Here is a breakdown of my expenses for February.
| Household | $34.74 |
| Mortgage/Apt | $130 |
| Utilities | $250.03 |
| Entertainment | $47.23 |
| Transportation | $443.33 |
| Food | $108.34 |
| Phone | $200.84 |
| Health | $2.73 |
| Travel | $320.12 |
| Support | $220 |
| Total | $1757.36 |
February’s expenses were a little higher than I would like.
Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, a Paramount Plus subscription, and a couple of entertainment-related meals.
Rent was $130. This isyy wife’s rent in Thailand including utilities.
Transportation was for $161.72 in gas, $273 for car insurance, and $8.61 for some antifreeze. I made a trip to see my dad who lives a couple hours away and also made 2 separate trips to a city about an hour away from me which drove up my gas bill. This month there should only be one trip to the nearby city so the gas bill will be much smaller. My insurance is now paid for six months and hopefully I won’t have any maintenance expenses. That should result in a much lower total for transportation expenses this month.
My food expense was $108.34 That is higher than last month, but still very low. I did manage to keep my fast-food bill below January’s level. I continued to take advantage of app deals and free food deals at fast food places to get food super cheap. Chase had an offer for $5 back on a $10 restaurant purchase. I had that offer on three different cards giving me $15 of savings. I also had one food mystery shop. That combined with eating at home more often led to a very low food bill.
Utilities were $250.03. This was higher than normal due to paying two months of internet. This month the total will be about the same because I will have a quarterly trash bill to pay.
My phone bill was $200.84. This was very high because I switched to Mint Mobile in January and had to pay off the phone that I had financed through Google Fi including repaying a $100 rebate. I screwed up on switching my phone service. I didn’t realize I had to keep Google Fi service for one more month to qualify for the rebate. If I had I’d have waited one more month before switching service.
The household expense was for a toothbrush, flossers, three t-shirts and a small Valentine’s Day gift for my wife. I got the three t-shirts for a total of 25 cents at Kohl’s. They send me $5 off $5 coupons a few times a year and I usually manage to find some clearance bargains for almost free stuff.
I spent $2.73 on health-related expenses in February. I bought some vitamins and some antacids. This total should be low again this month barring any injuries or illnesses.
Travel expense includes $94 for my Thailand visa and travel insurance. It also includes a $95 annual fee on my Alaska Airlines card, $20 for seat selection on a future flight, and $111.12 for a round trip flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles. The Bangkok-LA flight is so cheap because I used credit card points to pay for most of the fare.
I provided $220 of support to my wife. This covers her food and miscellaneous expenses as well as support she provides to her family.
I think this month’s total expense should be quite a bit lower. I will be traveling which could result in some unexpected expenses.
How was your month?