$60K Savings Challenge JULY Totals...Gaining some Ground!

I have posted my JULY End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up JULY in THE BLACK!
The Savings for July was just under $2,700.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over $2K this month. We had some big unusual purchases like 4 pairs of eyeglasses for assorted family members & the new stove. Those alone accounted for over half of the bill. UGH. Add in hotel bills & gasoline expenses from the Bermuda Triangle trip(Eastern PA to VA to Western PA to home) and that's the bulk of the cc bill. It's a good thing July had 3 paychecks in it. ;-)

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but I am still sitting out on eBay for now.

On the recurring utilities front, we saw a $19.43 reduction in the cost of the electric bill from June. The unseasonably cool summer so far here is responsible for this. The water bill increased by $6.64 from June's total. Hubby continued dealing with pool problems in July, where he's had to partially empty and refill the pool so usage was up more than the month before. I hope the August bill will decrease since the hole has been patched finally!

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located Here. Food/Toiletries spending in July was my lowest monthly total for the year. I was $20 above my goal of $500 for the month so I'll stick with that budget amount for August as well. I dare not say I won't add to the stockpile, because we all know I WILL anyway!lol The garden has just started yielding produce which will help keep me out of the grocery store's fresh veggie section for another month or so.

We are Seven Months into this $AVING$ Challenge, and we have a Savings Total of $14,846.16 for the year.
Shall I mention that I should have $35K at this point since that's 7 months worth of $60K?
Naaaah, let's not go there.lolol

What's ahead for August.....I'll try to keep the stockpiling to a minimum, despite KMart holding ANOTHER Double Coupon Event.....oy! They sabotage me every month it seems!lolol I may have another Garage Sale(if the heat doesn't get too unbearable)or find a Flea Market to set up at(if the cost of the space isn't too high). Or maybe I'll wait until early Sept. to do that. At any rate, I see another Yard sale or something similar in my future. ;-)
I will also be ramping up my eBay Store later this month or early in Sept. It just depends on when I see selling prices picking up for what I have to offer.

In terms of cash outlays in August, it could be another expensive month with the back-to-school costs(shoes for the kids, school fees, etc.)The school supplies like paper and pencils, etc. are pretty much taken care of already, thanks to Staples, WAGS and CVS. But we have an incoming College Freshman so there are travel expenses and major outlays of money involved here(laptop computer, dorm stuff still to be determined, & the killer-College Textbooks!!). I'll be looking for ways to reduce these costs were I can in the few short weeks I have to procure these items.

I'm hoping to NOT loose ground on the Savings Challenge front and would be thrilled to sock away another $1K in August. Cross your fingers we can achieve this goal! 8-))

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog May Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here.

Sluggy