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This is a new series I started a few months ago, sharing a report of our monthly expenses. At the end of the year I shared a recap of our 2017 spending, which showed graphs and percentages that we spent in each category. I decided to take the transparency up a notch and start sharing some monthly numbers. You can check out last month’s expenses here.
Sharing our expenses involves vulnerability, but after contemplating it for quite some time it seemed important. The goal with these expense reports will be to keep ourselves accountable as we continue on the road of being mindful with our spending. It’s also my hope that it will help spark conversations and encourage others to examine their own budgets.
We use Mint to budget and track our expenses. If you’re struggling with starting a budget, be sure to join my email list at the bottom of this post to receive my brand new PDF, “A Beginner’s Guide to Overhauling Your Budget.”
Without further ado, here’s where we spent our money this month:
November 2018 Expenses
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $2459.79 | Includes rent + water/trash/sewage. The price of living in a high-cost of living area. |
| Utilities | $17.55 | The benefit of living in an apartment! |
| Auto Insurance | $259.52 | |
| Gas | $143.14 | |
| Mobile Phone | $90.03 | |
| Internet | $39.99 | |
| Entertainment | $19.96 | |
| Groceries | $347.30 | |
| Restaurants | $67.72 | |
| Pets | $457.00 | yearly checkup/shots for both pups, dog-sitting fees for our Christmas trip, dog food |
| Shopping | $290.84 | new pair of tennis shoes, new pair of dress shoes, clothing, home supplies |
| Travel | $369.67 | Flight for Thanksgiving weekend, Uber ride |
| Misc Expenses | $134.99 | Costco annual membership, laundry, haircut, iTunes Match annual subscription |
| Fun Money | $56.57 | |
| Gifts | $131.92 | |
| Total | $4885.99 | Doesn't include savings, investments, and giving. |
- Dividend Income: $37.04
- Interest Income: $31.22
- Side Hustle Income: $955
These past few years on our financial journey we’ve challenged everything and trimmed down our expenses, but our spending is still a work in progress.
With each paycheck that comes in, our investments and cash savings continue to grow, as we put the systems in place and now they just run in the background automatically. Once you get your money mapped out where you want it to go, it becomes a game of patience as your wealth grows.
We continue to look to cut back on the areas that don’t matter as much, so that we can put money towards the areas we truly value. Mindful spending is a big focus for us and we continue to improve at it.
Other Financial Updates
Another month in the books! We continue to love the freedom of having no debt, and less monthly payments. It’s much easier to save and invest more when less of our money is allocated towards payments and subscriptions.
We had a few higher than normal categories this month:
- Pets – We took the pups in for their yearly checkups, shots and nail trimming. We also booked a sitter through Rover for one of our dogs while we visit family out of town for Christmas.
- Shopping – I had been needing new shoes for awhile, so I took advantage of the Cyber Monday deals to pick up a $49 pair of Nike’s and $54 pair of really nice dress shoes. This category also included some clothes for my wife, home supplies, and a laundry drying rack.
- Travel – My wife flew down to SoCal to visit her family (Fri-Sun of Thanksgiving weekend)
We brought in $37 of dividend income. This is money that is being generated by our investments, and then gets reinvested right back into those investment accounts. As our investments grow, eventually we’ll reach the point where this dividend income will be used to pay for some of our living expenses. Even though the market has been down recently, our net worth still continue to increase. When you’re early on in your journey, savings rate matters much more than your investment returns. It’s all about making a plan and sticking to it for the long-term.
Thanks for tuning in to this months expense report, and I hope you’ll check back again for next month’s recap!
Related Reading: Reviewing Our 2017 Spending
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