Status report. I have now stuck to budget for 10 straight weeks. In fact, I held back 400.00 from the reorders last week because I'm getting the quarterly shipment of Magic in next week, which is huge.

Still no blue sky. It just goes to show how hard it is to make money. If I'm being disciplined in my budget, and sales are as good or better than projected, and I'm still just breaking even for 10 weeks....then I have NO CHANCE of making money if I'm NOT disciplined.

All bills are paid in full, and I think....I think....I made a small dent in credit card bills last month, though I doubt that will happen this month.

Usually, I'm building up debt this part of the year, or drawing down on reserves. Summers and Christmas are money makers -- the rest of the year I'm lucky to make any money at all. I'm committed to this budget at least through June, and because sales are so much higher in July and August, I'm not going to change then either. I'm just committed to it.

It's the first time, in all the 27 years I've been here, that I've had a budget that covered all the store needs, paid the bills, and had the potential to have a bit of profit at the end. Even if it is still theoretical.

It probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but this is one of the longest periods of time I've spent sticking to a pre-designed budget. Oh, I've spent less out of necessity, but more often than not, I've blown a fuse out of a sudden enthusiasm to carry new product.

I've never set a nice, solid middle-ground and then stuck to it for very long. Every week that goes by that I stick to it, makes it easier to stick to the next week.

I'm not sorry that I spent 8 months building up the store that I had originally intended to try to profit, because sales are so much higher -- probably 15% higher, which over the next few years should accrue higher profits in the end than if I had stuck to my original inventory. ( Unfortunately, the extra profit will be in the final year of my lease, and a lot can happen before then. )

I'm not sorry, but its time to be grown up and live with a real budget.

Keep the faith.