I’ll admit that I was nervous about this spending report. I felt as if I spent a lot of money this month between some fun experiences with friends, dropping $75 at Barnes & Noble (I felt like I dissociated from my body the minute those bookshelves surrounded me), and definitely going over my Ubereats budget. But alas, it wasn’t as bad as I expected! In fact, I didn’t even spend above my means this month—I was $29 under! I’ll take that as a win.
Let’s review my goals for May:
- Spend below my means by $250 – Not complete! I was not even close to hitting this goal, but still, I didn’t spend above my means in May so it’s all good.
- Meet my online ordering goal – Not complete. I went over my goal by more than $70. Oof.
- Cancel Amazon Prime – Not complete. I’m the worst.
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
CATS ($574 | ↑ $486)
Eloise was my expensive cat in May! The majority of this overage comes from her two vet appointments: one at her usual vet clinic where I paid over $300 for an exam and bloodwork, and then I paid for the first month of Banfield’s wellness plan ($55) during her second vet appointment at Banfield. However, with this wellness plan, Eloise can receive extra bloodwork when needed, as well as a yearly dental cleaning, so it will ultimately be vastly cheaper in the long run. I also bought food, litter, and some fun birthday toys (like a new scratching pad and cat grass!).
GIFTS ($266 | ↑ $266)
Oof. I knew May was going to be a hit to the ole pocketbook for gifts. I’m trying to do experience gifts this year for my friends and while fun, they can be a bit expensive. But that’s okay! This month was two spots in kitten yoga, two tickets to a drag show, and some items for my mom’s Mother’s Day gift.
FOOD ($915 | ↑ $135)
Ughhh… I did horribly when it comes to my food budget in May. Every category – groceries, breakfasts, online ordering, etc. – was a smidge higher than April. I’m very unhappy with my online ordering total, which was $172. While that’s not the highest it’s been this year (that honor goes to February when I spent over $200 on online orders), my goal is to spend under $100. This is such an area of struggle for me!
SUPPLIES ($91 | ↑ $59)
I had to replenish my supply of body wash in May, which accounts for the majority of this increase. (I buy them in bulk.) I also bought the usual suspects when it comes to my supplies: mouthwash, trash bags, a new loofah, shampoo, etc.
SAVINGS ($187 | ↑ $62)
It was only $62 but I finally managed to sock some extra money away in my savings this month. I’m taking it as a win!
Categories That Decreased
MEDICAL ($33 | ↓ $516)
A massive decrease from May! This month, I did not have a boatload of medical bills to deal with. I just needed some OTC medications that I paid for myself.
BILLS ($2,057 | ↓ $295)
My car loan payment didn’t go through yet in May, which accounts for the decrease. All other bills remain the same, except my electric bill was $65 more (ughhh summer) and I had to pay a yearly membership fee at my gym.
TRAVEL ($451 | ↓ $211)
In May, my only travel expense was booking the hotel my mom and I will be staying at in July for her birthday vacay. Nothing crazy!
SPA ($66 | ↓ $62)
My spa category decreased a bit in May; my only expense was a pedicure. But yes, it was a SIXTY-SIX dollar pedicure. I did opt for the more deluxe pedicure that included paraffin wax and extra exfoliation, but oof. That hurt me a bit. I won’t be getting that kind of deluxe pedicure every month (they have a $30 “polish change” option, which will be my go-to from now on).
MISC ($0 | ↓ $52)
No miscellaneous spending in May! Yay!
SHOPPING ($301 | ↓ $32)
I’m happy to see that my shopping budget continued to decrease in May, even though I want to get it much lower. Maybe in June! Here were my highest categories:
- Books: $102
- Beauty: $74
- Home: $37
SUBSCRIPTIONS ($99 | ↓ $30)
Last month, I paid for a year’s subscription to Emily in Your Phone’s substack so that’s why this category decreased slightly in May.
CAR ($244 | ↓ $19)
I put away money for car insurance, got gas twice, and bought a car wash. This category is down slightly since I didn’t have some overdue tolls to pay!
ENTERTAINMENT ($157 | ↓ $11)
Nothing too crazy here – I mostly prepaid for some June adventures, like our upcoming book club experience, Olive’s dance recital, and a movie ticket. I also paid for May’s book club experience, some dining out adventures, and odds and ends.
Overall Thoughts
This wasn’t a bad month, money-wise. I spent within my means, although I’m really hoping to spend a lot less in these coming months. If I want to move into a two-bedroom apartment (which means my rent will increase by $500 at a minimum), I need to be spending way less than I currently do. Otherwise, I am in for a rude awakening when it comes time to move in late October. I feel like this is something I keep saying in these monthly spending reports, so it’s really time to stop saying I need to spend less money and actually spend less money. Gah.
The two areas of struggle for me right now are food and shopping. If I could adhere to my budget of $100 for online orders and bring my shopping budget down to under $200, I’d feel a lot more comfortable with my spending habits and being able to move to a new place at the end of the year.
So with that said, my goals for June are to finally CANCEL AMAZON PRIME OMG, spend below my means by at least $100, and meet my online ordering goal.
What was the last gift you bought?
The last gift I bought was a quart of my MIL’s favorite ice cream from a local ice cream shop. We are NOT GIFT PEOPLE as you know so it’s rare for me to buy a gift, besides around the boys’ birthdays and Christmas!
Gah, the amazon prime thing is tough… I loathe that company and yet, it’s kind of necessary for this stage of life. I used to try to shift my spending from Amazon to Target, but that’s not really much better these days. And there aren’t other great big box retailer – I’d long ago sworn off Walmart. Sigh. I know Costco is pretty good, but we don’t live near one and going there is such a hassle!
Lastly and unrelated to spending, I would not let myself comment on this post until I scheduled my IUD placement with my OBGYN! I had mentioned needing to just make the dang appt in several comments so today I said – Lisa, no commenting until you make this stupid phone call. And it’s done! Hurrah! Next I need to make a colonoscopy appt but that is way more complex since I’ll need Phil to drive me home and I get overwhelmed thinking about who would take the kids to daycare if my appt gets scheduled for the morning, etc etc… But I’m telling myself I need to call to schedule before the end of June. *and now I’ve derailed this comment with talk of medical appts…*
My whole life is doctor’s appointments these days so I get it! I’m talking about this in my Friday post, but I’m getting a colonoscopy in July! They had a lot of appointments available – and not all of them were early in the morning. You may be able to schedule the appointment so you could Uber (or get a friend to drive you) to the clinic and then Phil could pick you up after he gets the kids to school. I definitely understand the annoyance of thinking about logistics, though!
And hooray for scheduling your IUD appointment! Proud of you!
Wow! Great job on reducing some tough categories and spending within your means! That’s awesome!
I know one category that skyrocketed for me in May — and more so in June — which is the previously non-existent pet category!
PETTTS! They can be expensive in the beginning but all those extra toys and supplies should taper off. My pets category is usually pretty low, thankfully.
Hahaha I was like “sixty-six dollars? That’s regular price, isn’t it?” With tax and tip my pedis are $75.60. I get the gel kind, and they do give me a hot stone massage on my calves and feet – it’s money well spent in my opinion! YOLO! Also I like having pampered feeties.
Pets! They are so expensive. Even a cheap month has me paying for food, dental chews, etc. – that shit adds up. But the trade-off is no pets, and that is too sad to even consider. Those fuzzies are worth it!
Lol am I an enabler?
Seriously I think you did great on your month! I bought some gifts for May – I had three friends with birthdays, plus my mom’s, so that was a bit more than normal.
When I do the CAD to USD conversion, $75 is around $55, so a little cheaper and I definitely could NOT get a gel pedi with hot stone massage for $55 in the US! I never upgrade for gel because it’s usually $15 more! $66 ($90 CAD) is just a lot of money for a regular ole pedi with some enhancements. I do love that paraffin wax treatment, though!
Pets are SO expensive but SO worth it! And they’re cheaper than kids. 😉
I am always amazed how expensive pets can be.
Well done staying within your means. Now you can work on getting lower in the hard categories.
I trick I do when shopping is not buying it immediately but waiting a little to see if I really want it or if it was just a spur of a moment thing. That helped me often to not purchase.
Wishing you all the best for the June goals.
Yes, the trick of waiting to buy something until you’re SURE you want it is a great one! I need to implement that more often. Sometimes I do add things to my Amazon cart and let them sit there for a bit – that’s something I should do for other areas of my life!
Hey, nice job on being under! I say if you are $1 under, you are under, and that is a win! Sometimes there are ebbs and flows and one category is higher than you want it to be, but such is life. Re the Prime thing, did you know that you can cancel today but not have it take effect until whatever day you want it to? Maybe that is the answer, you can set it for a few weeks from now so that you don’t feel the immediate shock! I usually get a 30 day free trial every year around Christmas and then immediately go in and set it to cancel 29 days later!
Good luck with your food cost and shopping minimization goals! Even if you just lower them this month, I think that is a step in the right direction! I think the fact that you have goals and are tracking the numbers is admirable, as I feel that being aware is half the battle! Then you can make decisions with all of the information instead of blindly!
It’s not even that I NEED to have Prime, which is why I haven’t canceled it. I’m just being lazy about going into Amazon and DOING IT. I think it’s because I so rarely use Amazon these days (which is another reason I need to cancel it!).
Okay, halfway through writing this comment, I just got annoyed with myself and went in and CANCELED IT! YASSSS. Thanks for being the inspiration I needed.
Well, under is better than over. I get it though- you have a big goal which is to move (and pay more rent). At least you’re tracking your spending and are aware of exactly where it’s all going. Two main things I came away with- I now have an urge to run to Barnes and Noble and spend $75- that just sounds SO FUN. (Am I an enabler? Sorry…) And- I still have Amazon Prime as well. Yes, I’m an enabler and a bad person. Our whole family, including my son who isn’t living at home at the moment- uses the amazon account, so I need to get everyone on board (they are, theoretically- it’s just the logistics that could be a little complicated.) Sigh. Well, June is a whole new month!
Amazon Prime is a GREAT resource for families so I totally understand keeping it! As a single person who doesn’t REALLY need those 1- or 2-day shipments, it’s beyond time for me to cancel it.
That $75 shopping spree at Barnes & Noble was THE MOST FUN, but I definitely had some buyer’s remorse afterward. Oops.
So many gifts in May! A backpack for a graduation gift, a shirt for my husband’s birthday, and I bought some dog treats for my aunt’s dog because she couldn’t find them locally. Good times!
You are the queen of gift giving!
Hi friend, you know I love a good spending/budget post.
Let’s start with UGH. May was spendy!!! Or, do I say that about every month?…
Food, mainly restaurants (my birthday, mother’s day, etc) and shopping – my birthday, mother’s day, and just because?… Balances for French Airbnbs…
My sister-friend has her birthday on the 20th of June so I bought her a ring with a moonstone, off Etsy. I think she liked it. Now i want one for myself 😉