Keeping on budget

Almost two-thirds of the way through January and I am keeping on budget. In fact, so far my spending for my allowance which is basically all discretionary spending categories (dining out, personal care, entertainment, etc.) has been about $180. Typically I would have spent at least $225 or more by now. The biggest splurge in there is my purchase of my TaxCut software which is a non-recurring expense and I will get a $10 rebate.

This month I also earned my first $10 from MySurvey.com. I will receive a check in 8 to 10 weeks. Earlier this week I was at a corporate event in Florida where I stayed at a nice hotel and ate very well. I did not spend one dime of my own money while I was there. I did however have to pay for a pet sitter ($74 including tip). Instead of using my corporate credit card to pay for the hotel, I used my Discover card to take advantage of the 5% rebates on travel expenses during the months of January through March. I figure I will earn $35 in rebates to help offset the pet sitting fees.