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CB in the City

Retired grandma, happily living the good life in the second city!

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Home > Archive: December, 2025

Archive for December, 2025

It's New Years Eve...

January 1st, 2026 at 02:45 am

... And I've calculated my spending for December and for the year.

December:

Gifts/Charity - $864

Housing - $799

Property Taxes - $441

Utilities - $250

Groceries - $140

Fees/Services - $90

Household Supplies - $60

Phone - $50

Medical/Health - $47

Furnishings/Equipment/Decor - $35

Personal - $33

Entertainment - $32

Gas - $27

Vacation/Travel - $25

Laundry - $17

Eating Out/Takeout - $2

Grand Total - $2912

2025

Housing - $9588

Insurance - $4312

Gifts/Charity - $2959

Utilities - $2788

Fees/Services - $1322

Medical/Health - $1196

Furnishings/Equipment/Decor - $1079

Groceries - $1072

Property Taxes - $951

Vacation/Travel - $858

Phone - 594

Home Repair/Maintenance - $500

Entertainment - $431

Personal - $415

Eating Out/Takeout - $305

Gas - $287

Car Repair/Maintenance - $219

Laundry - $203

Household Supplies - $201

Clothing - $94

Vet/Pet Supplies - $47

Fares/Parking - $10

Grand Total - $29431

What went up this year? Housing, Insurance, Gifts, Utilities, Furnishings, Taxes, Phone, Gas, Laundry

What went down? Medical, Groceries, Vacation, Home Repair, Entertainment, Eating Out, Car Repair, Clothing, Fares, Household Supplies

And these stayed exactly the same -- Personal, Fees/Services, Pet Supplies

Altogether, I spent about $400 less this year. That's pretty good for a year like we've had!

I should add - my net worth rose by almost $40K. Mostly due to the value of my condo.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

I'm Late

December 9th, 2025 at 10:49 pm

I've had my November recap done for a while, but I just keep forgetting to post.

Here's how it shook out:

My largest expense, as almost always, was housing, but right after that was gifts and charity. I donated to two of my grandchildren's college funds, and my son had a birthday.

Utilities were a little low, since my gas bill did not hit until December 1. Right after that was vacation expense, most of which was attributed to my trip to Oregon, which wrapped around the end of October and the beginning of November.

Fees and services were higher than usual, due to my Amazon Prime membership. AARP also renewed, but that was small beans.

Toiletries and a haircut made the personal category higher than usual.

I got an oil change and new wipers -- unexpectedly high!

Medical/health was below average -- my insurance premium and a few OTC drugs. All the other categories were at or below average, too. I did especially well on groceries and eating out. I concentrated on working through the food in my freezer and pantry. I'm still doing that.

I am in the midst of Christmas prep. I'm going to be giving mostly cash this year. My son here in town had a rough fall, being on furlough during the shutdown, and my son in Oregon is feeling the pinch, too. All my grandchildren are old enough to be more excited about money to spend that they are about opening a gift. Time marches on.

But I am preparing small gifts to make things fun -- Christmas tins filled with candy for the kids and whatnots for the grownups, and some family board games.

With inflation so high, Christmas is feeling a little uncomfortable this year. I'm trying to get in the spirit. It hasn't happened yet, but it will.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

CB in the City

Modest means, but a rich life!

Archive for December, 2025

It's New Years Eve...

I'm Late