Another month, another spending post! I am feeling pretty good about how the numbers shook out this month. No-Spend July was such a good exercise for me to reset my spending habits and allow me to understand how I want to spend my money. As a reminder, in these posts, I am only talking about what I am spending. I do not include anything that comes out of my paycheck before it lands in my bank account. You won’t see anything about insurance premiums, FSA deductions, 401k deductions, or anything like that.
Bills (51.6% | -6.8% from July): This category comprises rent, my phone bill, Internet, my car payment, electric, my gym, Care Credit, and student loans. I paid a lot less for my phone bill in August than I did in July (due to switching carriers) but my electric bill was higher ($263, sheesh).
Food (15.5% | -.3% from July): Hey! I’m happy with this. I wasn’t on my spending freeze in August so I expected this number to be a lot higher. I came in a smidge under-budget, which is great. I spent more money on restaurants/fast food than I did on Ubereats orders, and a lot of that was grabbing a quick breakfast from Einstein’s or McDonald’s. Hence the goal to eat breakfast at home in September. I need to rein in that spending a bit!
Cats (7.7% | +4.5% from July): Oh, have these cats gotten expensive recently! One of my Chewy orders this month totaled over $200! Imma need them to get a job soon. This month, Eloise had a routine vet appointment and got some shots. I also bought two bags of litter, a new bag of dry food, and two bulk orders of wet food (prescription + non-prescription). I also got them some treats and couldn’t help myself to a set of cute ceramic bowls at Home Goods one afternoon.
Savings (5.5% | -1.1% from July): I put the same amount of money away in savings, but it just shook out differently in terms of percentages.
Shopping (5.4% | +2.1% from July): I was a bit over-budget in my shopping category, but not by as much as I feared. In August, I spent a lot of money on home organization (remember those 11 bins I bought from Target?) and other home items, like Wallflowers and a candle from Bath & Body Works. I also bought some books, a new planner, and some workout attire.
Gifts (3% | +.6% from July): This year is making me understand how much larger my gifts budget needs to be. Oof. This was another busy one on the gifts front, as I had several gifts to buy for friends.
Beauty (2.9% | +2.9% from July): I didn’t spend any money on beauty products in July thanks to my spending freeze, but in August, I needed to replace some skincare products and also spent around $75 on hair coloring dye/supplies.
Subscriptions (2.7% | -.5% from July): I unsubscribed to two subscriptions in August: my air filter subscription (I’ll just buy them in bulk from Amazon, I think) and one of my photo-editing app. The air filter subscription was bimonthly so it shakes out to a little over $30 back in a two-month cycle. However, one of my Patreon subscriptions increased as The Popcast announced a new tier and I upgraded to it. It’s only $5 more a month, so it felt reasonable to me.
Car (2.5% | +1.2% from July): I had some overdue tolls to pay and I also got gas twice in August.
Entertainment (1.6% | -1.3% in July): I was a little less social in August (thanks, depression). I had dinner with book club and then lunch with a friend, and that’s about it. I also spent more money than I probably should have on Cooking Fever tokens.
Supplies (1.2% | -.9% from July): I spent a lot less on supplies in August – hooray! I bought shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash, deodorant, tub cleaner, and some Swiffer duster refills.
Medical (0.6% | +0.6% from July): I haven’t spent money on medical things for a while thanks to my FSA, but in August, I had to buy some Covid tests and cold medicine and figuring out how to use my FSA card on my Target app was confusing. So I just bought them with my own money!
Overall Thoughts
- I am very pleased with how August shaped up and it was another month I did not spend above my means. Imagine that! I came just over $300 under my overall income for the month, so I’m very happy about that. Good things happen when you pay attention to your spending, Steph!
- I would still like to rein in how much I spend in my shopping category (my goal is $150 or less and this month I spent $193). I just need to be more intentional about checking my bank account on a daily basis so I can keep track of how much money is going out.
- Another category I’d like to tighten up is my food category, which is forever a difficult one for me! I did pretty well about only getting Ubereats once a week (although I faltered a little bit during the time I was dog-sitting; it’s just easier to get takeout rather than bringing over groceries). But I have steadily decreased how much I’ve been spending on food throughout the year, so I’m proud of myself for that.
What’s a fun, small purchase you recently bought?
