It’s a new year, and it’s time for a new way to track and analyze my spending. I downloaded a budgeting spreadsheet in mid-January and spent the time meticulously filling it out and making sure I had all of my budget categories just so. Things were going well, until I had an epiphany: I don’t want to budget. I don’t want to sit down every month and set specific parameters for my spending. What I want to do is track where my money is going once bills are paid, but not in a “I can only spend $100 in this category” kind of way.
The truth is, I find it really hard to project into the future and think about how much I should budget for the cats or the car or my entertainment budget. What I would rather do is figure out how much money I have left over for myself once I have paid all my bills and set aside a portion for food and other necessities like household supplies. Once everything necessary is accounted for, what do I have left over? That can be used for myself in myriad ways – sometimes it’s for things like cat litter or car washes, and sometimes it’s for things like books and beauty appointments. The key is that it’s all in one big bucket that I keep track of and pull from throughout the month.
With that in mind, I wanted a different way to look at my month of spending. Rather than listing out all of my different categories, let’s do this the good, the bad, and the ugly style! But first, here’s the total breakdown:
The Good (aka, three categories that went well this month)
- Entertainment (1.6% of total budget)
My entertainment category was fairly low this month, which sometimes means I’m being too much of a hermit, but that was not true in January. It’s just that a lot of my entertainment was either cheap or free, which is nice!
- Credit card (33% of total budget)
This was my biggest category by far, but this is a big win because I finally paid off my credit card balance that had been looking a little scary since October (international trip + a move + holidays = a mess). I’m glad I was able to get it down to $0 and start fresh in the new year!
- Bills (16.1% of total budget)
January was my final month of not having to pay rent, so my bills category looked amazing. (I got two months free when I moved in.) I need every apartment to run a special like this because it helped so much to recoup my moving costs and get settled into my new place.
The Bad (aka, three categories that were a bit higher than I wanted)
- Groceries ($860 total)
Some of this grocery total falls under the snack category because I spent a lot of money upfront to fill up my pantry with good snacks for myself. I also did grocery delivery once when my PsA symptoms were at an all-time high. That’s always a much higher grocery bill than normal!
- Cats ($400)
The girls were expensive in January! A good chunk of this total is an annual fee I paid to the PetLibro app so I could track the girls’ eating habits. It was $129 for the entire year, which feels excessive, but whatever. I also got them food, litter, a new litter box, and some treats. Oh, and a portion of this went to Eloise’s vet plan.
- Shopping ($636)
Whoops. This is what happens when I don’t have to pay rent. I have all this money that’s burning a hole in my pocket! Here’s how it broke down:
- Home ($274) – I bought a nightstand, a small end table, two rugs, and some scents at Bath & Body Works
- Books ($210) – I bought 11 books in January, oopsy! I bought three from Barnes & Noble (I had a gift card), one e-book that I couldn’t get from my library, two Book of the Month add-ons, and then five books during my bookish shopping spree with Jenny.
- Misc ($92) – All those little things surely add up! This category comprises things like a large pill organizer, a new wall calendar for 2026, a to-do list pad, some gold star stickers, and my “books read” sign from Etsy
My goal is to spend under $500 monthly in my shopping category, so let’s see how I do in February!
The Ugly (my worst category)
- Online ordering ($265)
Who is surprised by this being my worst category? Oh, Ubereats. How I love thee! But I do not need to spend almost $300 in a single month on these online orders. Some of this was due to PsA pain and just not having the physical/mental capacity to cook for myself, and some of this was just sheer laziness. I hope that once my symptoms are better controlled, I will rely less on Ubereats.
In February, my goal is to spend less than $150 on online orders and to limit orders to only Friday and Saturday.
Final Thoughts
There were definitely some bright spots in January, especially being able to pay off my high credit card balance, so I didn’t have that hanging over my head anymore. And there were some common spending patterns that have been an issue for a while. I’m nothing if not consistent! But I’m also giving myself some grace here because it was a hard month for me as I waited for my first rheumatology appointment, and I did what needed to be done to take care of myself and meet my needs.
What was your last home purchase?
Two months free rent is AMAZING!!!
Hmmm. Last home purchase. I bought two mattress protectors. Our guest mattress doesn’t have one (and should) and out master one needed to be replaced. Not very fun, but I got them on sale and it’s a very adult purchase 🙂
A mattress protector is a VERY adult purchase. Nice!
I don’t really track my spending either. Mostly I pay my bills and see how much I have left, then think about whether I have any big purchases coming up. Nice to check in on it once in a while, though. And YAY that you were able to pay off your credit card! That is always such a good feeling.
Yeah, I keep track of what I’m spending but I don’t really focus on keeping to specific parameters for where the money is going. I think, just naturally, certain categories adjust based on my spending patterns. It feels good to get here!
I don’t really remember what the last home purchase I made was, but I’m buying new sheets this weekend! That’s going to be a pretty penny, I think.
Why are sheets so expensive?! Gah. I need a new set, but I just hate spending the money on them.
I think “budgeting” gets a bad rep because it sounds so “constrained”, but I do like to put money in different buckets (just to cover all the bases up front). It doesn’t mean that I can’t pull from certain buckets to allow for flexibility, but it makes me feel better that I have put money into important categories from which money doesn’t get spent each month.
So cool you were able to not pay rent and make sure to pay off credit cards before starting with the new, higher rent payments.
Our last home purchase a mini bottle brush for my water bottles. Or does that count as household item?
Sometimes, it’s all about the wording! Budget does sound constraining in my weird little brain, but something like “spending habits” feels less constraining. I keep track of where my money is going, but I don’t necessarily try to stick to one certain number for each category.
The mini bottle brush counts! I definitely need something like that.
Look- you paid off your credit card! Right away you’re doing better than so many Americans, who are drowning in credit card debt and making huge payments every month. I agree there’s room for improvement here, but I’m glad you’re giving yourself some grace- it was a hard month in a lot of ways.
I’m BANNED from buying any more books for a long time!!! I’m book buying spree was fun, though.
I bought so many books in January! I didn’t realize it until I sat down and wrote it all out. Oops!
We don’t budget either, and I didn’t even when I was in a different financial position. What I did back then we figure out the bills that were coming out of my checking out and then I knew what my leftover pool of money was. I just used a very basic excel spreadsheet. But boy do I NOT MISS THOSE days. I had a big paycut at one point when I left Target and things were GRIM.
I think this good/bad/ugly approach is good. I think forcing yourself to think about what went well and what needs improvement is a good strategy.
I’m thinking to think of something I bought for our house lately and am coming up blank. The only house-adjacent thing I bought was a small planter at Target for the spider plant my therapist gave me. It’s currently growing in a paper cup so it needs a new home. But then I realized I do not have any dirt, so it’s going to continue to live in that paper cup until it warms up here and I feel like buying potting soil. But that will require me bringing the paper cup plant home, getting dirt, and planting it in the planter – and then I will bring it back to work. Which is all such a huge hassle so is unlikely to happen anytime soon!
Don’t you hate when there are just so many STEPS to do one thing and it all feels too overwhelming? I get it. I believe in you, though!
I like that you thought it out and are doing what works for you. I personally don’t have a budget per category, just an annual spending budget overall. So if I can spend less on food, I can spend more on travel, and I don’t really care where the money goes, as long as I can pay my necessary bills, and I don’t go over on the grand total. However, if you are struggling in certain areas, I think it does help to have a cap. Or you can have a budget for necessities and one for frivolities and one for savings, so that you only have three categories, but you are still fulfilling your necessities and saving, before spending the rest (or less than that) on frivolities.
It does help to have a cap for those troublesome categories (ahem, online ordering), but for all those other categories (pets, entertainment, supplies, etc.), it always feels overwhelming to give myself a certain budget. There are so many categories! This way is working much better for me.
I love that you are finding a way to manage your finances that works for you. That seems like at least half the battle! And hooray for paying off that credit card!
Let’s see. Last home purchase? I think I bought some new trivets and oven mitts for the kitchen.
New oven mitts! I bought new ones when I moved and they make me inordinately happy.
When you laid out the thinking about budgeting and tracking I realized I have always done the latter. I never went in telling myself I have this budget and then trying to stay within. Interesting. I may give myself a budget when it comes to projects. Like my arctic. I kinda have a budget.
And man, pets are expensive. Wow.