This Is How Much I Spent In August – Higher Than Expected
August Spending
Okay, I had an expensive month in August. This is all my spending from 8/10/2015-9/10/2015. My expenses are generally less than $2,000 per month but I am getting lazy about cooking at home and I’m also dating which isn’t cheap.
Student Loans
I spent most of my money on paying back student loans as I’m in student loan destruction mode. The plan is to continue paying this down. My goal was to have it all paid off before the end of the year. Now, I’m leaning a little more towards stashing some cash away so it might get slightly delayed. Conversely, I could pick up extra shifts and accomplish both goals.
Rent
Rent, that’s easy. Proud of myself for not getting into an expensive apartment. It’s not the largest… well, it’s tiny but it’s cozy. Utilities are super cheap.
Restaurant
Restaurant… oh boy, this one got a little out of hand. I have eating out, coffee and drinks in this category. That’s way more than I normally spend or like to spend. Gotta work on this.
Groceries
I normally spend only $200-300 per month in this category. But, I have done some farmer’s market shopping and gotten a lot of packaged foods which shoots up my bills. This is an easy one to bring back down.
Business
Whatever I spend for work that I can either write off against taxes or have my work reimburse I put in this category. If I ‘write off’ an expense it means that I can deduct a certain percentage of it from my taxes owed. It doesn’t mean that I spend $100 on let’s say a medical device and turn around and deduct $100 from whatever I owe the IRS.
Entertainment
Ummm, I really shouldn’t have entertainment when I’m eating out and getting drinks as much as I did in August. My Netflix subscription is in this and I went out and watched some movies and did some miniature golf.
Healthcare
Dental emergency and the whole deal with that lymph node I had on my neck. I have some other dental follow-up visits coming up so perhaps I should increase my usual dental budget. I floss dang it! But one of my onlays came off… now I’m getting a cap.
General Merchandise
Deodorants and soap and dental floss… and some books.
Hobbies
Gym membership, it’s a lot but it’s a climbing gym.
Utilities/Travel/Clothing
I think I bought underwear and I spent some money on public transport. I had a trip to California so there was $10 for the airline fees even though I made the purchase using miles. Utilities are pretty low in my apartment, only electricity.