Expensive Month

Perhaps it's a good thing I decided not to make a written budget for the month of July. I knew it was going to be an unusual month, but we've already encountered a few expenses that I hadn't foreseen. 

We had to purchase a school textbook, for $80. I knew that the class had a textbook, but in the past we've been able to get away with just checking a book out of the university's library, or sometimes not buying the book at all. And when we do need to buy books, I've almost always been able to find them online (at Amazon or Half.com) for way less than the campus bookstore. It's usually under $50 per class, and then I've had great success reselling it at the end of the semester for the same price I paid. 

Unfortunately, two of last semester's books have not sold, and I wasn't able to find this semester's book for less than $75 (many were selling for upwards of $125!). 

I had my car professionally cleaned, which was an extra $60. 

And then there's our upcoming "last minute" trip, which will probably cost $250-300 (travel, parking, and food)... plus we'll have to take a few days off work, which means less money on the following paycheck.