Oh, July. What a month! There were some unexpected delights this month (see my third bullet point below), but it was also a very spend-y month. Between a few birthdays, a few weekends away, and a depressive episode that had me reaching for comfort wherever I could, it was quite the month. There are way more categories that increased than decreased this month, but that’s life. Let’s hope August is a little better on the spending front.
Let’s first review my goals for July:
- Send at least $1,000 to my mom for London expenses – Half-complete. I gave her $500 but I am planning on clearing out my “debt” to her this week, which means London will be fully paid for!
- Meet my online order goal – LOL no. Depression made this goal fly completely out the window.
- Continue to spend below my means ($250 or higher) – Complete! Get this: I came over $1,000 under-budget in July! This is mainly due to getting an unexpected check in the mail from Bank of America. Apparently, they didn’t pay me enough when insurance totaled my beloved Gladys (my 2022 Kia Soul, which was flooded during Hurricane Helene in September), and sent me a $1,755 check! That was pretty exciting!
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.
Spending Breakdown
Categories That Increased
TRAVEL ($745 | ↑ $645)
Hoo boy, good thing I value travel and experiences because I spent a lot of money on travel in July! First, there was my mom’s birthday vacation (we split the cost of the hotel + cabanas) and various expenses associated with that. And then I bought travel insurance and paid my mom for a portion of our London trip.
GIFTS ($368 | ↑ $343)
A very expensive month for gift-giving, but all for good reasons. I celebrated my mom’s 60th birthday with an aquarium visit and a fancy steakhouse dinner, and then I purchased tickets to a book event with a friend who had a July birthday.
SHOPPING ($446 | ↑ $258)
Oof. It was a busy shopping month, but this is mostly because of Stitch Fix + an Old Navy order. Hopefully, this category decreases a lot in August! Here’s what I bought:
- Clothing: $267
- Books: $120
- Miscelleneous (a new phone case + a doorknob): $59
CATS ($210 | ↑ $210)
Well, it was inevitable that my cats would cost me money in July since I didn’t spend any money on them in June (wild!). In July, I spent a lot of money on food (finally found a wet food that they go crazy for!) and treats. I also paid for Eloise’s vet plan this month (Lila will be on the same plan soon, but waiting until she needs to see the vet to add her on it.)
SUPPLIES ($124 | ↑ $67)
The majority of this increase is due to replenishing my supply of body wash for my bubble baths. I take a lot of bubble baths and use a lot of body wash, so it’s a necessary self-care expense.
CAR ($227 | ↑ $40)
I needed to fill up my gas tank three times in July – a new record! This is mainly due to driving to Orlando and home. Otherwise, everything stayed pretty much the same from June.
SAVINGS ($175 | ↑ $25)
This is a good increase! I put $100 away in my emergency savings and $75 away in my Christmas fund. Right now, putting away $25 a week in my emergency savings doesn’t feel too difficult.
SUBSCRIPTIONS ($84 | ↑ $19)
All of my subscriptions remained the same, except in July, I paid for Book of the Month (I didn’t use any credits in May, so I didn’t have to pay for my subscription in June).
CATEGORIES THAT DECREASED
BILLS ($2,018 | ↓ $816)
I really need to get my car payment on autopay. The only reason this category decreased is because a) in June, I paid two car payments since the May payment was a little late (but within the grace period), and b) my July payment was a little late (also within the grace period, but will be on August’s spending report). Why am I so bad at adulting sometimes?!
FOOD ($833 | ↓ $145)
I am quite surprised that my food budget decreased in July because I felt like I spent so much money on food! My Ubereats orders were astronomical, and that’s mostly because I went through a very tough depressive episode toward the end of July, and I had no desire or energy to cook. So I relied on UberEats, and I am not going to berate myself for that. It’s what I needed and I’m glad it was there for me.
SPA ($109 | ↓ $106)
I got a very bougie pedicure and also got my underarms waxed.
MEDICAL ($19 | ↓ $35)
I paid $15 for a fluoride treatment at the dentist and also bought Band-Aids.
ENTERTAINMENT ($218 | ↓ $17)
I’m a little surprised that my entertainment budget only decreased incrementally in July because I don’t feel as if I did all that much with my friends! But there were two movie dates, an alpaca painting event while I was in Orlando on a girls’ weekend, and ice cream before an improv show. I guess I did more than I thought!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
It was an up-and-down month. There were high highs and very low lows, but I expected July to be a spend-y month. There was just a lot going on. August/September should be a lot calmer. But it’s also time to get cracking on apartment hunting and figuring out where I’m going to live once my lease is up on November 1st. I am so ready to be out of this apartment and excited about the process of moving (I love packing and unpacking, sue me). October will be a busy month between a week-long trip to London and a big move! Whew.
My goals for August are to pay off London, spend below my means, and try to stay under $150 in Ubereats orders (maybe that $100 threshold was a bit too aggressive for me right now…).
What was the last “fun” thing you bought for yourself?
I also value travel and experiences, so those do take up a chunk of the budget. But what is life without some fun? Tonight I am going with my girlfriends to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and we will have dinner out before that, so I guess that will count as my very fun thing!
That is a super fun thing and I hope you had an amazing time!
Well- you may have spent more than you wanted, but spending money on travel, friends and books is money well spent. The last fun thing I bought for myself? Hmmm… I would probably have to go back to my trip in July, where I bought some gourmet spices and then went to a bookstore and bought some fun cards. I feel like I’m due for another “fun” purchase. I’ll probably hold off until fall candles come out- I’m a sucker for the pumpkin scents!
Hope you’re feeling better : )
I am so ready for fall and pumpkin-scented EVERYTHINGGGG. I am forcing myself NOT to bring out all of my fall decor too soon, but I am just ready to say goodbye to summer and hello to the best four months of the year!
How exciting to have London to look forward to!! This may not be wildly “fun”, but I bought a blazer for my in office days and it’s made me feel so outwardly pulled together when inwardly I am not, haha!
I love that so much! A blazer can very much be a fun thing, especially when it helps you feel more like yourself!
Last fun thing. Probably a dipped ice cream cone! It was delicious.
Travel is expensive, but it’s such a fun and rewarding experience and a great way to make memories with people we love. It deserves to be a priority in your life/finances, since it means so much to you.
Emotional eating is a tough one for me. And when I’m struggling, I need things that are quick, palatable, and don’t require much effort on my part. When you’re able, ditch Ubereats, but when you’re not, I’d celebrate the fact such a thing exists. It’s okay to enjoy food and sometimes food IS like a medicine for me. I know it’s such a fine line, yada, yada, but sometimes I do not want a long walk or a hot shower, I WANT CHOCOLATE CAKE or a bag of chips!
Oh yes. I don’t even know if I necessarily believe in emotional eating. All eating is emotional, and that’s okay! It doesn’t need to be a bad thing because it’s not. Food is meant to be enjoyed and we’re meant to derive pleasure from it. <3
You know what? Maybe ditch the Uber Eats goal. It doesn’t seem to be serving you in terms of habit change, and it might be making you feel crappy about something that should be value neutral (eating), Maybe change food goals to additive ones like the fruit.veggie goal. Like eat lunch from home X amount of days. Or cook dinner X amount of days?
I know, I really should just abandon this Ubereats goal because I am NOT working towards it at all. I just know I will need to tighten up my budget once I move, so I was hoping to start with my online takeout habit but ughhh, it’s just so convenient! I think having a goal of cooking dinner X amount of days is a much better idea. I like that a lot!
Gosh, last fun thing I purchased…. I would probably say the money I spent on my book club dinner on Wednesday? Or admission to the local water park last Saturday for the boys and me? I don’t buy much that is classified as “fun”! But I am also not someone that I would describe as “fun”. Lol.
We changed expense tracking aps and are trying to use Monarch for expense tracking but we’ve had a pretty “meh” experience so far as we keep having to do these multifactor authorizations to keep the links alive and working. Why is expense tracking so hard!! I really miss the mint ap.
Admission to the local water park is a fun expense for sure! As is book club dinner. 🙂
I’m sorry that Monarch isn’t working well for your expense tracking. That’s so frustrating! I have yet to find an app that works for what I need, which is why I do it the old-fashioned way.
it is amazing that some of the categories you dod so good on. Yeah you. And I guess some things just need to happen.
My July was again not great. I overspend in the 4 digits. Mainly because we wanted to get the apartment ready for the white party and made lot of things happened we had already planned. My plan for August is an unofficial no spend months but than I need to buy a bike… That will not be cheap but will out from my business account. I think I can claim its to get places. HA.
A no-spend month is a GREAT way to reset your spending habits after spending a lot of money. You can do it!
The last fun thing I spent money on was an impromptu trip to Portland to visit family. It busted the budget, even though it wasn’t terribly expensive. But we hadn’t planned it, just an opportunity.
Hm. Fun purchase? Outing with Engie, by far. Good time, good weather, great companion, interesting (and slightly weird) place we toured. Otherwise, it’s been all-practical-all-the-time around here.
(BTW, I like the idea of adjusting the UberEats goal…at least for now. There will be a time for that. Maybe it’s not now? Hugs.)
I love your money update posts albeit I don’t always comment.
I dropped some money in France, I fully admit that. France has quality skin care stuff such as serums, face creams, and sunscreen with stronger ingredients that may not always be purchased in the US. So I loaded up. I even bought two deodorants. All of this stuff should last me a long time. I have some dark spots on my face from sun damage probably, so I bought products to help with that.
I also treated myself to some jewelry- earrings, a necklace and a broche. was an abalone cat broche, how can I not buy it?
Lastly, I bought a dress. Saw it in the shop window, fell in love with it and bought it. It’s blush rose and it has cherries on it. Wearing it for my first day back to school.
I am putting myself on a spend freeze in September, October and November. So, no impulse buys, no boba yea, and no coffee out.