July 2018 Spending and Saving

Photo by Ethan Robertson on Unsplash

My first month of getting serious about my finances has come to an end. I learned a lot over the last few weeks, and discovered some surprising things about myself and my spending habits. But I vowed to do better and put my new-found knowledge into practice. I showed you all my starting point, so let's see how July changed those numbers.
First, a little recap of where I started out the month:

July 2018 Starting Funds
Checking: $200.00
Savings: $5833.43
Cash: $1200.76
Gift Cards: $468.20
401(K): $363.08

According to my handy dandy Google Doc budget sheet, my total earnings for the month were $2,063.37 and my spending totaled $656.18, netting me a savings of $1,407.19. Awesome!

For July I saved 68% of my earnings! I was aiming for 50-65%, so I crushed that goal! I could have saved even more if it weren't for an impulse buy (shoes) and some extra fancy grocery items on the 31st. But that just lets me know what to watch out for next month and the months to come.

Now, where I'm starting out for August:

August 2018 Starting Funds
Checking: $145.54
Savings: $7587.30
Cash: $760.76
Gift Cards: $610.80
401(K):$599.20

My total funds are up, which is excellent! I expect my earnings and expenses to look about the same for August. I do hope to avoid any more impulse buys and to reign in my grocery bill. If I can add another $1,600 to my savings, that would be great!

My savings account is looking pretty darn good right now, but that money can't stay there. I need to move it somewhere where I won't touch it and where it'll earn me a bit more interest. I've been looking at CIT Bank Money Market Accounts which boast a 1.85% APY. That's looking like the most likely home for my emergency fund.