Bills ($97.58, 0%) - I paid for home and car insurance.
Clothing ($17.71, 0%) - This was just leftover returning and exchanging from my big blowout of purchases last month.
Cars ($38.17, 0%) - I bought gas for one of the cars when I took it to book club and realized my husband had left it below a quarter of a tank. We have different standards for what counts as "enough" in the gas tank.
Charity ($30, 0%) - I donated to our local foundation for the community center where I volunteer.
Communication ($52.45, 1.3%) - I bought some greeting cards for Mother's Day and May birthdays and paid for my Zoom membership.
Eating out ($25, 0%) - Coffee out twice and lunch out once.
Entertainment ($28, 0%) - I bought a state park pass for our car. I have big plans for going to state parks if the weather ever cooperates.
Gifts ($80.13, 2%) - Birthday present for a friend.
Groceries ($671, 17%) - This doesn't count the two times my husband had to go to the store to buy a few items or the honey we bought from the bee farmer because my husband also paid for that. Food is expensive.
Health and fitness ($809.79, 20.5%) - Most of this was paying for physical therapy appointments that I had in January and February. If I've done my math/calendaring correctly, I don't have any more bills coming my way for that, so I should be okay as long as I don't have any other actual healthcare-related needs. This also includes a yoga class at the community center and my regular fitness class pass and running app, as well as some vitamins and other personal care items.
Pets ($1597.53, 40.5%) - I don't know why I call this category "pets" - it should be labeled "having a dog is hella expensive and you should obviously reconsider it as all of your disposable money will go here." I spent about $330 on medications for Hannah this month, $400 for her annual exam at her regular vet, and almost $700 for her at the neurologist to get checked and some more xrays (along with some glorious news about adding a NEW expensive medication to her regimen - more on that exciting news later!). Listen, I love my dog, but she is not a good sound financial investment.
Savings ($500, 12.7%) - You guys, I figured out how to change the amount of money I put in my investment accounts!!! I figured it out!!!
And that's what I spent my money on this month, my friends. Food, healthcare, and my dog. (Could you imagine how much money I could save if I didn't have a dog?!)
What was your biggest expense in April?
Woo! Congrats on figuring out the savings increase! I agree that groceries are SO expensive. I spent $200+ yesterday at the store. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteIn almost any month our biggest expanse by far is food. Cost of living is higher here. (By food I just mean at the grocery store not coffee out or whatnot. And so soap and other things get included in the food bill.)
ReplyDeleteAgain so fascinating. Finances seem much more straightforward when kids are not involved. Probably another reason you are glad you don't have them. hehe. On the other hand, this post (if I would let me husband see, which I will not....) definitely validates his ongoing #1 argument that we CANNOT get a dog, ever. He would DIE if he saw this. He has no interest in spending that kind of money on a pet! Or boarding, grooming, etc either. I think most of the time it's all he can do to stomach what we spend on our human children. HA! Cracks me up that you spent only $25 eating out in the entire month!!! omg. I can't even fathom that. If we ever spend that little on eating out, we're probably either dead or living in a nursing home. lol!! 😂 (Does this include you AND husband for eating out together? Or does this just mean you, solo? That would be a notable distinction I guess- I don't spend a ton by myself out- usually just eat at home when alone.)
ReplyDeleteThere will be a post later this week about the cost of owning this particular dog. It's not pretty. I think most dogs are way cheaper, but even a healthy dog with no weirdness is going to cost a lot more than, say, a cat.
DeleteMy husband does not eat out. At all. Ever. He has dietary restrictions and barely trusts me to cook for him - he really doesn't trust anyone else to cook for him (I think I saw him eat something his sister cooked at a party several years ago and I was taken aback), so this is just me going out to lunch one day solo. I rarely eat out myself, but sometimes I will reward myself for doing something I don't want to do with a lunch out. In this case, I went to get lunch after taking the dog to the vet.
Oof that was an expensive month for Hannah! Too bad there isn't an HSA for pet expenses!!! Our biggest expense is always daycare. I think it's about $700/week? I don't know the exact amount because I don't pay close attention to it since it is essential. My husband obsesses over the cost and has a spreadsheet that forecasts how the expense will decline as the kids move up into less expensive rooms. Both boys are moving up to different rooms in May/early June so the cost will decrease a bit. Outside of that, we did some investing in April but it doesn't feel like an 'expense' since hopefully it increases our pool of money. We bought some mutual funds and Treasury notes since it felt like an attractive entry point. Good for you for finding a way to do some investing! I used to have money pulled out of every paycheck and routed to a savings account. I stopped doing that eventually, I think when I got married and closed that account and got added to my husband's account. He does most of the money management so I let him decide what to put in savings/what to invest/etc.
ReplyDeleteUgh- we spend so much on groceries. We've been trying to cut back but it's really discouraging.
ReplyDeleteHannah is an expensive dog!!! I'm going to tell my husband what you said about dogs in general being expensive- he keeps saying he wants to get one and hopefully this information will shut that discussion down. Not that I don't like dogs- I just don't think we can handle one right now.
Nice job on the savings!
Our biggest expense was a major car repair (but it's still a lot cheaper than buying a new used car). Groceries aren't cheap, but we get by on ~$700/month (for a family of 4).
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at your line about "We have different standards for what counts as "enough" in the gas tank." Oh man. My husband jokes that anything below 3/4 of a tank and I start desperately looking for gas stations. This isn't true, but I would never let my gas tank get low!! Now that he's not travelling for work and tends to be the one with the car/driving, I don't pay much attention but whenever I was solo, I kept that car topped up regularly :)
My eyes bugged out of my head when I saw how much you paid for your pets in April. OMGGG. Hannah is such an expensive dog. I don't even think my dog that passed away in 2018 was that expensive, even in his later years when he was getting more regular blood work/x-rays. Whew.
ReplyDeleteI used to be obsessive about my gas tank, too, and my new car tells me how many miles I have to go and I'm now so bad about riding it around until it dips below 20 miles. Before, if my gas light came on, I was convinced I had to find a gas station within 5 minutes.
Kids and pets must be the two most expensive luxuries I know! That's a huge bill for Hannah's care. I am sorry.
ReplyDeleteWell for us, the biggest expense is (almost always) rent.... closely followed by food. Not things I can "easily" skip, I am afraid.
Food is the biggest here, followed by "household" (insurance and utilities). I have a separate account and sock in money for taxes on the house and cottage every month so I'm not hit with two mega-bills twice a year. Always something.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness. The cost certainly reflects the love and care that you are giving Hannah. You are an amazing, loving, caring pet parent. I honestly don't know many people who would do the same. My "eating out" expenses are similar if not less than yours and of course that makes grocery costs higher. I am grateful I do not eat meat, and I'm not eating eggs now, either. That helps tremendously BUT the things I eat instead aren't necessarily cheap. I suspect the same is true for your husband and his dietary requirements.
ReplyDelete