blowing through the budget

a valiant yet failed attempt at budgeting in January, 2026

This is one of my more humbling posts.

Going into this year, with organization as the label on the big blue ribbon prize of 2026, I set a goal for tighter budgeting.

In an effort to pare back and save more, I went into January with a bit of a scarcity mindset. No take out, fewer restaurants excursions, attempting to stick to a grocery budget, and minimizing other excess spending. I even went through and canceled a few memberships at the end December to prepare me for this intention.

And somehow, I ended up spending much more than I ever would have anticipated???

It was…disheartening. Though a good lesson nonetheless.

So here’s how the month went so budgetarily askew.