Here's a breakdown of my April spending.
Just as a reminder, my husband and split our finances, so he pays a lot of larger bills (like the mortgage, car, and cell phone) while I buy groceries, deal with most pet expenses, and lots of other little things.
Groceries (39%) - This was a big chunk because when I was in Michigan I paid for a grocery store trip for four adults. And there were multiple trips to Costco. Basically, when it comes to the problem of food, I just throw money at it.
Pets (32.7%) - Holy moly. This was a lot even for my pampered girls. Hannah had an annual exam at the vet complete with some vaccinations and then she was sick a week later. I also bought Hannah's expensive food, her Seresto collar, and a month's worth of her expensive allergy medications. I don't even want to admit to you that Zelda also had an annual exam this month, but my husband took her to that appointment and paid for it, so technically this number should be higher.
Gifts (8%) - I bought some stuff for my BIL the judge, some greeting cards, and presents for a friend's birthday.
Bills (4.3%) - Insurance.
Personal care (4.3%) - You guys, I did it. I bought a new hair dryer. My old one had sloooowly been dying and sometimes causing the power in the whole house to surge, so I bought a new one. RIP old one I had had since college in the 1990s.
Eating out (3.8%) - This is far more than I normally would have for eating out, but when my mom was in the hospital, cooking was just not in the cards. Also, there was more coffee than normal.
Miscellaneous (2%) - Normally I track how I spend my cash. But when I was in Michigan I had $45 in cash and I honestly have no idea where it went or how I spent it. So it just went under this category. I will not promise to do better next month because I think there will be a similar amount of panic when I go back to Michigan.
Savings (1.8%) - Ugh. This is terrible. As soon as I saw this AGAIN, I upped the amount that was going into various savings/IRA accounts. Next month WILL be better.
Cars (1.7%) - Mostly gas on the way to Michigan and back.
Tech (<1%) - I paid for cloud storage.
Clothing (a return netted me some money) - I returned a pair of winter boots I purchased last month because they didn't work out. Now I'll probably need to buy some winter boots next year.
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What was your favorite purchase of the month? Mine was probably the new hair dryer. It's making getting ready for bed so much easier.
Favourite purchase? I had to sit on this for a minute...Probably ice cream for my kids yesterday. Moms ate free at a local market, so we walked together and I bought them both cones and it's a nice little memory for all our collective memory banks.
ReplyDeleteI feel like every single month has some unusually big expense. (Like your vet bills.) Something goes wrong with the plumbing. Or car insurance comes due. Or camp fees get invoiced for the summer. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING!!!
Ice cream is always a worthwhile purchase! I need to get to our local ice cream place sometime this month.
DeleteThere is always an unusual expense, that's for sure. I just try to roll with the punches and hope for the best. Also, it was nice that my husband paid for Zelda's appointment. LOL.
I bought a really cute dress at Target that was only like $20... Also, I think your spending looks great considering stress, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think the thing is that there was no real time to spend money or I might have ended up stress buying! LOL.
DeleteI would say you were due for a new hair dryer! And yes- that is a lot of money spent on the pets. But what can you do... it's worth it. I also think you did really well with your spending- you're just a frugal person in general. I can think of many purchases I made last month, but nothing stands out as something I really loved. SIGH.
ReplyDeleteI was *shocked* at the number for pets this month. It just all added up so quickly!
DeleteI don't know if I'm a frugal person, to be honest. I just never go anywhere to do any shopping!
How the heck did you get so much longevity out of a hair dryer? I feel like I replace mine every five years. As a matter of fact, I just tossed one last week--it kept getting hotter and hotter and hotter. I clean them religiously, too.
ReplyDeleteI have never cleaned a hair dryer in my life. I have no idea how it lasted so long - it was just a lucky purchase!
DeleteYou certainly got your money's worth out of the old dryer! I think that offsets some of your spending, honestly.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite purchase last month? It's a toss-up between the new-to-me yarn cabinet, and the little card catalog; I love them both.
Your yarn cabinet and card catalog are wonderful purchases. I can see why they're exciting to you!
DeleteI've bought a few things for our upcoming trip, but also sending a couple things back. Still waiting for my Carve package to arrive with the rashguard and that peach buttondown that you said you also have in black! Excited for that. I also placed a pricey dog food order + flea/tick and heartworm medicine...
ReplyDeleteThe pet expenses just add up, don't they? Dogs, in particular. I never knew how lucky we were when we just had a cat!
DeleteI am astonished that you kept a hair dryer for, what, 20 years or something?! Damn, girl. I usually upgrade mine every few years because new technology and all that. I fall prey to consumerism!!
ReplyDeleteFavorite purchase recently... well, I just bought a pregnancy pillow from Amazon that will be here tomorrow and I'm really excited about that! (Not pregnant, lol, just need better support when I'm sleeping.)
Well, I don't upgrade anything until it dies/becomes dangerous. I mean, what new technology is there in hot air blowing at your hair?! But maybe if I actually knew how to style hair I'd think differently!
DeleteFavourite purchase of the last month? I guess Lucy's new leg? Lol, I HEAR you on the pet expenses thing. Apparently we also need a new barbecue. But we will soon be down one sizeable expense a month when we stop paying rent on Angus's place in Ithaca.
ReplyDeleteHa! The only question is whether or not Lucy agrees that her new leg was worth the price!!
DeleteCostco! My favorite store, but I cannot get out of there without spending at least $100. And that is probably for 4 bags of snack food and a couple pieces of cheese. However, I love it anyway, so much that when I was deciding what cards to carry on my trip, the Costco card made the cut! :) My favorite purchase was a birthday hamburger and fries with poutine! I was so stuffed that I could not even fit in an ice cream afterwards, which is a serious situation.
ReplyDeleteI have never eaten at the food court at Costco! Either I'm with my husband who can't eat any of it or the lines are insane and I immediately opt out. I am hoping that someday I can try their ice cream!
DeleteApril feels like it was so very long ago... We spent more on dining out than usual during that month since we were on vacation in FL for several days, so that was probably the best money we spent in the month of April! I need to figure out an expense tracking solution. We used to use Mint but that turned into Credit Karma which sucks so now I need to find something else which means my annual spending recap that I usually do in January is going to only be for part of the year which is annoying but so it goes!
ReplyDeleteCostco is so good and bad. Haha. I mean, you get good deals, but everything is so huge and oversized that you end up paying a fortune. I hate spending money and have a hard time seeing what goes out of the bank every month... and still, I track it because I need to know.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite purchase last month? Skiing vacation in the Dolomites LOL
Here's what I see in this (now-very-old-and-about-to-be-replaced) spending report: You investing in yourself (groceries and COFFEE in Michigan), your friends and family (gifts and cards), and your girls (who are your heart, well, other than Dr. BB). Don't sell yourself short - think of all you are juggling right now while working and living life and just generally rocking at it all. <3
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