My Frugal Miser - March 2012 Goals Review

In March I beat one of my goals and failed the other two.

Tangible Goals

• I wanted to reduce the balance on my Chase Freedom card to $2,500.  It was at $344 at the end of March and I will pay the balance when the bill arrives.  Success!
• I wanted to end the month at 232 pounds, a 4 pound weight loss.  My weight was unchanged.
• I wanted to earn $1,500 from mystery shopping.  I probably did earn that much, but I don't recognize the income until it's received.  In March I received, net of expenses, $1,149.

Not so Tangible Goals

• I wanted to reduce the amount of electricity we use.  The bill I received in March was even lower than that of February (7 kWh per day, on average versus 8 in February).  Thanks to mild weather, April looks to be a frugal energy month as well.
• I wanted to read more and watch less TV.  I'm definitely watching less TV.  I rarely even turn the thing on whereas I used to turn it on at the same time I turned on my computer.  In March I read (and am finishing) Peter Manso's Reasonable Doubt, a true story about a murder in Cape Cod.  It's decent.   I haven't read as much as I wanted because mystery shopping has picked up so much.
• I wanted to drive less, but all the shops I did negated that.  I can say that I combined personal errands with mystery shopping trips whenever I could.

March was decent.  I really need to work on losing weight though.