April Budget Review: Stimulating the Economy

April was not exactly frugal at our house.

We had a few areas that we kept a tight reign on – we didn’t buy any clothing in April and only a few household and personal care items.

But we did splurge a bit on groceries, eating out, and a few special splurges.

I’ve been trying to eat healthier, and am still figuring out how to do that on a budget. My husband and I have both had busy months from a professional standpoint and so we resorted to eating out more than I would like.

As for our splurge, we bought a new table and chairs for our deck, since we were using hand-me-down plastic furniture that didn’t have enough sitting for all the members of our family. We invested in a high quality set that we know we will enjoy for years to come. We love eating outside together, and this new patio set will bring us a lot of pleasure. It wasn’t cheap, but we planned for the expense and paid for it with cash.

I also noticed that our gas expenses have increased. One reason is that gas prices have gone up, but we’ve also been driving more than usual. We’ll soon be in summer vacation mode, and that expense should go down next month.

At the beginning of April, I alluded to plans to declutter. I’m still working on that. I’ll be taking some of the kids things to a consignment shop this week and am working on a “donate” pile. I forsee a garage sale in my future.

There have been many times when I have thought that I would like to be a minimalist, but unfortunately I don’t think I could get my family on board with it.

What was April like for you? To you overspend or stick to your budget? What are you plans for May?