This is my first month back from lovely Barcelona.

I spent a total of $14,062 in November. Fuck.

$4,121 went towards medical board investigation stuff.

$5,200 went towards donations.

Donations $5,200

This was probably not the right month for me to be donating but the individuals who needed the donations needed the money more than I did.

Medical Board Investigation $4,121

The medical board investigation costs don’t even include my lawyer fees yet. I had to get fingerprinted by the medical board.

I had to sign up for a $3k+ course at my lawyer’s behest.

This also includes my medical license renewal. I included it here because I only paid to renew it so that this investigation goes smoothly. I am not sure I would have renewed my medical license otherwise.

Housing $2,400

After factoring in the opportunity cost of the money that’s tied up in the condo, the difference between renting and owning might be a wash. But it works out better for me for reasons I can’t fully explain.

Most of this expense went to property taxes – $2,100. 

This year I’ll probably be able to deduct about 30% of this on my federal taxes to the IRS. You can deduct your property taxes only if you itemize your deductions. That means a real property tax rate of around $1,478.

Property insurance was $197. That’s also partially deductible on income taxes.

Entertainment $529

This category sort of got away from me.

I bought a new set of headphones. I binged a lot probably from some stress.

Hopefully December will be a more anemic entertainment month.

Groceries $452

This is fairly on point. I just moved back to my condo so my pantry and fridge were empty.

I eat a mostly vegan diet so my food expenses are fairly cheap.

Travel $401

This was mostly airfare to get from California back to Oregon.

This month should be a travel-free month which I look forward to.

Health Insurance $228

The main reason I keep my Kaiser Permanente health insurance is because I know the docs that work at KP.

I also wanted to keep it because their telemedicine had been free. However, I was recently informed that they will now be charging standard rates for telemedicine. That’s fine, I still get to email my doctor for free!

The good news about health insurance premiums is that they are deductible on my taxes for self-employed individuals.

Exercise $226

Signed back up at my gym and paid for my bouldering shoe repair.

I also paid $18 in total for shoe rental which is silly, I should have bought a used paid for that amount and sold it afterwards.

Yes, I could be running on the street with tights in the mornings for free but I prefer bouldering. And I get to meet a ton of people.

Personal Finance $125

This is how much I pay for my financial adviser every month. I’ve been with him for a long time so I think that’s why I still have such a low rate.

We had a quick check-in when the whole medical board investigation shit hit the fan. For now I should be okay financially but we have discussed a few options in case I need access to more cash.

Coffee $120

Yes, this is ridiculous. I spend way too much on coffee every month but I like to tip well and I get a lot of work done at the cafe.

I do a lot of my paid work at cafes so $120 is a tax write-off.

Dining Out $82

I need cut this back a lot the next few months until this medical board investigation situation comes to a close.

I’ll be cooking more at home and saying no to friends.

Internet $52

I will be bumping this up to a higher speed which should take my rate up to $70/month. I will be doing some work for a new company and they need me to have higher upload speeds.

And I’m going to be writing this off against my income as an independent contractor as well.