On Keeping a Weekly Budget of $50 [Updated]

Returning to this Blog, I am giving an update on the journey to a more sustainable lifestyle without sacrificing joy and satisfaction. I do have a few set of rules in regards to this Budget that need clarification and I've developed:

1. Bills and Medical expenses are excluded from this budget. These include medical exams, medicine, and any utilities that need to be covered. These are expenses that have guided me to save more, to have a monthly emergency fund of 30% of my paychecks. 

2. Tuition and Essential purchases are also excluded, such as books, and (in my case) a pair of replacement SD Cards for filming as these are investments rather than flights of fancy. 

3. Groceries are not included but meals are. Groceries are necessary for a healthy diet, meals picked from a restaurant when there's food already in the fridge are optional and should be deducted from the weekly budget.

I hope this doesn't sound elitist, but it is my attempt at reaching a more sustainable budget while also using what I already have in the fridge. 

As a result of this experience, I've noticed just how many purchases are unnecessary and could easily be reduced. Meals can be made at home rather than buying something that could be more expensive than what I made. Coffee itself, I make it at home for less than 50 cents a day rather than pay $2. 

I welcome anyone who feels their expenses are getting out of control to give this challenge a try, to really examine what can be weeded out and what is really necessary.