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My Favorite Day of the Year

December 31st, 2013 at 04:46 pm

Because I get to do my monthly recap and YEARLY recap! Woo-hoo!

December was pricey, as expected. Here is the breakdown:

Gifts: 717
Housing: 660
Groceries: 233
Insurance: 215
Entertainment: 110
Fares: 109
Phone: 106
Utilities: 91
Taxes: 75
Vet/Pet Supplies: 40
Vacation/Travel: 37
Gas: 35
Eating Out: 28
Household Supplies: 27
Personal: 24
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor: 19
Medical/Health: 19
Laundry: 17
Total: 2562

2013:

Housing: 13,668
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor: 5,990
Taxes: 4,124
Gifts/Charity: 2,667
Fares: 1,443
Groceries: 1,414
Vacation/Travel: 1,364
Car Repair/Maintenance: 1,195
Utilities: 1,171
Eating Out: 1,048
Medical/Health: 995
Insurance: 919
Entertainment: 600
Clothing: 543
Phone: 491
Fees/Services: 454
Vet/Pet Supplies: 403
Gas: 367
Home Repair/Maintenance: 235
Household Supplies: 242
Laundry: 222
Personal: 214
Miscellaneous: 18

Total: 39,787

Thoughts:

I seem to be stuck on a gift treadmill. I spend more than I want, but the gifts seem less than I want to give. When I'm retired, I'll have to lay down the law. Token gifts only.

The jump in groceries was due to several different entertaining expenses. And those were driven by my lack of time. When I have time, I can bake from scratch, etc.

The entertainment cost was driven by several Christmas events. They are not necessary, and I can bow out when I have to.

The phone bill was twice the usual. I paid Verizon at the beginning of the month, then paid Straight Talk after I got my new smartphone. I still need to investigate whether I can get a reimbursement from Verizon.

I was lucky this year to have fewer medical bills than usual.

I took two trips to Florida this year, one planned, and one unplanned. I suspect there will be more this year! I'm already planning a trip in February to help the kids with a garage sale and moving.

There are so many ways I'd like to do better! I'm really looking forward to some low-spend months ahead

3 Responses to “My Favorite Day of the Year”

  1. rob62521 Says:
    1388508923

    You are very organized.

  2. PatientSaver Says:
    1388519058

    Jump in groceries? Appears you're averaging just $117 a month in groceries, which is like half what I spend. Of course, you spent a lot on eating out, too, so maybe that's how you made up for it.

  3. CB in the City Says:
    1388524846

    I was talking about the December jump in groceries. I usually come in somewhere near $100. And yes! Too much on eating out! Almost as much as the groceries. I'm going to tackle that this year, which may lead to a moderate increase in groceries.

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