Hi, friends! Happy Wednesday. It’s that time—my quarterly budget update! I’m still keeping meticulous track of my spending, though it can get a bit annoying, especially if I forget to check in after a week and have so many transactions to categorize! But it’s good for me, even if I’m not doing as well with my budgeting limits as I’d hoped (looking at you, food budget). There weren’t any huge surprises or purchases in Q2, which is always nice! Q3 will hold a vet appointment for Eloise, my trip to Chicago, and tooooons of birthdays. So it should be an eventful quarter!

Here’s how Q2 broke down for my budget:

Overall bills (39.6%) – I spent about the same on bills from Q1 to Q2 (my electric bill went up a bit but my water bill went down). It’s nice that these numbers remain pretty even! Next quarter will include my rent increase, so I expect “overall bills” to be an even bigger part of my budget then.

• Rent ($1,045 per month)
• Electric (averaging $107 per month, an increase of $21 from Q1)
• Water (averaging $37 per month, a decrease of $15 from Q1)
• Internet ($80 per month)
• Phone ($109 per month)
• Student loan ($105 per month)

Food (17.4%) – My food budget remains the biggest struggle for me! I have a very high budget for food ($600) and only came under one month (June, in which I challenged myself to eat 75% of my meals at home). This quarter, I spent $276 more on food than in Q1, eeks.

Savings (13.8%) – I’m continuing to save lots! This quarter, I put away over $1,500 in savings, which feels really good.

Shopping (5.5%) – I definitely got bit by the shopping bug in Q2 and I spent quite a bit more than in Q1. My main shopping categories amounted to:

• Clothes (39.5%) – A dress for a wedding, Stitch Fix, and an Old Navy order.
• Books (29.8%) – I’m embarrassed to admit that I spent $184 on books this quarter. Oops.
• Accessories (11.2%) – Shoes and jewelry.
• Workout accessories (7.5%) – I bought a cadence sensor for my spin bike, a yoga mat, and a heart rate monitor.
• Chatbooks (4.4%) – Self-explanatory.
• Other (2.8%) – I’m not really sure what belongs in this category… but it only amounted to $17 over 3 months.
• Kitchen tools (2.6%) – I bought some tall containers to store pasta noodles and a lemon squeezer.
• Hobbies (2.3%) – Markers and a coloring book. I am a child.

Spa (5%) – I ended up spending nearly $100 less in this category in Q2, which is awesome. This category comprises pedicures ($127), hair appointments ($200 for balayage highlights and a cut), and massages/facials ($235 between my Hand & Stone membership and tips).

Home (3.7%) – This category was much, much lower than Q1 since it didn’t include a sectional purchase! But when I remove that purchase from my Q1 spending, comparing Q1 and Q2 spending is not as pretty, as I spent nearly $200 more this quarter! $268 of that was for my office nook, as I bought a new office chair, an ottoman to rest my feet, and some cable organizational tools. I also bought some home goods, like replacement Wallflower scents from Bath & Body Works and a new 4-cube bookshelf. What can I say? I love decorating my apartment!

Beauty (3.3%) – The majority of this category comprises skincare products. At this point, I’m spending about $100 per month on products, which feels ridiculously high. But the products are working! So, I guess this is just my life now? I also replenished some of my makeup.

Subscriptions (2.4%) – I have $100 budgeted for all of my subscriptions, which include Book of the Month, Second Nature (air filter; bimonthly), Patreon, Netflix, Spotify, Peacock, Ipsy, and Befunky (photo editing app). I also just subscribed to Paramount+ so I can watch Big Brother (and I had to do their Premium subscription so I can watch it live, sigh) so that will be an additional $10 per month over Q3.

Supplies/Toiletries (2%) – I budget $100 per month for supplies/toiletries and came in under budget every month in Q2, woohoo! I spent almost the same amount as in Q1, too, which is nuts.

Pets (1.7%) – A very easy quarter for the girls! I bought litter ($27), food ($36), treats ($38), toys ($26), and supplies ($40 for a brush and a lint roller to remove cat hair from my couch—yes, in both instances, I was coerced by Instagram ads).

Entertainment (1.6%) – I spent $42 funding my Candy Crush habit and then an additional $140 on adventures, which included some dinners out and kayaking with Bri.

Gifts (1.4%) – A few friends had birthdays and there was Mother’s Day.

Travel (.8%) – I bought flights to Chicago for my mom and me (which were very cheap since I had a credit from 2020) as well as travel insurance.

Health (.7%) – This mostly comprises my Peloton membership, although I did buy some medication in April.

Auto (.7%) – An easy quarter here, as my only expense was gas. I’m still only filling up about once a month, which is amazing!

Charity (.4%) – I donated to Val Demings campaign, as she’s running against Marco Rubio for Senate and I am VERY MUCH into that.

Tell me: Have you ever bought something because of an Instagram ad? What was the most expensive thing you bought this quarter? Mine was definitely my office chair, and it was worth every penny!

Hi, friends! I’m here with my first budget update of 2021. I knew I wanted to continue these budget updates (you guys seem to really enjoy them!) but wasn’t sure in what capacity. I *think* this is how I’ll be doing them going forward (quarterly updates), although I’m contemplating a monthly budget update that dives a little deeper into my budget as a whole rather than my overall spending. Let me know if that sounds interesting at all! (I do plan on writing a post soon that gives the nitty-gritty about my budget this year, but the monthly post would be something different.)

Anyway, Q1 was a good one. I received six paychecks, my tax refund, and my stimulus check. Woop, woop! I was able to buy some big-ticket items, like my sectional and spin bike. In Q2, I’m hoping to buy a new TV, desk chair, and area rug, but we’ll see how everything pans out. Here’s the breakdown:

Overall bills (33.3%) – This year, I’m lumping all of my necessary bills into one category. This category includes:

• Rent ($1,045 per month)
• Electric (budgeted $100 per month; averaging $86 per month)
• Water (budgeted $50 per month; averaging $51 per month)
• Internet ($80 per month)
• Phone ($109 per month)
• Student loan ($105 per month)

Food (12.6%) – My monthly budget for food is $600, which may feel insurmountably high to some (especially for just one person), but it’s what works for me. In January and February, I came under budget easily but went over by $74 in March, oops.

Savings (12.2%) – My goal is to save $575 per month ($200 into emergency savings, $200 into a car down payment fund, $50 into a Christmas fund, $50 into a pet fund, and $75 into a car insurance fund) as well as put $5 into my no-spend fund every time I have a no-spend day. Currently, I have $2,200 in my emergency fund and $1,500 in my car fund, which feels amazing!

Auto (12%) – I spent $71 on gas this quarter, $10 on a car wash, and $526 on my biyearly car insurance. This category should be a lot lower in Q2. I don’t really have a budget for auto anymore. My emergency/car savings are used for repairs and I’m still driving so little that I only need to fill up my tank once a month. It’s great!

Home (10.1%) – I made a big purchase in Q1: a new sectional! That’s what makes up the bulk of this category (which approximates $1,353). I also bought some decorations, prints for my office nook, and other home goods.

Spa (4.9%) – This quarter, I spent $238 on my hair (balayage highlights, professional cut and style, and tip), $150 on pedicures, and $266 on massages/facials. The only area I really budget for are my massages/facials (I budget $80 per month, but usually spend $100 for facials since I upgrade to a more specialized facial). My haircuts and pedicures come out of my “fun money.”

Shopping (3.5%) – The biggest shopping expense in Q1 was my Stitch Fix box. Also, somehow I spent $116 on books this quarter?! What the what?

Health (3.1%) – It was a spendy quarter for health, as I bought a spin bike! I budgeted for this as part of my tax refund. Otherwise, I only spent $30ish for some medical supplies when I fell and tore up my toe and a prescription.

Pets (1.9%) – Lila had a vet appointment in February and had to get two shots, so that was my biggest expense this quarter ($128). I also bought litter ($54), food ($36), treats ($8), and a new pet food container ($20).

Supplies (1.7%) – I combined toiletries and household supplies into one category for budgeting purposes. I budget $100 per month for these supplies and keep a close eye on this category, as I know it can get out of hand easily. In Q1, I stayed well within my budget ($73, $92, and $59) so I feel good about where I’m at with this category.

Entertainment (1.5%) – I budget $14 per month for my Candy Crush habit (no shame!) and also budget for my monthly lady dates with Bri (I budget $50 but I’m usually always underbudget for that).

Subscriptions (1.4%) – I’m still trying to figure out how much I pay on a monthly basis for all of the different subscriptions I have. In Q1, it was all over the place. Not every month is the same—some months, it can be around $94 and other months, it’s $30 less if it’s a month I’m not getting an air filter shipped to me (my Second Nature subscription is set up for every other month) and I have a Book of the Month credit that rolled over. In general, though, I budget for $100 and always came in under that in Q1. My subscriptions include Patreon, Spotify, Netflix, Befunky.com, Ipsy, Second Nature, and Book of the Month.

Beauty (1%) – This category is getting more of a workout than last year since I’m investing a lot of money into a skincare routine. But I enjoy doing my morning and evening routine and trying new products! Right now, I’m trying out Paula’s Choice products, so I bought cleanser, exfoliant, toner, a morning moisturizer (with SPF), an evening moisturizer, and niacinamide serum.

Charity (.5%) – This year, I’m picking one charity per quarter to donate to, and in Q1, it was the Equal Justice Initiative. I believe in their mission so much and it felt good to donate a tiny amount to them. I set aside $25 per month in my budget for charitable giving.

Gifts (.5%) – Chip and my youngest nephew, D., had birthdays in Q1 so nothing too crazy to budget for.

$0 categories of Q1 include travel and Christmas, for obvious reasons. 🙂