A summer has passed since I made the vow to become a more mindful spender.

The verdict: Room for improvement.

The plan I laid out in May was to switch from debit card to cash for most of my day-to-day expenses. Coupled with this I planned to use the smallest combination of bills possible instead of whipping out a 20 for every least little thing.

The exercise succeeded at causing me to pay better attention to prices. But it didn’t necessarily keep me from spending more than I should.

I still have one never-worn summer outfit – wrapped in its original tissue paper. It was on sale at one of my favorite stores. I was out of town, and I just had to have it at the moment I tried it on. Total outlay: about $55.

I haven’t had a full gas tank for nearly a year, but took a lot of little day trips this season that inspired me. I had a total lapse of judgment and used a credit card to pay the $60 or so it took to go from fumes to full up. I never ever do that.

One of the paradoxes of the plan to forgo debit was that I started withdrawing increasingly large amounts of cash from the ATM so I would be sure to have enough on hand to cover the costs I might encounter. I found that using a debit card actually kept my spending in check because I had less money. (Plus, I really do like the paper trail it leaves for my year-end tax prep.)

I claimed one small victory by swearing off Mister Softee and cutting the cost of my ice cream habit in half. But an honest look at my recent vacation photos tells me I should really cut that habit out entirely.

Speaking of vacation, that’s where I had the biggest lapses of the season.

My plan for a cost-effective summer exchange program for my daughter wound up costing about three times what I’d anticipated, thanks to outrageous airfare, my decision to accompany her, and then her return a few days earlier than scheduled (which added another $200 to the bill).

Our recent four-day trek down the Jersey shore was within my budget until my hot water heater decided to give out the week of our departure.

The cost to replace it was nearly the exact amount due on our motel bill. It didn’t cause me to cancel the trip, of course. But every little indulgence felt a bit like a guilty pleasure. I’ll be paying the price next month because I charged more than I’d intended.

Alas, I have no relatives who live in exotic paradise locations.

I’m going back to a written spending diary. When I really need to cut back and take control, that’s the tool that works best for me.

My neighbor and I plan one of our blowout gate sales the last weekend of September. I expect to get a haul of roughly $300. It’s already spoken for.

What are the tricks that work for you to control spending? Weigh in on The Exchange.