October Spending Recap
11/04/2010
Recently, I haven’t been doing a very good job keeping tabs on my expenses, so in this post, I decided I would track my expenses for the month of October and report back to you. Accountability is great motivation!
Here’s a snapshot of my expenses, excluding rent:
I’ve excluded rent, charity, retirement, savings, long term investments, and money I give to my parents because that’s a little too personal here. Everything else, I’ve included.
Groceries: I’m not sure if I should put alcohol under here or entertainment. I usually don’t spend very much on alcohol, maybe a bottle or two of wine a month. This month was an exception as BF was hosting a Hallowe’en house party.
Transportation: I bought some filters for my cabin and engine since the mechanic flagged them last time. It costs $35 for them both, and would have cost me $100 had I gotten them done at the dealership!
Telephone: Check!
Entertainment: Volleyball fee’s were due this month. We split the costs as a team, and it usually ends up around $10 per person per game if you average out the season. Unfortunately, this only left me with $10 of entertainment budget left for the month. A budget of $140 would have been more reasonable.
Medical: I had been neglecting to see my dermatologist, so I went in for an appointment and got my prescription filled.
Eating Out: This is a touchy topic for me. BF and I are big fans of eating out on the weekends. I’m pretty good with packing my lunches for the week, but when the weekends hit, we go out for food with friends on a Friday, grab brunch or Dim Sum on a Saturday or Sunday, and there you have at least $50/weekend. We do cook at least one meal on the weekend and have started cooking more, so I’m hoping to spend $150 next month!
Toiletries/Grooming: Was running out of shampoo, conditioner and my trusty MAC blotting powder. I could have bought this stuff next month, but it would have happened sooner or later.
Clothes: I returned the jacket and shoes I bought last month – I didn’t love them. I also got my winter jacket from last winter dry cleaned ($25) and my jeans altered ($15) and my boots fixed ($40). In addition to that I bought a pair of burgundy tights, a pair of knee high socks (for Hallowe’en costume and my trendy item this winter), a 6-pack of underwear, 2 shirts and a cardigan. Full disclosure, people 🙂
Misc: I spent this on the Minimalist E-Book sale. I don’t usually buy books, so I decided to file it under Misc, though I guess technically it can be under entertainment. I’ve gone through two of the e-books, and I find them to be pretty good reads.
I think I’m gonna start playing a game where I get a prize at the end of the month if I am within my budget. This calls for me to roll up my budgeting sleeves, while keeping in mind my overall savings goals, and being realistic. I like a challenge (and a prize!).
That’s all from me!
How about you? Do you enjoy tracking your expenses and budgeting? Do you reward yourself after you’ve reached a certain goal?
An Aspiring Minimalist's Blog 
11/05/2010 at 12:14 AM
I’ve always thought that we spend too much on eating out, but we rarely go above $200 for two. It looks like we’re not doing so bad.
That said, now T is working again, he spends a lot on food using his own money…
11/07/2010 at 6:43 PM
I don’t know if setting such a low budget for groceries is a good idea. I think good, healthy food (from local farmers) should be the money worth.
11/07/2010 at 7:40 PM
Eemusings – Yes, I do spend quite a bit in that area. BF and I don’t do much take out, but we do like to go out for a nice, casual dinner, especially on Fridays. It adds up!
Volker – Thank you for your concern. I usually get my groceries from either Chinatown supermarkets (which are pretty cheap), or the markets in Kengsinton Village which usually have some cheap and fresh produce. I don’t pay much attention to whether the products are organic – though this is an area I would like to learn more about. Especially the dirty dozen. Thanks for pointing that out!
01/11/2011 at 6:42 PM
In January my family has been trying to eat up our accumulated inventory. Even too much food can be clutter if it is not used in a timely fashion. Other than that we buy produce from the local Farmers’ Market and a few things like soy beverage from the grocery store. This is a very frugal month for us. We also try to have January as a “buy nothing month”. It is amazing how much you can put off and even skip buying if you just think about it for a month. So far the only thing we are missing is fresh greens.