Traveling (20.1%) - Hotels room were a big chunk this month. I was out of town a lot.
Groceries (14.9%) - Still gotta eat.
Pets (12.7%) - Food for both girls this month plus the dog's allergy medicine and her probiotic.
Savings (11.5%) - I have upped this so that more money is coming out of checking account into savings every month and more is going into my mutual fund/IRA.
Cars (9.7%) - All that road tripping meant I spent way more on gas than I normally would.
Clothes (8.2%) - I went to my alma mater and splurged at the bookstore. #noregrets
Bills (8.1%) - Car/house insurance and water bill.
Personal care (6.1%) - Haircut, some makeup, and a pedicure. #reallynoregrets
Gifts (5.1%) - Birthday presents for my husband and my twin niece and nephew.
Eating out (2.2%) - I didn't eat out too much when I was road tripping, but it did happen a couple of times. I mostly ate out of the cooler (and my mom paid for a dinner out once and Bestest Friend's friend paid for dinner once).
Health (1.4%) - I bought two tubes of prescription toothpaste when I went to the dentist.
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What do you have #noregrets about buying in May?
Stickers. I bought a $10 pack of inspirational stickers on Amazon and have no regrets. I'm putting one each day into a new journal/brain dump book I'm using and it's a little ray of sunshine in my day. I got 200 stickers for that price so...they'll last me a while!
ReplyDeleteStickers! I have SO MANY. I am going to make a care package for your family that's just buttons and stickers. LOL.
DeleteI bought some new jeans and they are the best! So comfortable. NO REGRETS!
ReplyDeleteWhat are these fabulous jeans? Curious minds need to know!
DeleteI bought a few things in a desperate attempt to spiff up the house- a summer-y wreath for the door, a new candle and some plants. I can't believe you spent so little eating out when you were traveling so much! Good job- restaurant meals are expensive.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I just kind of hate eating out, to be honest. The food is never as good as I want it to be and I'm personally offended by the prices. I'd rather stock up at the grocery store and eat pretzel buns and peanut butter when I'm traveling. BUT. I totally get how much easier it is to just get a salad or whatever when you're on the road.
DeleteFlowering plants for the garden... the deer are already eating it every chance they get, but it looks so lovely while it lasts.
ReplyDeleteOh. Ha. I don't know whether to boo the deer or be glad that there are still deer. Hm. You've put me in quite a pickle.
DeleteI live my life so I can provide you with interesting conundrums to ponder. lol
DeleteI would like to say YAY for travel being your biggest category this month, but I know it is not really a joyous vacation kind of travel. Maybe it's time for you to get a hotel credit card!? I know IHG has one where you can get a lot of points. Just saying. In May I had to buy some electronics which were unexpected and cost quite a bit, but are worth it, as that is how I will save my photos and charge my phone/camera, so they are priceless memories in the making.
ReplyDeleteI need to start looking into credit cards, actually. I just got a notice from my credit card company that was like NOTHING'S CHANGING only to find that the following things have changed: it's switching from Visa to Mastercard, the interest rate is going up, and I'm going to have to get a new credit card number. That's the opposite of NOTHING'S CHANGING. I'm going to consult my SIL who does a lot of research on this about what the best card is for me. I suspect it will be one with rewards for groceries and gas rather than hotels, but we'll see!
DeleteSome of the cash back ones, such as Chase Freedom, actually have pretty good cash back rates right now and it is on multiple categories (Freedom is currently 4.5% on restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services and 3% on everything else, plus they have a current intro offer of an additional 1.5% -- caveat: all on only up to $20k worth of purchases). That may be the way to go if you are not specifically using it for travel.
DeleteI have several credit cards that I use for different things. I'm very invested in them, clearly.
DeleteI have three cards through Chase, because I've had them for a long time and Chase bought the original banks when they failed. One has categories that change every quarter (that Kyria mentioned), and I use that one for whatever the quarterly category is. Mine is 5% up to $1,500 worth of purchases each quarter. The only time I max that one out is when it is groceries, since I buy the majority of those as well.
One gives 5% at Whole Foods and Amazon. I know. Bad. This one also gives me collision insurance on rental cars, so I also use it for that.
One gives 3% at drugstores and restaurants. I use it for these things unless the Freedom card is giving 5% that quarter.
Then I have a Capital One card that gives me 2% on all purchases, as long as I use it for travel. I use this one for everything that isn't one of the categories above. I paid for our AirBnB with my points when we went to Maui in 2021, and at least 1/2 of our AirBnB when we went to Alaska last year. You don't have to book travel through them, you just purchase whatever using the card, and reimburse yourself with points. I may get rid of this one though, because I pay a $59 annual fee for it, and there are other cards that give 2% now with no fee. I got it back in 2017 because my husband and daughter were going to the UK and Paris, and it doesn't charge international service charges.
AND I now have an Apple credit card, which I opened so I could put money into a High Interest Savings account, which I then emptied out when I got a better rate through Synchrony.
May and June have been expensive months for bodily upkeep - new orthotics (desperately needed, so no regrets except the regret that I have stupid feet), new contact lens supply, haircut. We helped Angus with first and last months rent, but pretty soon he'll be paying his own rent, so that's awesome. Man, I need a pedicure.
ReplyDeleteI have #reallynoregrets about personal care. I need this body to keep working, you know? And your quality of life will be so much better with new orthotics!
DeleteNo regrets: buying three different sheer shades of nail polish so that I could find the perfect one for me. Wasteful, maybe... but the perfect color is perfect.
ReplyDeleteLook, I've been desperately trying to find the perfect shade of grey polish for YEARS and have not done it. If you have done it with only three bottles, you are winning.
DeleteWell we dropped an eye watering sum of money on plane tickets to Asia for this winter, so I'm hoping I don't regret that... I don't think I will regret seeing my grandfather, though. I haven't seen him in six years and he is 96 years old.
ReplyDeleteTravel is always so eye-watering, isn't it? But it will be worth it!
DeleteI bought some new Hoka running shoes and I paid up to get the new model because otherwise I would have had to buy the same color as I was currently running in. I only buy running shoes once/year and I wasn't thrilled at the idea of wearing the same color for like 2 years. Plus the running shoes that I phase out become my indoor strength training shoes so I need them to be a different color so I can keep them straight!
ReplyDeleteTreat your feet right is what I always say! If I'm going to spend money, footwear is not a bad way to do it.
DeleteMy husband and I do the same things. I think it's a great idea to see how you spent your money. I need to try that, especially since I'm not saving as much as I want to be. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteThe tracking was really eye-opening about how I'd let savings slip in the first half of the year, so it was a great way for me to force myself to start adding money to our savings accounts.
DeleteNice work on the savings! That's always a good place to put money ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't regret buying new running shoes this month. It was overdue.
Footwear seems to be a popular #noregrets choice. I heartily approve of that!
Delete#noregrets purchases? Face cream. I have so much face cream, but this is night time cream and I was almost out, and it was 30% off. I splurged on a bracelet that I don't need, but I like it so I'm not sorry. I also don't regret the expensive dinners I paid for in May - 1 was a birthday dinner for my husband, and the other was dinner with one of my best friends. We get together 3 or 4 times a year and it's always fun.
ReplyDeleteThose sound like great purchases! I heartily endorse personal care and time with friends!
DeleteNo regrets about FINALLY buying new "running" shoes. They feel like walking on a cloud! It hurts to cough up so much money for them, but it was necessary.
ReplyDeleteI never feel guilt over spending money on shoes. Welcome to my world, Stephany, where shoes costs the equivalent of two weeks of groceries!!
DeleteMhm... what did I buy. I am currently really trying to not buy anything but maybe the sun hat for our date day in June. And I am wearing it now on my balcony which is nice. So I guess that was my buy.
ReplyDelete