Here we are with another month of me confessing to all of my bad habits.
Cars ($33.05, 1.3%) - I bought gas for one of the cars. They're both due for oil changes, so we'll see if that gets done next month. The VW key batteries still need to be changed and we haven't done that yet, so that's also a possible car-related expense for next month.
Charity ($63.97, 2.6%) - I bought items off the Amazon wishlist for the local Humane Society.
Communication ($58.04, 2.3%) - I bought greeting cards for St. Patrick's Day and some birthday cards, as well as paid for my Zoom membership.
Eating out ($15.81, 0%) - Coffee once and eating lunch out once. I honestly just never leave the house, so it never occurs to me to eat out.
Gifts ($25, 1%) - Birthday present for one of my nephews.
Groceries ($647.74, 26.2%) - What can I say? We eat a lot.
Health and fitness ($314, 12.7%) - I had to pay $215 for a PT appointment and I'll have a couple more of these bills coming my way in March. I also bought passes for yoga and fitness classes.
Personal care ($239.20, 9.7%) - This is larger than usual, but I got a haircut and bought tons of personal care items that all seemed to run out at the same time like shampoo/conditioner, vitamins, and let's not forget the trip to Costco where we stocked up on mouthwash and hand soap.
Pets ($372.98, 15.1%) - Food for Hannah, so many medications for Hannah (her new antibiotics are $145 for a 40-day supply), chicken and she got a bath at the dog wash. I also bought litter for Zelda.
Savings ($700, 28.3%) - I socked away the rest of what I had in savings.
I'm desperately hoping that next month I'll have something in the "entertainment" category, but for now this is my life. I'll have more PT bills next month and Hannah is due for some tests to check her liver levels (the anti-fungal she's on can be a problem), so I imagine the pie will look a little different.
What's the thing that you were happiest to pay for this month? For me, it was fun to shop on the wishlist for the Humane Society and buy things I know my dog likes, hoping some other pup finds joy in it.
Hmmm. What a good prompt question. I have no idea?!
ReplyDeleteI bought a book (used, but still) off Amazon last month which I almost NEVER do. It felt very luxurious.
Groceries. Considering so many situations of food insecurity in the world right now, I try to make sure to express gratitude over my ability to purchase food.
I definitely am happy that we can easily pay for food and don't have to think about it too much.
DeleteI was happy to have some expenses related to travel for the first time in 2 years! We ate out once/day on our trip and my parents picked up the tab twice, so we bought pizzas when we ate in. So overall, we did not spend much because my parents also did all the grocery shopping ahead of time and asked what we needed. So the biggest expense was paying for our nights at the airbnb my parents rented for the 2 weeks they were in Tucson. They got a 3 bed/2bath place so that we could stay with them for our 4 nights there! I said we could get our own place but they insisted we stay with them!
ReplyDeleteYay! for traveling to feel safe again. I'm glad you were able to get away and enjoy time with family.
DeleteIf that does you for a month of groceries, the USA still has much cheaper food that we do.
ReplyDeleteYes - I haven't been to Canada in a couple of years, but the food prices there were always higher than the per diem my company offered us!
DeleteOh wow... your car expense. That is so low I can't even fathom. And eating out. You are saving SO MUCH MONEY. I wouldn't think twice about that grocery bill- it's not that high, and you're saving so much elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI would say the thing I'm happiest to pay for is some special meals out while my son is home. And the groceries... we need lots of extra food when he's around. But it's worth it!
The car expense was really only so low because my husband does more driving than me and he fills up most of the time. Our cars have been low maintenance (knock on wood), but because we don't actually take them in for work very much, when we do take them to the mechanic, there's always quite a hefty bill!
DeleteBut wait... WHERE are the bad habits?! Because I don't see anything in your expense report that would constitute a bad habit! Your grocery bill seems really reasonable for two people and you were able to put $700 into savings, which is amazing! Give credit where it is due, girl. You did good in February!
ReplyDeleteHappiest to pay in February? Probably the flights I booked for my mom and me to visit Niagara Falls in June! WOOP!
I always think of the pet costs as "bad habits" because they're (let's be honest - Hannah) so expensive! I know some people think of pets as unnecessary, but they bring such joy to our lives that I can't imagine living without them. However, I do sometimes get defensive about how much money I spend on them.
DeleteI am so glad to see another two-person household with higher grocery expenses. We're not the only ones! Woot :)
ReplyDelete