Well, May did not go as planned in the budget department. I spent a lot more money than I should have, especially on takeout and online shopping. It happens, you know? I don’t want to shame myself for any of it, but I do want to keep a closer eye on how much money I’m spending on food and shopping in June. Let’s dive into my monthly recap!
Savings (27.4% – $1,300 compared to $215 in April) – Woohoo! What a great month of saving for me. I must credit the majority of this to my stimulus check. I put a large chunk of it into savings. I put $800 into my house fund and then threw $250 each into my emergency savings and car fund.
Housing (22.9% – $1,085 compared to $1,065 in April) – My electric bill in May was a bit higher than usual, but all other expenses stayed the same: rent, water, Netflix, and Internet.
Shopping (8.8% – $418 compared to $122 in April) – Ahhh, wow. I spent a lot of money shopping this month. Eeks! More than half of this, however, was the purchase of AirPods Pro, which I decided to treat myself to when I received my stimulus check. Other purchases: books (I bought 8 in May in between Book of the Month add-ons and Kindle e-books), a floppy hat, a face mask, and a new bathing suit.
Eating Out (6.9% – $329 compared to $288 in April) – Oy vey, that Uber Eats app gets me all the time. I was trying to limit my orders to twice a week – once for lunch and once for dinner, but that has quickly evolved to multiple times a week as time has passed. I’m definitely going to watch this category a lot more closely in June to try to keep it closer to $200. (Also, to be fair, that $329 number also includes tip money to my driver.)
Spa (6.6% – $313 compared to $50 in April) – This accounts for my monthly massage membership (that I really need to pause!) and my hair appointment. I got the works – highlights and a trim.
Home (6.2% – $292 compared to $112 in April) – I bought a pair of bar stools! I have been wanting to do this for a long time and I’m so happy with the purchase.
Pets (5.8% – $277 compared to $16 in April) – An expensive month for the girls! I needed to refill their flea/tick/heartworm medication and I also bought a bag of litter, a harness (so I can walk Ellie!), a new scratching bed, and some toys.
Groceries (4.9% – $233 compared to $384 in April) – This is positive! I spent wayyy less on groceries in April. Woohoo!
Phone (2% – $97 compared to $142 in April) – I traded in my phone for the iPhone 11, so I got a bit of a break on my phone bill this month since I didn’t have to pay the leasing cost.
Debts (1.8% – $87 compared to $1,065 in April) – Only one of my student loans right now needs to be paid (somehow, I paid over and above my payments for the other one so it’s giving me a bit of a break), so I paid the minimum on that.
Technology (1.7% – $80 compared to $0 in April) – This is for my keyboard replacement. They wanted me to pay half of the cost upfront, and then the remaining $70 will be due when my computer is fixed.
Toiletries (1.4% – $66 compared to $30 in April) – This category is mostly comprised of body wash. I bought 11 bottles of it in April, ha. (Your girl loves her bubble baths.) I also replaced my loofah and bought conditioner and mouthwash.
Gifts (1.1% – $50 compared to $47 in April) – Buying gifts for Mother’s Day and a friend’s birthday comprises this category.
Subscriptions (.9% – $44 compared to $55 in April) – Patreon, Spotify, PicMonkey, and Book of the Month. It’s less this month because Sephora has phased out its beauty box subscription.
Entertainment (.8% – $38 compared to $14 in April) – I bought a set of covers for my Story Highlights on Instagram and also pitched in for pizza at book club. Annnnnd there may have been a handful of purchases on Candy Crush.
Donations (.5% – $25 compared to $28 in April) – I donated to my local community bail fund for the protestors.
Household Supplies (.2% – $11 compared to $31 in April) – All I needed was dish soap and batteries!
Categories with $0 spending in May: travel, health, beauty, and auto. (The last time I filled up my gas tank was in early April. And I still have over half a tank left! Whaaat.)
These times are weird so our spending is changing as a result. I haven’t spent much lately but we do treat ourselves to take out once a week most weeks which is something we never really did before. But I’m not eating out for lunch and I don’t have other social meals like book club, etc. So overall I think my spending is down in that category. Our big expense in May was getting wood for the new deck that Phil and his cousin are building. Oh and we had to buy a new fridge. So we spent over $2k between those 2 purchases… but hopefully things slow down this summer and we don’t have big home expenses!
11 bottles of body wash! I’m impressed 🙂
Have you ever considered switching your phone provider to something like Tello or Republic Wireless? We pay just $22 a month for two phones, both of which include some data and unlimited texting/talk. They use the Sprint towers, so our coverage is pretty good. We didn’t pay a ton before with Verizon (around $65 for both phones), but hey, saving over $40 a month is a deal I’ll take all day long! Anyway, just a thought 🙂
Hope you’re doing well!
When do we get to see these bar stools?!
I am excited you are going to walk Ellie! As a heads up, she may act like she can’t walk with the harness on. She will get used to it 😉 At least, Data did!
How do those Instagram story covers work?
THAT SAVING RATE! Way to go, girl! Seems like a good use of that stimulus cheque (especially since you did treat yourself a little, too — all about the balance :))
Have you taken Ellie out on a walk before? My husband loves taking Nala out for a walk — it cracks me right up but she loves it SO much haha.
I love these posts! Yes for budget nerds.I really need to get my online shopping and dining out budgets under control too. I stress shop way too much, and while I don’t eat a lot of meals out / takeout, I go through the McD drive through daily for my Diet Cokes and will often grab some nuggets or food for the kids too.