Personal Finance

Monthly Spending Report | January 2025

I wanted to take a different approach to my monthly spending reports this year. I still need to write this post every month because they are oh-so-helpful for me. I understand that they are not everyone’s jam, but I am an Obliger through and through, and it helps me to put it all out there.

This year, I’ll do a quick run-down on my spending (using actual numbers this time!) and then dive into what went well and what didn’t go well. I’ll end with some money-related goals!

As a reminder, this is a spending report, which means I am only talking about the money I spent after it hits my bank account. You will not see anything related to my 401k, health insurance premiums, HSA contributions, etc. We’re just talking about the money I spend once it’s, well, mine.

Spending Breakdown

Bills (rent, phone, car payment, electric, student loans, gym, internet, Care Credit): $2,432
Credit card: $1,250
Food: $692
Shopping: $514
Car (car insurance, gas, tolls): $234
Entertainment: $189
Savings (cat fund, Christmas fund): $125
Subscriptions (Patreon, Netflix, Paramount+, Spotify, Canva, Book of the Month, Prime): $115
Cats (food, new scratcher): $87
Medical: $34
Gifts: $33

What Went Well

Food budget – I brought my food budget down to $700/month (from $800), and I was excited to see that I came under budget in January! What helped the most was fewer Ubereats orders. I spent just $78 on Ubereats orders, which may seem high to some, but last year, I averaged nearly $200/mo in this category so this is a startling improvement! My goal is to spend less than $100 on online ordering every month, and I am well on my way to that goal.
Paying off my credit card every two weeks – Okay, this is going to be embarrassing to admit as a functional adult, but I’m going to be open and honest about this: I have been carrying a balance on my credit card for many many months. Probably for all of 2024. The problem is that every month, I would send a huge chunk of money to my credit card to bring down the balance but then I would use the credit card, so I was really only chipping away at the balance by a couple hundred dollars every month. But on January 31st, I was able to fully pay off my credit card (this will show up on my next spending report) and that’s because throughout January, I made sure to pay off any credit card purchases every two weeks. This allowed me to keep my balance at a reasonable number and then, thanks to January being a three-paycheck month for me, pay it off in full at the end of the month. What a friggin relief this is!
Spending less than I make – Last year, there were many months when I spent above and beyond my income, which is the biggest no-no. But it happens and if there’s anything I can do with these spending reports, it’s to make those of us who are not great with our finances feel a little better. In January, I spent just about $360 less than I made, which isn’t a TON of money, but it does keep me in the green, and that’s all I care about.

What Didn’t Go Well

Shopping – My shopping budget was a bit out of control in January, as I spent over $500. Eeks! My top three categories were beauty ($141), clothing ($128), and tech ($77). Most of the beauty purchases were replacement products so hopefully next month I’ll spend a lot less. I am allowing myself to purchase new clothes once a quarter so I took advantage of a sale at Lane Bryant where I got a new pair of boots, jeans, and a bra for $128. And my biggest tech purchase was my hand massager. I’m going to try to see if my wellness reimbursement will cover that, so stay tuned! I also spent $61 on books and $58 on home organization purchases, so January was just a very spendy month for me and hopefully I’ll do better in February.
Savings – I was hoping to put more money in savings, but I prioritized my credit card this month. Now that the credit card is paid off, I can focus my attention on my savings goals!
Not keeping up with my spending – My goal was to check in on my bank account every other day to categorize my spending and see what adjustments I needed to make for the rest of the month, but ugh, I did not do that. I probably logged in once a week and then had to play catch-up.

Goals for February

Spend less money shopping – If I can get my shopping category down to $350, I’ll be a happy gal.
Do a budget check-in every other day – If I’m checking in on my budget more frequently, I think I can definitely get my shopping category down to a reasonable number.
Switch from Publix to Aldi – I am intimidated by the prospect of going to another grocery store but I know this will be beneficial in many ways, both financially and making a bigger impact with my dollars.

What was something you were happy to spend money on this month? For me, I was happy to purchase a spot at the cat cafe Jenny and I went to last month! I’m always happy to give money to a good cause.

Categories: Personal Finance

What I Spent | December 2025

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?

Categories: Personal Finance

What I Spent | November 2024

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?

Categories: 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?