I'm a bad girl for a couple of reasons:

1.) I haven't been entering expenses in Quicken. I've caught up with it now, but it's a pain to get behind and try to remember where the $$ went (especially cash ).
2.) I was over "budget" in May, and will also be over budget in June.

Beginning in January, I challenged myself to live each month off my stipend (usually about $1340 / month take home) while contributing $150 to my Roth IRA. I have other streams of income beside my stipend, like babysitting, interest, and random odd jobs, but I've been trying to just sock that money away.

I won't bother listing all the categories, but I was $262.81 over my stipend in May. I did so well with this Challenge until April. I need to get back on the wagon!

There are a few reasons for the extra expenses, but the major reason is that I've allowed myself a little more liberty in spending because in May I was offered to teach 2 summer classes for which I will be paid ~$5,000 in total, before taxes. I will get the money at the end of June. I decided to use this unexpected "windfall" to max out my 2007 Roth ASAP (by the end of June, I will have contributed $2000, so I'll use the teaching money to top it off at $4K). The remainder I'll put in savings, but I have been very liberal the last few weeks in treating myself to some new clothing, some nice shampoo, etc. All in all, it will probably end up being a few hundred dollars in "treats".

I was going to write how I work really hard and deserve the "treats", but I know that's just rationalizing. It is what it is. I wanted the stuff. I have it now. I think I'm still in good financial shape and the world will keep turning.I need to find a way to balance feeling guilty about spending and enjoying the money I earn. Actually, the more I think about it, I don't really feel guilty about it. I'm just cognizant, and perhaps that *is* the middle ground.