Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September.
| Household | $436.08 |
| Entertainment |
$141.71 |
|
Transportation |
$292.38 |
|
Food |
$109.64 |
| Phone |
$26.81 |
| Health |
$120.97 |
|
Total |
$1127.59 |
My September expenses were just slightly higher than I’d prefer. My expenses were over my stretch goal of $1000, but under my main goal of keeping them under $1274 a month.
I spent $125.39 to replace my automatic window motor and regulator in my car. Without that I would have been very close to having my expenses under $1000. I did do the repair myself which kept it from being even more expensive. I also had to transport my brother almost 200 miles after he was stranded in KC, which increased my gas expenditure a bit.
I was gone about half the month on my hike. It didn’t really increase my expenses since I slept for free in my car except for two hotel stays that were free with my travel rewards card. Food was about the same because I eat out a lot whether I’m at home or traveling. I did keep the cost of food down a little by doing some mystery shops and taking advantage of specials and the dollar menu.
My expenses for October should be about the same. I do plan on hiking and/or biking some more. I’ll also be attending the Financial Bloggers Conference. Those two things will make my expenses a little higher than normal, but since I’ll be doing both on the cheap they won’t make a big difference.
I’m okay with my current level of expenses considering the traveling I’m doing. I’m hoping I can reduce the expenses some later in the year.
Man, your expense makes mine looks so bloated. We spent $4,000 last month.
There are three of you and only one of me so that is a pretty big difference right there. You are also in a higher cost of living area, considering that your expenses are pretty low.
At least you are able to properly identify the reasons your expenses got a little out of hand this month. But you did come really close to the $1000 monthly limit, but with car repairs sometimes it is difficult to keep those cost under control.
Keeping track of my expenses does allow me to know where any problem areas are. I’m not really concerned about last month’s expenses since they were reasonable.