$500 Challenge update - halfway there

An update and some observations.

Sonic - $3 - we went for free floats on Wed. We got there about 10 minutes early, so we went ahead and ordered some fries. The kids and I munched them while we waited for the free floats to start. I think we'll do that again next year, because at 8:00 on the dot that place went nuts!

Gas - filled up my car - $40.21

Pizza again - house arrest is kicking my rear - $21.64

Derek allowance - $5

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $177.75 ($131.37 savings)
- (eating out $53.36)
gas: $110.74
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $20.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $5
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $443.11
Remaining: $56.89

Now for some random rambling. I usually budget $250 a month for food/HBA (basically anything we consume). This month I've tried to stick with including eating out in that total - which leaves us with $20.20 for the next two weeks, if I include the coffee with it. I'm going to try to do that, so that means just milk and produce buys for the next two weeks. We have plenty of everything else, so that should be ok.

I think I don't like lumping everything together. I basically stuck with my original envelope breakdowns anyway.

Typically my cash envies went like this:

Food/HBA: $250
Derek allowance: $20
Wendy allowance: $20
Kids allowance: $30 (this month they're really low, but we've been stuck in the house!)
Gas: $100 (gas prices are rising for the summer, so I'll have to bump this up)
Coffee/Beer making supplies: $50-$60

Crafting supplies isn't a usual category. I'm considering homeschooling, so I think I'd like to add in a permanent crafting/school supply category.

I'm thinking I'd like to start budgeting Food/HBA, eating out, and the coffee/beer making supplies all together each month. I'm not sure if I want to push my budget out to $300 or leave it at $250.

Maybe I'll try that as my goal for next month, if anyone is interested in following it.

Breaking down that remaining $56.89 for the next two weeks:
Food: $20.20
Kids allowance (when we finally get to leave the house!): $15 (gym twice and a couple of cheap summer movies)
Other stuff: $21.69

That might seem scary, but that's the beauty of stockpiling. We have plenty of good, quality food in the house. $20.20 for just milk and produce is plenty. I'll definitely post our meals for the next two weeks, so you can see how we're eating.

In conclusion: Dave Ramsey is right and individual envies are the way to go for this girl. Letting myself have the lump sum made it way too easy to make a couple of uncharacteristically large purchases at the beginning of the month.