As per my 101 things goal 50 (Write down all my spending for one month), I have tracked my spending for the month of October, and I am here with a categorical report.
First, I've decided that I need to track for at least another month or two before developing a budget. I had a lot of unexpected expenses. Also, I'd just like to know how I really spend money over the long term. I was happy to see that I had a pretty easy time writing stuff down, and I'm hoping I remembered everything.
Food (just groceries, in terms of food to cook): $132.30
Fun food (eating out, Halloween candy, etc): $74.06
entertainment: $7.88
charity/tithe: $55
medical: $43.37
car (new tabs): $65
electronic: $131.98
household: $63.58
clothing (a fleece headband): $14
gas: $35.99
total: $623.16, gulp. I'm glad I don't have to pay for rent here. $655.86 is my income for the month, so I'd classify October as a net loss, since I technically paid $190 for health and car insurance during the month (not listed here because those expenses are paid every 3- and 6-months). Things that I think will be one time expenses here include electronic and household. I bought a new router for $105 from apple because we changed internet services here and no longer get a bundled router from our provider. This is nice because it is compact enough that I can easily move it with me to a new place. I also bought a 4 gig jump drive and some filters for my camera. The household spending was mostly all a new vacuum (the one at the house does not work. Technically, my work would reimburse me, but I like this vacuum a lot and would rather find a way to move it with me) and some Ikea stuff, and I should be able to not spend that in the future. Charity also will probably be not so big in the future, and the same is true of medical expenses. Being sick for a month really knocked me out in that category, and I also had to pay a bill from a copay that was mistakenly not collected from me in Michigan this summer. Oh, and speaking of Michigan, I don't think I'll have to pay those car tabs for another year. I see entertainment as being a bigger category in future months, seeing as how I've already spent $5 there in this current month. I think my entertainment savings were due to my boyfriend paying for camping and us watching lots of sports and movies at home instead of going out.
I'll be back with my October monthly report soon!
Fun food (eating out, Halloween candy, etc): $74.06
entertainment: $7.88
charity/tithe: $55
medical: $43.37
car (new tabs): $65
electronic: $131.98
household: $63.58
clothing (a fleece headband): $14
gas: $35.99
total: $623.16, gulp. I'm glad I don't have to pay for rent here. $655.86 is my income for the month, so I'd classify October as a net loss, since I technically paid $190 for health and car insurance during the month (not listed here because those expenses are paid every 3- and 6-months). Things that I think will be one time expenses here include electronic and household. I bought a new router for $105 from apple because we changed internet services here and no longer get a bundled router from our provider. This is nice because it is compact enough that I can easily move it with me to a new place. I also bought a 4 gig jump drive and some filters for my camera. The household spending was mostly all a new vacuum (the one at the house does not work. Technically, my work would reimburse me, but I like this vacuum a lot and would rather find a way to move it with me) and some Ikea stuff, and I should be able to not spend that in the future. Charity also will probably be not so big in the future, and the same is true of medical expenses. Being sick for a month really knocked me out in that category, and I also had to pay a bill from a copay that was mistakenly not collected from me in Michigan this summer. Oh, and speaking of Michigan, I don't think I'll have to pay those car tabs for another year. I see entertainment as being a bigger category in future months, seeing as how I've already spent $5 there in this current month. I think my entertainment savings were due to my boyfriend paying for camping and us watching lots of sports and movies at home instead of going out.
I'll be back with my October monthly report soon!