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?

Categories: Personal Finance

No-Spend July | Recap #2

It’s week 2 of No-Spend July! I am doing pretty well with this challenge. I think it would be a lot harder if I couldn’t spend money on entertainment because I had book club and a movie/dinner night with friends this week. I’m keeping a list in my phone every time I think of something I want to buy, which I’ll share that at the end of July. Some of the items feel super necessary right now in the moment, but perhaps I’ll feel differently when August rolls around. We’ll see! For now, here’s what I spent this week.

Monday, July 8th

No money spent

I worked from my mom’s house this afternoon to watch the dogs while my mom and stepdad were away in Orlando for the day. Typically, on the days I do this (which aren’t too frequent), I’ll pick up Chick-Fil-A on the way there or maybe order something to pick up on the way home. This time, I ate lunch before I left and made dinner when I got home around 5:30. This challenge is teaching me how many habits I have formed around food and ordering takeout. When I was growing up, it wasn’t something we did all that often and felt like such a big treat. So, as an adult, I leaned into the behavior of ordering takeout more than I should because I could. I’m the adult now! I can decide how often I get takeout! Well, I also need to figure out better boundaries when it comes to how often I opt for takeout because it has been brutal for my budget.

Tuesday, July 9th

$15.48 on six cans of prescription wet cat food

Oh boy. I really wanted to stop by Chick-Fil-A on my way home from the gym tonight. I didn’t have anything exciting planned for dinner (I ended up doing breakfast for dinner, which was fine but not as fine as waffle fries and chicken nuggets) and it took everything in me to go straight home. The only money I spent today was for Eloise’s prescription cat food. She enjoyed the wet food much more than the kibble, so I asked for a prescription card so I can buy the food in bulk at Chewy.

Wednesday, July 10th

$15 for a movie ticket
$21 for dinner at book club

Spending money on entertainment is within the parameters of No-Spend July, so today, I paid a friend who bought me a movie ticket for Friday and also paid for dinner at book club.

Thursday, July 11th

No money spent

Not much to report here! Oh, I do want to say here that I am kind of in this routine that Thursday dinner should be something “fun.” It’s almost the weekend, you know?! Let’s live it up! But tonight, all I had were leftovers to heat up, which always feels kinda “meh” to me. But I heated up the leftovers without complaint and they were delicious and I was satisfied. Let that be a lesson, self.

Friday, July 12th

$39 on gas
$22 on dinner with friends

I don’t have a lot to say about this day. It was nice to spend time with friends and have a meal at a restaurant.

Saturday, July 13th

$39 on birthday essentials

I bought my mom a cake, ice cream, and some candles for game night. She hadn’t had a birthday cake yet, so I had to rectify that.

Sunday, July 14th

$96 for prescription wet cat food (24-pack) and regular wet cat food (24-pack)
$75 on groceries at Trader Joe’s
$65 on groceries at Publix

A spend-y day! I’m really hoping Eloise doesn’t have to stay on this prescription cat food forever because, oof, $96 every 3-ish weeks for cat food is a lot. I’m buying Lila her own wet cat food for now, but she’s usually fine with kibble so I may not keep her on the wet stuff for very long. I also spent almost $150 on food this week because I stopped by Trader Joe’s. I got a lot of snacky options + some freezer meals that will last for a few weeks, so I’m hoping my grocery bill next week will be much lower.

What’s the last thing you spent money on?

Categories: Personal Finance

What I Spent | June 2024

Well, here we are again. Another rough month for my finances. I knew it would be with the tail end of one trip and my Chicago weekend included in the budget, but eesh. This is why I decided to challenge myself to a no-spend July. I really needed a reset for my finances! Let’s take a look at how everything broke down in June:

Bills (46.2% | +8.6% from May): Quite the increase from May! Somehow, I got behind on my car payments and had to double-up in June. (I didn’t get a late fee or anything like that. It was a weird situation.) This category also encompasses rent, phone, electric (which was over $200, sigh), Internet, student loans, the gym, and Care Credit.

Travel (16.8% | +9.8% from May): This includes the rest of what I spent on my New Orleans trip with my mom as well as my trip to Chicago in mid-June. I need to figure out how to spend less money when I’m traveling, oof.

Food (11.2% | +.7% from May): Here’s the good news about my food budget: my Ubereats percentage has come down steadily every month since I learned I spent almost $300 in April. I’m getting better!

Shopping (6.4% | -6.8% from May): Oof. While my spending was down in June, I still spent a lot of money and went way above my budget in my shopping category. I bought 9 books, 5 t-shirts, 1 skort, and too many stickers to count.

Savings (5.2% | +1.3% from May): I saved a little bit more money in June! But then I had to use some of that at the beginning of July when I got into some dire straights. Blah.

Car (3% | +1% from May): I got an oil change and tire rotation. I also got gas twice this month.

Cats (2.4% | -1.8% from May): I bought litter, prescription cat food, non-prescription cat food, and some toys.

Supplies (2.3% | +.4% from May): I replenished my supply of body wash (which I use for bubble baths, so I go through a lot) and also bought boring stuff like mouthwash, replacement Brita filters, and aluminum foil.

Beauty (2.1% | -7.8% from May): Thankfully, this month’s expenses didn’t include a ridiculously expensive hair appointment! Instead, I mostly replenished my skincare products. I also accidentally bought the wrong serum from Sephora (thankfully, it was serum from The Ordinary so it was wildly expensive!) and decided to keep it rather than send it back. But then I had to buy the right serum, so it was just a bit of a mess. Ah, well.

Subscriptions (1.7% | -.4% from May): Same ole, same ole. As a reminder, my subscriptions are Patreon, Netflix, Spotify, Paramount+, Canva, Prime, a Substack newsletter I support, and a photo-editing app.

Entertainment (1.2% | -2.4% from May): Book club and dinners with friends.

Gifts (1% | -1.1% from May): I bought a baby shower gift and a toy for Chip.

Charity (.6%): I donated $25 to the ASPCA and $15 to attend the Chicago Pride Festival (which benefited the performers, vendors, and nonprofits).

Overall Thoughts

This was another tough month for my budget, as I went over my projected amount in my most troublesome categories (shopping, beauty). Going through my June budget and having a really rough start to July where I had to pull from savings just to pay rent is what prompted me to do a no-spend July. I need to get my credit card and savings in a more reasonable place because I really, really hate feeling like I can’t pay my bills.
Travel took up a huge chunk of my budget in May and June, and my next trip isn’t until October. (It’ll be a weekend trip to Orlando with my book club and I don’t anticipate spending a ton of money.) This will allow me to play catch-up and hopefully start a travel savings fund. I would love to go on a European cruise with my mom for her 60th birthday next year, but I need to get super serious about saving money in order to make that happen.
The bright spot of June: I came under-budget for food! In June, I tried to stick to one Ubereats order a week (typically, lunch on Fridays) and that really brought my spending down. No-spend July includes not spending money on Ubereats, so that should help bring my percentage down even more. (I know I’ll be spending more on groceries, but I don’t think it will be anywhere near what I was spending on Ubereats orders/fast food.)

What’s the last gift you bought for someone?