Well, for me, it is. I get paid tomorrow, so December is closed for me.
It was a high-spending month. Not only did I have Christmas expenses, I bought a dishwasher and had a plumbing issue -- both totally unexpected.
Gifts/Charity: $1344
Housing: $677
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor: $588
Home Repair/Maintenance: $189
Fees/Services: $140
Groceries: $131
Vacation/Travel: $122
Eating Out: $83
Gas: $64
Phone: $52
Medical/Health: $41
Household Supplies: $27
Utilities: $22
Vet/Pet Supplies: $19
Personal: $17
Laundry: $12
Fares/Parking: $3
Grand Total: $3531
After all my hand-wringing, Christmas spending was in line, especially considering that it included postage and contributions to the college funds. I was aiming to come in below $1500.
The fees & services included Amazon Prime, AARP membership, and bank fees.
Vacation/Travel includes $100 prepaid to the pet sitter for next month's cruise.
That crazy low utilities bill is just a fluke. My electricity and cable/internet bills didn't hit before pay day. So next month's utilities will probably be unusually high.
Everything else is reasonable.
Here's the really good news, though. My net worth rose by $5,549. My liquid savings rose by $3,011. This despite the feeling that I was always raiding savings for car repairs, big ticket items, etc.
(I should add here -- that's for the whole year, not just this month.)
So, hooray for the museum, for giving me that extra edge!
I feel really inspired now to tighten my belt in all the little ways that I can.
Welcome to the End of the Year!
December 20th, 2016 at 11:37 pm
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