March Expenses – $1176.05

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for March.

Household	$15.40
Rent	$320.08
Entertainment	$34.69
Transportation	$258.54
Food	$93.16
Travel	$97.46
Phone	$28.50
Student Loan	$132.58
Health	$195.64
Total	$1176.05

My March expenses were up a bit from the previous months, but still pretty low. I didn’t quite manage to get my expenses under my target of $1000 for the month. For the year, I’m still averaging under $1000 a month. If I were able to keep my monthly average for the entire year under $1000 a month that would be great. That won’t be easy to do since I plan on getting over a $1000 of dental work done this year and there are always unplanned expenses sometime during the year. It will be a good goal to work towards.

Rent was low again because I’m paying my mom’s utility bill as rent while I’m staying with her. This month’s bill was almost the same as the previous month. This amount also includes the water and sewer. They all come on one bill from the city. This month I will be paying half a month rent for here and paying rent in Thailand which will probably result in a higher rent bill.

Transportation was for one tank of gas for my car and for six more months of car insurance. That is why this expense category is quite a bit higher for March. For April, this expense should go down quite a bit. I shouldn’t have to buy gas at all in the U.S. When traveling I will have to pay for some taxis or Grab to get me from airports to hotel and vice versa.

My food expense up a bit. I didn’t worry about trying to keep my food expense low at all. It is artificially low currently since my mom provides me with many meals and keeps the pantry stocked with snacks. This bill will go up a bit this month since I’ll be traveling and probably be buying a few meals for my girlfriend as well.

Travel expense was for one night hotel in Thailand, an airplane ticket from Bangkok to Phitsanulok, Thailand and travel insurance for the 2 1/2 months I will be out of the country. Last year, I didn’t have travel medical insurance when I went to Thailand. If I’d had a serious illness or injury that could have cost me a lot of money. Paying $57 for travel insurance that will cover a serious illness or injury seems like a great bargain. I hope I don’t have to use it.

Phone was for one month of Google Fi phone service and about $4 towards a new phone. I splurged and bought a new phone. My old phone had a dime size spot on the screen and the battery wasn’t lasting nearly as long as it used to last. Google had a Moto G6 on sale for just $99 with 24 months no interest financing. That made it just a little over $4 a month for the new phone. Making it even better they gave me a $50 trade-in for my old phone. After applying the trade-in I will just be paying a little over $2 a month for the new phone. So far the new phone has been working great and the battery lasts much longer. I’m very satisfied with this purchase from Google. If you sign up for Google Fi through my referral link we will each get $20 Fi credit after your account has been active for 30 days.

Health was for my March premium on my health insurance and for a dental visit. I managed to get some popcorn wedged way up under my gums and couldn’t get it back out. This was quite uncomfortable and paying $72 for the dentist to get it out was money well spent.

My entertainment expense was for two trip to the movies and popcorn. I also spent 99 cents for my monthly Hulu subscription. In Thailand I will be spending for me and my girlfriend so this expense will likely go up a bit.

The household expense was mostly for the taxes on my new phone purchase and a new phone case. If I have to buy supplies for a new apartment in Thailand this expense will go up this month.

March was a higher expense month for me and I did go over my monthly target of $1000 in expenses. Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with that level of expense considering what I received for my money. It was still a pretty low expense month by most people’s standards.   How was your month?