Happy Friday! Who’s ready for another nitty-gritty deep dive into my spending habits? As a reminder, in these spending reports, 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. Here’s what February looked like:

Bills (49.7% | +3% from January) – As a reminder, I include all of my non-negotiable bills in this category, which is why it’s about half of my total spending in February. This category was a smidge higher this month because I had to make two student loan payments. (Sometimes I can get away with one if my tuition reimbursement goes through quickly enough.)

Food (18.7% | -1.6% from January) – I was over budget again in this category, but only by $260 (compared to $352 in January). I spent $62 less in groceries and $50 less in Starbucks, but my Ubereats orders were up by $43. I do think I need to bring up my food budget due to rising costs, but I’ll give it one more month to figure out my new normal.

Cats (6.4% | +3.9% from January) – Lila had a vet appointment that came with one shot and a prescription. I also bought wet food (that went up NINE WHOLE DOLLARS from January), litter, two toys, treats, and a new food mat.

Savings (4.9% | +.1% from January) – I have automated savings set up for car insurance ($150 per month), Christmas ($75 per month), and the cats ($50 per month).

Medical (4.7% | +1.6% from January) – Some doctor copays, vitamins, and medication. I’ll start using my FSA in March (there’s a long, boring story about why I haven’t used it until now), so these costs will go down a lot. (Since I’m only tracking what I’m spending after my paychecks hit my bank, I don’t account for FSA spending here.)

Shopping (4.3% | -1.5% from January) – My spendiest shopping categories in February included books ($50), tech ($40 – included my laptop backpack!), and accessories ($29 – included a new purse and wallet).

Entertainment (3% | +.1% from January) – This category included my day out to the strawberry market/strawberry picking and two separate girls’ nights.

Subscriptions (2.5% | -.4% from January) – My subscriptions this month included Patreon (I support three podcasts), Netflix, Paramount+, Spotify, two photo-editing apps, and Prime. A little less this month because my air filter subscription is every other month.

Travel (2.2%) – I’m excited to have something to add to my travel category this month! I bought tickets to see The Popcast live in June. Since I’m going to travel for this event, I categorized it as a travel expense, not entertainment.

Car (1.7% | +1% from January) – I bought gas once, had to pay some tolls, and I put $25 in my Parkmobile app for parking downtown.

Beauty (1.4% | -5.1% from January) – I spent around $60 on new skincare products and bought dry shampoo. Last month, I had an expensive hair appointment, which is why my percentage was way down.

Gifts (1.2% | -.7% from January) – I bought gifts for my nephew’s birthday and donated to my other nephew’s baseball fund.

Toiletries/Supplies (0.2% | -.2% from January) – I bought delicate laundry detergent and freezer bags. Exciting!

Overall Thoughts

• It was another month of spending above my means, sigh. And this month was worse: I spent $306 above my means compared to $238 from January. That’s not good! I really have to be so much more careful about how I’m spending money and be more intentional with my purchases, especially considering my food budget is so high right now.
• The average money I spent on food between January and February was $906. My food budget (which has remained the same for years) is $600, but I’m going to have to increase that soon. Maybe even to $800, which feels astronomical for one person. My goal is to only use Ubereats once a week for lunch (which is around $20-$25 a meal, compared to dinner which can be double that) and get better about having good meals on hand to eat at home. I know that will decrease my food spending.

What was the last beauty product you bought?

I haven’t been doing spending recaps for a few years now, and it felt really good to get back to my itemizing ways in January. I won’t say that it helped me spend less, but I do have a new awareness of how much money I’m spending in certain areas (the food category isn’t pretty, sigh). Some disclaimers before I get into my spending recap:

• 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.
• I am not looking for ways to be more frugal. I understand that this advice is given with a good heart, but frugality is not one of my values and I’ve learned to be okay with that. I like to spend money and my goal is to earn more, not spend less.
• A reminder that I am single and only paying for myself. It’s not always pretty, but I’m committed to transparency and honesty on my blog so that’s what you’ll get. Please be kind.

January Spending

Bills (46.7%) – In this category, I include all of my non-negotiable bills. So this includes rent, my car payment, my phone bill, my electric bill, Internet, and student loan payments. Most of these are fixed expenses, but electric will vary from month-to-month (right now, my electric bills are beautiful since I’m rarely running my AC—only $80 in January!) and so will my student loans since sometimes one of my student loans is paid for by my company’s tuition reimbursement. (I get $100 tuition reimbursement monthly, but sometimes that payment doesn’t clear in time for the due date.) To get the ultimate Alberta electricity rates call us and we can help with the sign up.

Food (20.3%) – Oof. I went $352.82 over budget in this category in January. The majority of this overage was due to groceries. I have been trying to eat at home more (and since I came underbudget for Ubereats orders, I somewhat succeeded) and we all know that groceries are more expensive these days. It’s something I need to keep an eye on to determine if I need to increase my food budget, or if January was an anomaly.

Beauty (6.5%) – I had an expensive hair appointment in January ($230) and I also had to replenish some skincare products (facial cleanser, niacinamide serum). I also bought some nail strips to try and a new lipstick.

Shopping (5.8%) – I bought quite a few things in January, including two pillows, rugs for my bathroom, a cell phone case, 2024 calendars (a desk and wall calendar), and some decorations. Oh, and I bought my cozy reading chair!

Savings (4.8%) – I have automated savings set up for car insurance ($150 per month), Christmas ($75 per month), and the cats ($50 per month).

Medical (3.1%) – Therapy appointment, psychiatrist appointment, a dentist fee for a filling appointment, and then some medications like Lexapro and psoriasis cream.

Entertainment (2.9%) – I bought salad supplies for book club, some tokens/gems for my favorite iPhone game Cooking Fever, and had a few dinners out.

Subscriptions (2.9%) – I would like to cut down on my subscriptions, but I don’t know what I would cut out because all of them feel essential to me. Ahh! My subscriptions include Patreon (I support three podcasts), Netflix, Paramount+, Spotify, two photo-editing apps, an air filter company (this is bimonthly), and Prime. Honestly, I should get rid of Prime. I don’t need it and definitely don’t use it to its full ability.

Cats (2.5%) – Nothing too crazy here! I bought wet + dry food and some treats.

Gifts (1.9%) – I bought a few goodies for a Galentine’s celebration happening in February and gave money to a collection being taken up for a friend in need.

Misc (1.5%) – I didn’t know how to categorize my nose piercing, so into miscellaneous it goes! This paid for the piercing itself and the tip to the piercer.

Car (0.7%) – I only needed to fill up my car with gas once this month. That’s crazy!

Toiletries/Supplies (0.4%) – A startling low number for this category. I usually budget $100 but this month, I only bought a two-pack of toothpaste and two bottles of mouthwash.

Overall Thoughts

• Once I sat down with my final January numbers, I found out I spent $238.05 above my means! Oops. I know I have been living above my means (otherwise, I wouldn’t have this damned credit card I’m still paying down), but sometimes seeing the actual number in front of me helps to put it all in perspective. I need to rein things in a bit so I’m living below my means. If I want to move apartments at the end of this year, I know I need to spend at least $500 below my means now to afford the spike in rent.
• I spent $100 this month on Starbucks, which is double my budget. I get Starbucks at least once a week because that’s where Mikaela and I meet for our writing dates, but I was also stopping by at least once or twice during the week for a quick peppermint mocha. I’m going to be strict with myself in February that I can only add $50 to my Starbucks app and when it’s gone, I have to get creative.
• I want to get better about tracking my spending on a more regular basis so I can keep a better eye on how much I’m spending in some of my more problematic categories (like my food budget). Ideally, it’s something I would do every morning but at this point, even twice a week would be better.

What’s a fun purchase you bought in January?