February was an unusually low-spend month for me, which was a surprise, because it did include a $500 gift I made to my son, who is now unemployed. (Thanks, Amazon!)
Anyway, here goes. I spent $849 on housing, which will be my new normal, as assessments fees in my building went up by more than $50 a month. Ugh. I spent $567 on gifts. The $67 includes valentine gifts to my grandchildren (and isn't chocolate expensive now?) and some random handouts to pandhandlers. Utilities were $201 -- they will be higher next month, because the gas bill did not make it onto this short month. Groceries were steady at $97. I work very hard in the kitchen to keep this low. My phone bill was the usual $50. Entertainment was $35; most of that was for streaming services. I spent $30 on pet supplies -- for my one fish! I needed to buy to a feeding block, because I was away for more than a week, and it was also time to buy more aquarium filters. You may ask, why do I have just one fish? Well, I am just waiting for him to die, so I can get out of the aquarium business, but he keeps hanging on, and in fact, I am rather fond of him.
I spent $21 on clothing at Goodwill. I got a sweatshirt, a long-sleeved T, and two elbow-length T's. Goodwill's prices have gone up, for sure, but these pieces (all like new) are still significantly less than they would have been at retail. Household supplies were $19, which purchased paper plates and baby wash. I don't use paper plates a lot, but I was down to nothing. I got a big package of them at Aldi. The baby wash -- no, I don't have a baby, or even a baby grandchild. I use the baby wash for handwashing delicate clothing. I bought two bottles, becasue I got a 50% discount on the second bottle.
My travel expense for the month was $18, and that was for fast food. I spent more than a week with a convalescing friend who had had hip replacement surgery. She paid for my gas to get there and fed me the whole time, but I did chip in for a couple of lunches when she was craving something specific. I counted it as a travel expense, because I wasn't at home.
I spent $16 for gas that was unrelated to travel. Laundry was cheaper that usual -- only $12 -- because I did some laundry at my friend's house.
I mentioned Goodwill above for clothing. I also bought some housewares. A sheet, to replace one with holes in it (so glad I found one the right color!) and cookie tins, which I use for sending cookies to my college student grandson. That was $8. I also spent $8 on things I hope to sell on eBay (no luck so far), and $5 on a car wash.
My grand total was $1936!
I wish I could do this every month!
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