money for what I really wanted to spend it on.

Now that you know, and you feel so awful about it, you will be more cautious next time. It's better that you know and face the truth.

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I never expected to offend some with my large numbers, but to me we just plain spent too much and I think that's all that matters. I should have noted that this was not a normal month for us. DH got a bonus this month (and I work full time as well) so that was added money. I think I just thought "We have lots of extra" and I so I didn't think anything of spending the money! So to have only 1100 out of that first figure isn't really that much you know?

I love the idea of carrying my numbers with me to pull out during a shopping trip to remind myself. Thanks for all those that had positive feedback and encouragement for me!

As long as your not in the negative I consider that a good month.

Keep a running log as to what you are buying thru out the month so it's on paper and you can't hide from the fact of how much money is being spent. Do you stockpile at all? Buy clothes in advance (a size bigger for the kids) when you find a good sale or hit a great rummage sale?

Consider this as a learning month and do better next month. We all slip up and get tired of being frugal it happens. Pick yourself up, face your husband and maybe tell him he needs to be more financially responsible with you.

Wow, I can't imagine making that kind of money! Certainly looks like there was alot of overspending, oh well, always next month.

We used to have the same problem. What made a huge difference for us was setting a budget every month for certain things. We have 4 envelopes and we have a set amount in them. One is groceries, we budget $700 per month. I have a slip of paper and start at $700 and subtract what I spend off the total. I also put in money with a set amount for clothes, out to eat, and $50 in the blow envelope. It's a little tough at first to not have money to just spend, but it feels very good. I think the hardest part is actually making the decision to do it.

Julie, we used to do the envelope system and we have stopped doing it. Maybe it's time to go back there huh?!