Here is a breakdown of my expenses for March.
| Household | $413.03 |
| Entertainment | $18.30 |
| Transportation | $396.15 |
| Food | $165.59 |
| Student Loan | $37.71 |
| Travel | $130.97 |
| Phone | $36.79 |
| Health | $228.18 |
| Total | $1426.72 |
My March expenses were a little higher than I would prefer. The expenses are reasonable considering they included a trip to the Appalachian Trail in Virginia and back that included three hotel stays and over 2,000 miles of driving. I also paid $225 for six months of car insurance. Taking out those expenses my monthly expenses would be pretty close to my $1000 target.
My health expense was a little high since I had to pay for a doctor visit, labs, and medicine. Unfortunately, my health expense is going to be even higher this month. I getting an EGD and colonoscopy which will cost me over $700 out-of-pocket. That expense should get me close to hitting the deductible on my health insurance. Once I hit the deductible my only health expense for the rest of the year should be my health insurance.
My food expense was once again too high. I’d be okay with this level of expense if I was eating healthy. Since I’m eating fast food and junk food this level of expense is too high. Part of the reason for spending lots of money on fast food was due to my trip to the AT and back. I still should have spent a lot less than I did though. This month I am not going to have fast food at all unless I’m with someone else or if I’m hiking the AT.
The travel expense was in part for one night at a hotel. The other two nights were free from credit card rewards. The rest of the travel expense was for booking a flight from KC to Newark to get to the AT. The flight was free with Southwest travel credit, but I had to pay the taxes and fees. Also, I paid a $40 annual fee on a credit card which should get me another free hotel night. It won’t really be free since I had to pay the $40 bucks but I’m sure I’ll get more than $40 value out of the hotel stay.
Other than the $700 for the medical procedures March should be a low expense month. It is hard to predict what my expenses will be when hiking the AT. My guess is that they will be low. I’ll be aiming for $1700 in expenses for the month.