Monthly Spending Report | April 2025

This was a fun spending report to put together! Even though I did not spend within my means (sigh), part of that was due to taking care of some very annoying medical bills (that I will slowly be able to submit to my HSA for reimbursement). I was around $219 over my means, which is not great but I’m chalking it up to getting those medical bills off my plate. If I didn’t have to deal with those, I would be in a much better spot!

Let’s review my goals for April:

• Reduce my shopping budget by half – Complete! I mean, almost. I needed to spend $316 or less to meet this goal and I spent $333. Close enough?!
• Meet my online ordering goal – Not complete. But I got closer to that goal in April than I was in February or March, so I feel good about that.
• Cancel Amazon Prime – Not complete. Ugh! I just keep forgetting to do this!

And here’s how things shook out this month. 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.

Categories That Increased

MEDICAL ($549 | ↑ $422)

Ughhhh. The worst way to spend money! I needed to take care of a large bill for my CPAP equipment ($303) and pay a large bill to my therapist ($210) since my insurance company had been under-billing me for a few months. I also paid for some medication. The good news is that I’ve met my deductible for 2025 so now my therapy appointments are $0! Sweet relief.

CAR ($263 | ↑ 48)

A small increase, mostly needing to get gas twice this month, paying some tolls, and getting a car wash.

TRAVEL ($662 | ↑ $42) 

I bought a round-trip flight to London and I also categorized anything I spent for my staycation at the VRBO with the cats (food, litter, and the disposable litter box I ordered).

SUBSCRIPTIONS ($129  | ↑ $21)

I did not cancel Amazon Prime (ugh) but I did buy a year’s subscription to Emily in Your Phone’s Substack, which accounts for the increase.

FOOD ($780 | ↑ $11) 

My food budget increased just a tiny bit from April, so I’m really happy that things stayed relatively stable. I’m still not meeting my Ubereats goal (>$100 per month), but this month, I was only over by $32 (as opposed to $73 in March and $105 in February), so I’m doing much better than I was. I’m getting there! (I’m trying to give myself a rule that I can only order Ubereats when I’m on my period since that’s when my energy is the lowest. It’s a little silly, but it’s working!) My grocery budget was nearly identical to March, too.

Categories That Decreased

BILLS ($2,352 | ↓ $3,520)

This number is a little misleading because I accounted for paying off my LASIK bill ($3,049) in March. Everything else was pretty normal and even my electric bill was a smidge lower in April than March, so hooray for that! We’re definitely entering the season where my AC is going to be working overtime so I expect some large electric bills soon.

SHOPPING ($333 | ↓ $349)

I am really happy with this number! I’d like to reduce my shopping budget further, but we’re making progress. Here were my highest categories:

• Books: $95.21
• Accessories (reading stand and a belt bag): $57.40
• Clothing (a t-shirt from Etsy and a new pair of sandals): $51.52
• Beauty: $35

MISC ($52 | ↓ $205)

Nothing too crazy for my miscellaneous category in April, just a few blog-related expenses like renewing my spam protection. Last month, I had to pay too much money for my taxes (not really, but felt like it to me!) so that’s why the decrease is so drastic.

SUPPLIES ($32  | ↓ $164)

This was a startlingly low number for my household supplies/toiletries. But I spent a lot of money replenishing my supplies in March so it makes sense that I’d have a lower-than-average month. I needed a few CPAP supplies (distilled water and gentle dish soap for cleaning the parts) as well as the usual suspects: mouthwash, conditioner, paper towels, etc.

GIFTS ($0  | ↓ $143)

I’m so surprised that I didn’t spend any money on gifts in April! Don’t worry, though, May is already turning out to be a spendy month for gifts.

ENTERTAINMENT ($168  | ↓ $115)

There weren’t a ton of things happening in April, it seems! Most of this total comprises dinners with friends/my mom ($116) and the rest covers book club and some miscellaneous items.

SPA ($128 | ↓ $104)

No hair appointment this month, but I did spend $84 to get my underarms waxed and then my brows waxed and dyed, which feels crazy. I don’t think I’ll be doing the dye again—it doesn’t last very long so it really feels like I’m just throwing money away. And my brows don’t really need to be waxed that frequently. I also got a pedicure, which felt so nice.

CATS ($88 | ↓ $97)

A pretty low-key month for the girls! I bought food, Litter Genie refills, and a new scratching pad.

Categories That Held Steady

SAVINGS ($125)

I am actually upset about this one because I really need to put more money in savings than I do. UGH.

Overall Thoughts

This was a good month with a lot of decreased categories. And while I’m proud of nearly halving my shopping spending, I still have some work to do there. I have gotten into the habit of just buying things whenever I think about them, rather than waiting and making sure I really want to buy said thing. Maybe instead, I could make a note of it in my phone, and at the end of every month, I could review this list and decide if any of these items are things I still want. And if they are, and it fits into my budget, then I can buy the thing. I feel a lot more “free” with my money right now because I have a lot of disposable income, but that extra money should really be going to things like a travel fund or a savings account for my upcoming move. Plus, starting in November, my rent will be increasing drastically (by at least $500) if I find a reasonably priced two-bedroom apartment, so I need to start living like I have a lot less money now so it doesn’t feel like such a dramatic change at the end of the year.

It’s also going to be imperative to spend below my means. And that comes with being a lot more mindful of how much money I’m spending on a weekly basis. I’ve gotten better about tracking my spending every Sunday, but I think I also need to make a stronger budget that I actually stick to. That’s hard for me because there’s a scarcity mindset that comes with budgeting (at least for me, because of my upbringing), but I know it will be a beneficial practice for me in the long run. Something for me to think about!

To close out this post, here are my goals for May: spend below my means by $250, cancel Amazon Prime, and meet my online ordering goal (less than $100 spent on Ubereats orders).

What’s the last travel purchase you spent money on?