Ugh, December budget. Okay, fine, let’s get this over with. Please be gentle.

Bills (39.6% | -3.9% from November): Last month, I got a break on my bills because I didn’t have a car payment and had a nice credit on my Internet bill, but things were back to normal in December. This category comprises rent, my phone bill, Internet, my car payment, electric, my gym, Care Credit, and student loans. The percentage was lower than November because of all the spending I did in other categories.

Food (13.1% | -2.2 from November): Well, being away on a cruise for a week helped bring this number down because I definitely don’t feel like I spent less money on food in December.

Holidays (10.9% | +2.1% from November): Oh boy, Christmas was expensive this year. I budgeted $850 for the holidays, which encompassed gifts, new decor, supplies like wrapping paper/cookie ingredients, and events. I went about $300 over budget. I had a feeling I was going overboard, but it’s so hard to rein in that holiday spending. I need to do a better job of tracking my purchases in 2025.

Travel (7.6%): I went on a five-day cruise in December and I’m honestly shocked at my final bill for the cruise (which we get on the last day, which details the money spent on drinks/casino purchases/gifts/bingo/etc). It was so much more than I was expecting, eeks.

Cats (5.4% | +3.7% from November): A much spendier month for the cats. I had to replenish both their wet and dry food and Lila had a spa appointment that cost $100 (oof).

Shopping (5.3% | -3.1% from November): Well, hey! Kudos to me. I don’t know if I really spent less this month or if the percentages just shook out differently, but I’ll take it as a win. I felt like I spent a lot of money on myself this month, though.

Misc (3.3% | +2.1% from November): I wasn’t sure where to categorize my tattoo, so I put it in miscellaneous. (For full transparency, it was $200 total with tip!)

Savings (3.2% | -2% from November): In December, I only put money away in my car insurance fund and my cat fund (no Christmas fund).

Entertainment (2.9% | +1.3% from November): There was a lot going on in December, but a lot of things that would normally go into my entertainment category went into my holiday category, so the number isn’t too startling here.

Car (2.2% | -1% from November): I spent so much money on gas in December! I filled my car up four times, and that’s mainly because I drove to and from Miami for the cruise.

Subscriptions (1.8% | -2.8% from November): All of the usual suspects here: Patreon, Canva, Prime, Paramount+, Netflix, Spotify, Book of the Month. It’s a lot less because last month I paid for a yearly subscription to a photo-editing app.

Gifts (1.3% | +.8% from November): A charity donation to the ASPCA and sent some Starbucks gift cards to writers who won the games I played during our team meeting in December.

Medical (1%): I waited way too long to get a replacement FSA card mailed to me after losing my wallet in November, so I had to pay for a few things out of pocket, like an urgent care appointment (one of the cysts on my underarm burst, and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t dying lololol) and a topical antibiotic for said burst cyst.

Beauty (.4% | -3.1% from November): I replaced my facial cleanser and also bought a brush.

Final Thoughts

• I find it hard to gauge the differences in my spending when I use percentages rather than raw numbers. For example, this month everything was a bit skewed because a good chunk of my spending went to my holiday and travel categories but that doesn’t mean I spent less in other areas. I just spent less relative to what I spent in the bigger categories. I want to continue writing these budget posts in 2025 (honestly, these posts are mostly for me but I do hope they’re somewhat interesting for others!), but I want to do something different. I’m not sure what that is yet, but I do have a new fancy budgeting spreadsheet that I’m excited to start using.
• I’m not happy with myself for overspending by such a large margin ($300!) in my holiday budget. I could have reined myself in if I had been accurately keeping track of how much money I was spending, but I didn’t do that and it shows. Next year (or, well, this year), I’ll do better.
• I started keeping track of everything I bought in my shopping/beauty categories so I could report on those findings, but I fell off the bandwagon of accurately itemizing everything in September. I’ll try again this year, sigh.

How was your holiday spending?

Ooh, boy, I have not been budgeting like I should be. In fact, I had to download my entire transaction history for November and itemize each purchase one by one because I didn’t even open my budget spreadsheet in November. Oops. It was not a fun task. This is why I need to do it throughout the month! Argh. Anyway, here’s how it all shook out:

Bills (43.5% | -2.9% from September/October): This category comprises rent, my phone bill, Internet, my car payment, electric, my gym, Care Credit, and student loans. I didn’t have a car payment this month (my payments start in December) and I got a nice credit on my Internet bill from the hurricanes (my Internet company credited us for the days we were without Internet service!).

Food (15.3% | +4.1% from September/October): I came in under-budget in my food category, which I’m happy about. I still feel like I spend so much more in food costs than the average single person, but it is what it is. I’m hoping to make some changes in 2025 that will help me get this category lower.

Holidays (8.8% | +8.3% from September/October): This includes presents, decor, and Christmas fun. I’m trying to spend less than $800 on Christmas this year, so we’ll see if I can do it. November was a spend-y month because I bought a lot of Christmas presents.

Shopping (8.4% | +3.9% from September/October): Ack, my spending was a bit out of control in November and I didn’t even realize it until I sat down to do these numbers. I bought some books, somehow dropped $80 at Bath & Body Works, and finally got Tiles for my key ring/wallet so I can stop losing things.

Savings (5.6% | +.5% from September/October): I didn’t save more money this month; the percentage just shook out differently. I put money away monthly into a car insurance fund, a cat fund (for medical bills and the like, not for a new cat lol), and a Christmas fund.

Subscriptions (4.6% | +2.8% from September/October): The majority of this increase is due to a yearly subscription I paid to Befunky, gah. Should I have paid $80 for their service? Probably not, but I’ve yet to find a better collage maker. I’ve tried finding a cheaper alternative, but they just do it better than anyone else. Oh well.

Beauty (3.5% | +2.2% from September/October): I did a hair dye night with my friends (the actual supplies were free but I “pay” my friends in pizza and cheesy bread), got a professional haircut, and also bought some skincare products.

Car (3.2% | -4.6% from September/October): I filled up my car with gas twice and also had to pay an overage fee to my car insurance when I upgraded my car/changed loan providers. Wah.

Supplies (2.1% | +.4% from September/October): Nothing too exciting here. I bought toiletries and stuff. (I didn’t keep track of what I bought like I usually do, but I know I placed a big order at Target for things like toilet paper, laundry pods, etc.)

Cats (1.7% | -1.1% from September/October): They needed some treats and I also bought wet food. I have finally learned that Eloise vastly prefers wet food to dry food so now the girls get two cans a day (I split a can between two bowls in the morning and split another can in the evening). It’s expensive, but if it means Eloise is going to put on some weight, I’m all about it.

Entertainment (1.6% | -.9% from September/October): Nothing too much to report here. I had some dinners out with friends and bought some tokens for iPhone games.

Misc (1.2% | -.4% from September/October): I renewed my license, fun times.

Gifts (.5% | -1.2% from September/October): Just my monthly donation to the ASPCA.

What was something you bought for yourself in November?

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?

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?