March Income and Expenses

I know it seems like forever for me to get the monthly expenses up, but I know from experience, that there's always something that doesn't get entered into Quicken, so I have to wait until I get our bank statement. Sure enough, Basil and I each forgot to enter a deposit for a paycheck, which is why I was panicking that we were going to run out of money. It was an insane month for income and expenditures, but I'll try to explain them all. First of all, I dropped the cents part of the chart since it was just distracting.
Art income was way up because I sold two paintings (yea!) and Basil sold mucho items in his crafty side business. Salaries were also up because I get paid weekly and there were five Fridays in March. On top of that we both got our tax refunds back, plus Basil still gets birthday checks from his relatives because he writes great thank you notes. I know I've about given up sending gifts to nieces and nephews because I never get thank you notes. I'd even take an e-mail thank you, but noooooooo. We also got a partial security deposit refund (see previous post). Anyway, we had a LOT of income for March. On to the expenditures....
We also spent a lot.
Art expenses and supplies were up because we had some big projects.
Fuel was way up because my Number 3 Son was out visiting on his spring break and we drove him around sightseeing, etc.
Clothing: I splurged with some of my tax refund money and bought some work clothes and a nice outfit because we had a couple of events to go to.
Computer Expense: This is the Applecare for my new ipod. I've known too many people who's have crashed after a year, plus my old one died at two years and nine months, and as the Applecare is for three years, they had to replace it, and it's still going a year later after I gave it to my son.
Credit Card: Basil paid quite a bit and was happy about it.
Dining: Uh oh....how do I explain this? $604! When I told Basil to guess how much we spent he wasn't anywhere near close. Last month I lamented that we'd spent $273! All I can say is that we REALLY celebrated: Basil's birthday; Number 3 Son visiting; my selling two paintings; all three sons, Basil and myself getting together for the first time in over a year...you get the picture. Now with our monthly challenge, we should be better in April and May.
College Expenses: Emergency funds for Number 1 Son. You know--he's a college student, they always need money.
Education: AP Exam fees. I hope he passes at least one of them....
Gifts Given: Basil's birthday, plus my father's and Basil's brother's.
Groceries were right around where we want them....at least we're doing something right.
My tax preparation was paid, and well worth every penny as I had my refund in the bank while my niece was celebrating the fact that she had two extra days to procrastinate doing her taxes.
Next month things will settle down and I hope to add my savings and Roth IRA, etc. to this report. I did transfer $1000 over to my high interest savings account (close to 5%), and I'm still waiting for my college refund for Number 1 Son. Hopefully some of that will go into my Roth IRA.