Fail.

I think this is the part of goals that I'm not good with. I'm very black and white. Either I succeeded or I failed. I don't look at it like "I got farther than I would have if I didn't set the goal." I know I should look at it like that, but I don't.

Having said that, this No Spend Month didn't go the way I had hoped. I could make excuses. It was boyfriend's birthday. I had bowling every Thursday. But, to be honest, there are always going to be unusual things going on in any particular month. Money is tight for me right now, but that is because I'm throwing everything I can at the credit card to get it paid off. Looking at my spreadsheet, I'm over in almost every single category. Which is why I'm saying "fail."

I might like to try for another No Spend Month in July. Probably because it didn't feel like I did a whole lot different in June than I normally would. Or maybe I'll give myself a month "off" and try in August. Bowling will be done. There will be a lot going on at work with the start of the semester, which will keep me busy. There aren't any birthdays.

I'm here posting because I want to be accountable. By not hiding where I'm at, I'm hoping that it will help me make better decisions. I'm hoping to provide a record to myself so I can figure out what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.

sigh.

I didn't spend any money on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thursday was bowling, boyfriend bought dinner, and I bought drinks (gatorade & iced starbucks) after bowling. I have already spent money today and anticipate spending more.

Frugal thing done Tuesday: I brought 4 pair of shoes to the shoe repair guy. 3 need resoled and the pair of sandals need their straps shortened by an inch and a half. My two Danskos that are being resoled are my work shoes and I wear them 90% of the time to work. I wanted to get them done before I started going into the wood of the sole.

Frugal thing done Wednesday: when we eat at Wendy's, I've been getting a salad. They give us two packets of dressing, but I only use one. I bring the other one home and on Wednesday I used it on my dinner salad.

Frugal thing done Thursday: Ate toast. Boyfriend likes super soft bread for his lunch sandwiches. He hates hard, dry bread. So I bring it to work and toast it for breakfast. With some peanut butter (stored in my desk) and a banana, I've got breakfast!

I promise to share my final numbers on the 30th. It's not going to be pretty. Maybe I need to adjust numbers. Maybe I need to tell myself no more often. Maybe I'm just one of those people that think they want to be frugal, but really still want to buy their $4 grape tomatoes.