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.