March 2021 Expense Report

 

Okay, so here we are, about 25% of the way through the year. Whew.  2021 has been a blast so far, hasn't it?

Biggest expenses:

This month my biggest expenses continue to be savings, groceries, and pets. I had some other larger categories, including bills and charitable giving.

Breakdown:

Bills (9.5%) - This includes water/sewer and some insurance payments.

Cars (1.6%) - I had to get gas for both cars once during the month. I am thinking that when I get together with Dr. BB to go over spending allotments, I might take on our car payment since I'm supposed to cover our car expenses and they've gone down dramatically since the start of the pandemic.

Charity (11.8%) - There were a couple of large charitable donations made. You know, there's a lot of bad things happening in the world and if I can throw some dollars at it, I guess I'll do my slacktivism from the couch.

Eating out (1.1%) - I ordered takeout for lunch once and stopped to get coffee a few times.  

Gifts (1.5%) - My niece had a birthday and I picked up a present for a friend who has a birthday in April.

Groceries (20.6%) - We've gotta eat.

Health and personal fitness (4.1%) - This category is almost entirely made up of dental expenses, but I also have my monthly fitness passes.

Pets (11.9%) - Damn, the girls are pricey.  Food for both of them this month, toothpaste, I bought birdseed for our outside feeders and included that in this category, and there was a grooming appointment, and some medications purchased.  

Savings (33.4%) - I still can't figure out how to get money into one of my retirement accounts, which actually kind of makes me nervous about if I ever want to take the money OUT and that was a goal for March that never got done, so I guess I'll roll that over into April.  In the meantime, our shared savings account is looking healthy, my Christmas fund is growing away, and I'm pleased with my savings progress.

Other (2.1%) - This is the category I added household expenses, a book I bought for book club when the library hold just took too long, and some fancy earring backs that I ordered on a whim.  Since those were my only "whim-related" purchases, I feel fine about this category.

Wrap-up/things I want to buy:

I'm actually pretty frugal and since I rarely leave the house, I feel pretty good about how "essential" my purchases were in March.  I do have a rather long list of things I'd like to purchase soon.  Ready for it?

1) A buffet/hutch/sideboard for the kitchen - This has been on my list since we moved in. There's currently an old IKEA bookshelf there, holding our microwave, cookbooks, and stand mixer, but it's bowing under the weight of the KitchenAid, isn't really big enough, and I hate the way it looks.  Once I'm fully vaccinated (fewer than two weeks left, yo!), I'll be hitting antique shops.

It's not great. It was a temporary solution, but the longer we live here, the more I think it's going to be this way forever. No. I won't let it. I'll get it fixed by the end of 2021.

2) A two-tiered shoe stand for our mudroom - We currently have a rubber tray and it's not large enough and the shoes have taken over the room. There's one from LL Bean that I like a lot, but it's sold out.  I'm going to buy one before the end of this calendar year, I just know it.

Sadly, it's not available. But isn't it great?

3) New towels for our bathrooms - We've had our towel set since we got married and they are all old and raggedy.  The seams are coming undone. They roll in strange directions.  I'd like to replace all the towels, bathmats, washcloths, and hand towels, and donate our current ones to the Humane Society. I also want to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and TOUCH all the towels before I buy anything.

4) So much personal care - I'm imagining that my personal care budget is going to skyrocket in April. I'm planning on getting a haircut, eyebrow wax, and pedicure as soon as I'm fully vaccinated.  I'm also considering ordering some shower oil from L'Occitane during their friends and family event.  I normally only use shower oil during the winter, but I do love that stuff.