How We Finished the 50/50 Challenge

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After a month of taking the 50/50 Challenge, it's time to show my work. Did I make it or did I fail? (play dramatic music here)

How a Monthly Money Review Can Help

Taking the 50/50 Challenge been a fun way to push me to both earn a little more and trim our monthly expenses. It's also way to keep me accountable with our budget.

If you're trying to reach your money goals for the year, having regular check-ups can be invaluable.

When we did monthly net worth reviews, some benefits we discovered were:

• Comparing planned budgets vs actual spending is eye opening. Those reviews allowed us to see if what we planned was reasonable or if we completely missed the mark.
• We got to see our progress (or lack of) on our financial goals for the year. We could make adjustments as needed.

Okay, enough talk, let's look at the numbers!

Extra Money Earned: $300

With a full schedule, I knew going in that earning more would be a challenge. My initial idea was to get rid of stuff around the house by selling them, taking care of two birds with one stone.

It didn't go that way though.

Still no buyer for my dress on Vinted. I lowered the price so maybe I'll get a bite soon.

With the time crunch, I really didn't have success with listing stuff on Craigslist. I went ahead and donated several bags and a few boxes of my stuff.

I did get receipts, so when it comes time to filing our taxes this could be a really good thing.

With that hurdle, I was looking really hard for ways to earn some more cash.

Fortunately an opportunity for freelance work came up last week and I took it, netting me an extra $300.

So while it's not how I planned, I am excited to reach my earning goal.

Extra Money Saved: $250

Meal planning was a mixed bag. For about half the month we had thoughtfully shopped and prepared meals. It then failed as the month was finishing up as deadlines for work, a family wedding, and a busy week of showing converged.

I switched over to Republic Wireless' refund plan to see if I can save a bit more. I was doing extremely well on my usage, but in VA I ran through almost all of it.

So for my day to day activity it's a win, but if I'm out of town, I have to keep an eye on things.

I just made my goal (with a few extra cents to spare!), but a win is a win so I'm celebrating.

Thoughts on Taking the 50/50 Challenge

So you've seen my numbers, I'd love to hear from you – how were thins last month?

Were you able to earn some extra money? Did you cut back on your spending?