Personal Finance

What I Spent | September + October

I wasn’t able to get my monthly budget update put together in October, so this month, you get a double-dose! I combined September and October into one budget update. It was quite the doozy of two months—the beginning of September was normal and then Helene happened. Then the beginning and middle of October were nutso thanks to Milton before settling down into normal life. Let’s talk about how this affected my budget, shall we?

Quick reminder: I am single and live alone, so all of these numbers are mine and mine alone. And I do not include anything that comes out of my paycheck before it lands in my bank account. You won’t see anything related to health insurance, FSA payments, my retirement savings, etc. This is about what I spent from my net income.

Bills (46.4% | -5.2% from August): This category comprises rent, my phone bill, Internet, my car payment, electric, my gym, Care Credit, and student loans. My electric bill was a bit less in September and October, so that’s nice. Everything else is a fixed expense, and no surprises to report there!

Food (11.2% | -4.3% from August): I’m finally coming in under-budget for my food budget! Disclaimer: Some of my coworkers gave me a very generous Door Dash gift card after Hurricane Milton and that has helped me bring down my food budget even more. We’ll see how things shake out when I’ve used up that gift card.

Hurricane (8.9%): A new category for September and October, gah. This includes the price of the VRBO, the pet fee, and some food we bought while we were evacuated. I paid for the VRBO and then my mom paid for the cruise we booked, so it all evened out, ha.

Car (7.7% | +5.2% from August): While I only spent $35 in September to fill up my gas tank, October was much spendier since I had to unexpectedly buy a new car (for new NaBloPoMo readers: My beloved 2022 Kia Soul was flooded during Hurricane Helene and it was totaled by my insurance company. I bought a 2025 Kia Soul in mid-October.) The money I received for my car insurance claim ($3,100) was used for the down payment and I also added $900 of my own money to bring the total down payment to $4,000. I also had to buy some new accessories for my new car, and those purchases are included in this total.

Savings (5.1% | -.4% from August): I socked away money in my three normal accounts (car insurance, cats, Christmas) and then also put $50 in a new “apartment” savings account that I started. I want to get to a point where I’m putting $300 away in this account every month to prepare me for moving next year to a two-bedroom apartment (and thus, having much higher rent). I started small in September and then things fell apart in October. I’d like to try to put $100 away in November and December, but we’ll see.

Shopping (4.5% | -.9% from August): I’m actually surprised I spent less on shopping in September/October than I did in August because I felt like I was spending so much money the last two months. Some of it was retail therapy and some of it was just necessary items I needed (like new pillows).

Cats (2.6% | -5.1% from August): The cats were cheaper over the last two months, woohoo! I bought them wet food and treats, and also placed a big order for litter when Chewy was having one of those “spend $100, get a $30 gift card” deals. The only thing I needed that qualified was litter so I just got extra, ha.

Entertainment (2.5% | +.9% in August): There were some fun events with friends (like a movie date and a candle-making date), some meals out with my mom that I paid for, and of course, those dang Cooking Fever tokens. (Good news: I’ve almost played all the restaurants in Cooking Fever so I’ll soon have to find a different phone game addiction, ha.)

Subscriptions (1.8% | -.9% from August): The percentage shook out a bit differently in September/October, but I spent the same as August. My subscriptions: Patreon, Netflix, Paramount+, Spotify, Amazon Prime, and Canva.

Supplies (1.7% | +.5% from August): I came in just a smidge under-budget for my supplies category, which is a big win considering I bought a six-pack of air filters ($46) and two 4-packs of body wash that were $25 a piece.

Gifts (1.7% | -1.3% from August): I thought this percentage would have been bigger than August as September and October are big birthday months in my world. But I guess not! I’m still always surprised at how much money I spend on gifts in a given month.

Misc (1.6%): My annual renter’s insurance premium was due in September and I paid it all in one lump sum.

Medical (1.5% | +.9% from August): I was having trouble with my FSA card in September so I had to pay for a few prescriptions out of pocket while I waited to figure that out (we’re all good now!). One of those prescriptions was a $40 psoriasis shampoo so that was fun! I also bought a few other supplements/medications that my FSA won’t cover, like vitamin D and probiotics.

Beauty (1.3% | -1.6% from August): Nothing too crazy here! I bought two different mascaras (I hated the wand on the first mascara I bought so that was $11 down the drain), a new eyebrow pencil, and a new lipstick. I also replaced some skincare products and had to buy new toenail clippers because my previous ones disappeared somehow.

Travel (1.1%): I paid for one of our excursions for the cruise.

Holidays (.5%): Here comes this category again! I like to keep track of my holiday spending because it can quickly get out of hand for me. (I save money throughout the year to help offset my spending, so here’s hoping I don’t go over the amount I saved.) In October, I bought two advent calendars.

Overall Thoughts

As you might expect, my money-spending habits were the last thing on my mind these past few months, but now that normalcy has returned to my life and my city, I am eager to jump back into my budget and get back to tracking my spending more closely. My car payment will be $100 more than it previously was (originally, I thought it would be around the same but I added an extended warranty + some other protections that brought the price up) so I will need to adjust my budget for that. And I want to restart my savings plan for a new apartment. Plus, the holidays are coming! I need to think about gifts and holiday events and any extra decor I’ll end up buying (because it’s inevitable that will happen even though I already have five huge tubs of Christmas decor for my 750-square-foot apartment).

What’s something (big or small!) that you were happy to spend money on recently?

Categories: Personal Finance

What I Spent | August 2024

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?

Categories: Personal Finance

What I Spent | July 2024

After a few months of putting together spending reports that make me want to curl up in a ball and cry, this one was actually quite fun to put together! I spent so much less this month thanks to No-Spend July and because of that, the percentages look a little wack. So instead of showing how my percentages differed from month-to-month, I’m going to show you how much actual dollars I saved (or spent) from June to July. Let’s get into it!

Bills (58.4% | -$591 from June): I spent a lot less in July than I did in June because I didn’t have my car payment (I paid ahead in June). Everything else shook out normally except for my phone bill, which was very high ($258) because I had switched carriers and had some fees that were then taken off in my next bill. (My August bill was $65!) My electric bill is very high right now (in July, it was $226, which is a lot for my 700-square-foot apartment), but what can I do? It’s summer, I live in Florida, and I’m going to run my A/C.

Food (15.8% | -$4 from June): Okay, this doesn’t look exceptional but I was away for 5-6 days in June that wasn’t accounted in my overall food spending. However, my food budget in a normal month is $800 and I came under that by almost $200! That’s a huge win for me.

Savings (7% | no change from June): I put away the same amount in savings as I normally do ($150 to my car insurance fund, $75 to a Christmas fund, and $50 to an emergency fund for the cats).

Shopping (3.3% | -$121 from June): This number would be a lot higher if I didn’t buy a new vacuum during No-Spend July. Otherwise, I only spent $20 in this category in July! (A pool float that I bought the last day of June but didn’t clear my bank account until July and a can opener.)

Cats (3.2% | -$21 from June): Not a huge change here. I’ve been spending a lot of money on food for the girls lately and the same was true in July. But I didn’t have to buy litter this month since I bought it in bulk last month.

Subscriptions (3.2% | +$22 from June): This category didn’t change too much from June, the only addition is the bimonthly air filter subscription. I do need to figure out some subscriptions to drop, though. I unsubscribed to a substack and am thinking of unsubscribing from the air filter program, Amazon Prime, and possibly one of my photo-editing apps. That would give me nearly $50 back every month!

Entertainment (2.9% | +$38 from June): I don’t worry much about this category. I like to prioritize spending time with the people I love and oftentimes, that means spending money. My entertainment spending was up a smidge from June, but nothing too drastic.

Gifts (2.4% | +$11 from June): This is lower than I expected because I had a few celebrations in July: my mom’s birthday, a friend’s birthday, and a cousin’s baby shower. I’m happy with this!

Supplies (2.1% | -$62 from June): In June, I replenished my supply of body wash (which is what I use in my bubble baths that I take 4-5 times a week) so my spending was higher in this category than usual. But I still managed to spend over $80 on supplies in July. Those little purchases really add up!

Car (1.3% | -$136 from June): Another category that is a bit misleading. I took my car in for an oil change and tire rotation in June, which is why there’s such a big difference. Without that expense ($108), the difference is not as stark. (In June, I filled my car up for gas twice and in July, I only filled it up once.)

Misc. (0.3% | -$29 from June): A few small things make up this category, but nothing major. It was just a few dollars in July!

Overall Thoughts

July was the first month in all of 2024 that I did not spend above my means. I came almost $900 under-budget, which is wild to me. Unfortunately, all the money I saved this month had to be sent right to my credit card as I was in dire straights with its balance. I am hopeful that I will soon be in a place where I do not need to throw large sums of money to my credit card and instead can send that to my emergency savings fund and CareCredit balance. Fingers crossed!
It was very, very hard to not spend money on takeout/Ubereats orders and shopping in July. Those are things I value when it comes to my spending so I just need to be better about spending that money in a more reasonable way.
Life is just very expensive these days. It feels doubly hard for me as I don’t have a partner’s income to fall back on or to help with the bills. Renting a two-bedroom apartment if I was partnered would be an entirely different story! Hell, I could easily buy a house if I wasn’t living on my own. When all of the bills and expenses fall on me, it feels really difficult to make it work some days. Then again, I don’t have to deal with anyone else in my space so I guess it all evens out in the end, ha!
In July, I had two $0 categories: beauty and travel! Those categories have gotten quite a workout these past few months so it was nice to see them quiet for the time being.

What’s something you recently purchased that has brought you a lot of joy?

Categories: Personal Finance

No-Spend July | Week 4 + Final Thoughts

Monday, July 22

No money spent

Here’s a really silly thing I’m sad about: I am running low on gems in one of my phone games. It’s impossible to play this game without gems and I have just decided to pay to play because I enjoy the game so much. But I have to abstain for another few weeks! Ahhh… what is a girl to do without her Cooking Fever gems?!

Tuesday, July 23

No money spent

Normal day – nothing to report!

Wednesday, July 24

Target: $7 (groceries)
Target: $13 (Clorox wipes)

I placed a Target drive-up order today for two different food items I forgot at the grocery store. And I ran out of Clorox wipes so I bought a three-pack.

Also, I ran out of Cooking Fever gems today. THE HORROR.

Thursday, July 25

Amazon: $9 (can opener)

My can opener broke tonight and I immediately pulled up my Amazon app and bought a new can opener. It will be here tomorrow. Living in the future is a wild experience! (And yes, I consider this to be within the parameters of No-Spend July because it’s a necessary purchase. I can’t live without a can opener!)

Friday, July 26

Publix: $99 (groceries)

My same M.O. as last week: I went grocery shopping for the week on Friday so I could get myself a Pub sub for dinner. I wanted something yummy to eat for the Opening Ceremony! It was also really exciting to recognize that I only really need to plan for stuff through Wednesday since No-Spend July is over on Thursday. Woohoo!

Saturday, July 27

Amazon: $21 (gift)

I bought a friend a gift for her birthday.

I passed a Target on my way home from picking up books at the library and got this small desire to go into Target and poke around. Obviously, I didn’t go in because I’m committed to seeing No-Spend July through, but I can’t deny that I really do miss shopping.

Sunday, July 28

No money spent

Oh man, today was a hard day! I went to the gym at 10:30 and when I came home, I really didn’t want anything in my kitchen for lunch. All of the meals I had so lovingly bought for myself for moments like this just made me angry. I wanted Ubereats dammit! But I held strong and made myself eggs, sausage, and toast for lunch. It was a satisfying meal and I’m glad I didn’t cave when I’m so close to the end of this challenge!

Monday, July 29

No money spent

I miss ordering takeout so much. This week, I didn’t really grocery shop that well so I’m feeling very meh about all of my lunch and dinner options. (I say I didn’t grocery shop well, but I still spent almost $100! Riddle me that, Batman.) Today, my lunch was popcorn chicken I heated up in the microwave, string cheese, a muffin, and white rice. At least I got most of the food groups? Sigh. At least I had plans with friends tonight, which meant dinner was pizza and cheesy bread! (And I didn’t have to pay for it since I was doing a favor for a friend.)

Tuesday, July 30

No money spent

The worst part about today was when I was leaving a Marco Polo for my friend Mikaela and was excitedly talking about how I only had to make it through dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow because dinner on Wednesday was going to be with book club. EXCEPT BOOK CLUB IS ON THURSDAY. Cue tears! Nope, I would have to figure out dinner, lunch, and then dinner again. Ugh. I kept forgetting to take meat out of the fridge to defrost for certain meals (I had planned my whole week around a CrockPot meal but I didn’t take the chicken out of the freezer until Tuesday morning. And now that I think about it, if I let it defrost on the counter, I probably could have salvaged that meal even if it went into the CrockPot a bit late. But I didn’t and BOO ME.) Anyway, today my lunch was more popcorn chicken, tortilla chips with salsa, and a few pieces of chocolate. I’m really killing the nutritional game this week.

Wednesday, July 31

No money spent

LAAAAAAAST DAY! I really, really, really wanted to get takeout for dinner. In fact, a friend who lives in the same apartment complex as me texted me that the power was out at her apartment when I was at the gym, and I was hoping my power would be out too, so I could justify an Ubereats order. I WAS ACTUALLY MAD WHEN MY POWER WAS ON! Lololol. I ended up having a pretty good dinner (pan-seared chicken, rice, and peas) but man, it gets old having to cook food for yourself over and over again, doesn’t it? How do you guys do this ALL THE TIME?!

Final Thoughts on No-Spend July

This was a hard challenge, but ultimately, a really useful one. It was the reset I needed for my spending because I was spending like crazy these past few months. And while I don’t feel like I saved a ton of money doing this challenge, I’ve also been spending beyond my means since the beginning of this year and July will be the first month I’m actually below my means. I was able to pay down my credit card balance ($1,550), which is very good news because I was in dire straights with my credit card at the beginning of July. I also created a new budgeting system for myself that will help me better understand how much discretionary money I actually have every month.

Of course, the biggest piece of No-Spend July was abstaining from Ubereats and other takeout orders all month long. And you guys, this was really hard! It showed me how much I rely on takeout and how much it can affect my mood. But I also learned that I can battle against my instincts to order takeout and find something just as satisfying to eat at home. It requires having a plan and making sure the food I have at home is something I want to eat. I’m a little scared to not have the strict parameter of no takeout at all because I tend to do better with something like that. (I’m more of an Abstainer than a Moderator, if you will.) But I do want to put boundaries up about how I often I use Ubereats or pick up food on my way home from the gym or something. I’m thinking:

One Ubereats order per week (I’d like this to be lunch, which is often MUCH cheaper than dinner)
One takeout order per week (this can be from Chick-Fil-A, Einstein’s, etc.)

And maybe I can give myself some sort of incentive if I meet that goal, like I can buy myself a book if I can do that for an entire month. IDK, I’m still thinking about it. I need rewards because I AM A CHILD.

Anyway, thanks everyone for following along on my journey this month! I’m glad these posts were somewhat interesting to other people. It was really helpful to have you guys cheering me on as my online accountability buddies because I am pretty sure I would have given up if I didn’t have these posts to use to report my progress.

Oh! And I can’t forget to share my final list of “Things I Want to Buy!” Anytime I thought of something I wanted, I added it to this list. It wasn’t too long (and I did end up purchasing one of those items), but I may just keep adding to this list so I can pick things to buy from it based on how much I budget for shopping each month. 🙂

Have you ever done a no-spend challenge?

Categories: Personal Finance

No-Spend July | Recap #3

Week three! This was a very hard week for me. I didn’t have any social plans, aside from a few things on the weekend, and that meant I was feeling the urge to order Ubereats a lot more than usual. While I broke some of the rules this week, I am still feeling good about where I am this month and committed to seeing this thing through.

Monday, July 15

No money spent

Nothing much to report here. I am getting very antsy to buy a few things off my “Things I Want to Buy” list but I’m holding strong for now!

Tuesday, July 16

Amazon – $100

Oops. I broke the rules of No-Spend July. It was Prime Day and the vacuum I’ve had my eye on was $50 off, so I decided to break the rules for this one purchase. It is a need, not a want, because my current vacuum is not working well anymore and my carpet is in dire straights.

Wednesday, July 17

No money spent

Same ole, same ole. I have a little guilt about my Prime Day purchase but not too much.

Thursday, July 18

No money spent

I really wanted to put in an Ubereats order for lunch. I just wasn’t feeling the leftovers I had planned. But then when I was looking in my freezer for inspiration, I realized I bought a few snacky items at Trader Joe’s for this very reason, so I threw two mini pizzas in the oven. They were very satisfying!

Friday, July 19

Publix – $100

I did my grocery shopping tonight since I really wanted to have a Pub sub for dinner, but I could only have one if I combined it with grocery shopping. So I did! I felt like I didn’t get too much food and it still equaled over $100. Sigh.

Saturday, July 20

No money spent

I came so close to ordering Ubereats for dinner! Tonight was my sleep study and I needed something quick and easy for dinner. I didn’t want to make anything that involved using my oven or stovetop because, well, anxiety. I didn’t want to spend the entire time I was at the sleep clinic worried I had accidentally left my oven on! I had a few options that I could nuke in the microwave but I wasn’t all that interested in any of them. I figured I could give myself a break this one time because it was a “special” night and even opened the Ubereats app on my phone to figure out what to have for dinner. But then I took a second and that’s when I realized I would feel guilty for the order. I didn’t need it. I had already planned something special for after my sleep study—I didn’t need to do something special before and after. So I put down my phone and pulled out some items from my freezer for dinner. This is remarkable progress for me and I’m very proud of myself.

Sunday, July 21

McDonald’s – $10.59
Target – $33 (cleaning supplies/mouthwash/conditioner)
Target – $18 (gift for a baby shower)

In the above section, I mentioned that I had planned for something special after my sleep study. I planned to pick up a Sausage Egg McMuffin meal from McDonald’s on my way home, and that’s what I did! This breakfast was incredibly delicious and everything I had been dreaming of. It’s not within the parameters of No-Spend July but I also didn’t expect to do my sleep study in July, so I gave myself a pass. I also had to buy some more toiletries/cleaning supplies as well as a gift for my cousin’s baby shower.

What was the last thing you treated yourself to?