Frugality

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household	$558.28
Utilities	$228.40
Entertainment	$10.28
Transportation	$94.50
Food	$577.92
Health	$116.97
Travel	$1146.24
Phone	$15
Total	$2747.59

December’s expenses were once again rather high. This month’s expenses should be lower although still higher than I’d prefer since we’ll be traveling the last two weeks of the month.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Peacock, Hulu, and Prime. I let my Paramount Plus deal expire since I don’t have enough time to watch everything as it is.

My transportation expense consisted of $94.50 for three tanks of gas.

Food expense was $577.92. That is divided between $370.71 for groceries and $207.21 for restaurants. That is way too high. I’ll lower this expense this month. We’ll be traveling the last two weeks of the month which will complicate things. Food is cheap in Thailand though, so I still expect to lower this expense significantly.

Travel expense came in at $1146.24. That was for a cash flight for two to Thailand, seat selection fees on one flight, and the award taxes on a flight for two from Thailand back to the U.S. This will be less this month, although I still have to buy several intra-Thailand flights and several hotel nights, so it won’t be too low

Utilities came in at $228.40. This was for electric, water, trash and internet. This was about the same as last month. It should be a little bit lower this month since we won’t have a trash bill.

Household expense came in at $558.28. This was mostly for my Missouri Bar annual enrollment fee.

I spent $15 for one month of phone service for my wife.

The $116.97 spent on health was for a walking pad and my BP medicine.

This month will be another expensive month, although it should be less expensive than December. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for December.

Interest	$201.6
Dividends	$19.62
Job	$2880.36
Other Selling	$61.69
Cashback	$21.30
Ebay	$12.10
Credit Card Bonus	$25
Amazon Merch	$4.51
Total	$3226.18

December was a decent income month.

Dividend income came in at $19.62.

Interest income was $201.6.

I made $12.10 from eBay and $61.69 from other selling. I currently don’t spend much time on this since it is more profitable to spend that time working at my job.

I made $21.30 from cash back.

I made $2880.36 from job income.

I had a credit card bonus of $25. That bonus was for adding an authorized user to my account. I don’t usually bother with such low bonuses, but this one was easy to do.

This month should be a little higher since I will have five paydays.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household	$792.08
Mortgage/Apt	$0
Utilities	$292.92
Entertainment	$45.27
Transportation	$135.90
Food	$322.62
Visa	$0
Health	$21.52
Travel	$95
Phone	$20
Total	$1725.31

December’s expenses were a little high. This month’s expenses will probably be about the same.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Amazon Prime, one month Hulu, one month of Netflix, and dinner out for my wife’s birthday.

My transportation expense consisted of $133.04 for gas and $2.86 for tire valve caps.

My food expense was $322.62. That is divided between $276.65 for groceries and $45.97 for restaurants. That is almost exactly the same as last month. I hope to get this under $300 for this month.

Travel expense was $95. That was the annual fee for my Chase Sapphire card. I should get at least $95 in value out of the card this year.

Utilities came in at $292.92 This was for electric, internet, and trash. This month will be a little lower since I won’t have a trash bill.

Household expense came in at $792.08 which is much higher than usual. A big chunk of this was the $418.45 I spend on the Missouri Bar annual fee. I’d rather not pay that fee, but I’ve got to stay an actively licensed attorney to keep my job. The rest was spent on Christmas presents and household stuff.

I spent $20 for one month of phone service and add-on data for my wife.

The $92.57 spent on health consisted of $61.46 for an insurance premium and $22.43 for medicine. This month might be a lot higher. We had and ER visit last month, that I’m not sure how much will be covered.

This month’s expenses will probably be about the same since I will have some medical bills due. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for October.

Interest	$289.59
Dividends	$19.81
Job	$2996.32
Other Selling	$18.74
Cashback	$32.97
Ebay	$94.41
Brokerage Bonus	$100
Total	$3551.84

October was another solid income month.

Dividend income came in at $19.81.

Interest income was $289.59 This will decline this month since interest rates have gone down, and I don’t currently have any money in a CD or other instrument that earns higher interest than my savings accounts.

I made $94.41from eBay and $18.74 from other selling. I currently don’t spend much time on this since it is more profitable to spend that time working at my job.

I made $32.97 from cash back.

I made $2996.32 from job income.

I had a brokerage bonus of $100. I try to always be working towards one bank/brokerage bonus and a credit card bonus.

This month should be about the same. My job income might be a little smaller due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for July.

Household	$7.03
Mortgage/Apt	$355
Support	$286.71
Entertainment	$39
Transportation	$124.53
Food	$152.13
Phone	$33.28
Health	$1.98
Travel	$113.60
Total	$1113.26

My July expenses were about as low as I can get them anymore. I was happy with the level of expenses.

Entertainment expense was for a New York Times digital subscription, one month of Hulu at 99 cents, a month of Amazon Prime, a lottery ticket and a movie visit with concessions. That was a lot of entertainment for the price.

The mortgage payment was my regular mortgage payment. I

Transportation was for gas and parking. The higher gas prices didn’t affect me much since I work at home. I did go to the city an hour away from me a couple of times or this total would have been much lower.

My food expense was reasonable considering how much inflation has raised food prices. My old goal of $100 a month is much more difficult to achieve now and I’m not trying to achieve that level anymore.

My phone bill was $33.28. It was slightly higher than normal due to increased data usage. It should be slightly lower this month.

The household expense was for a photo and some kraft paper.

Health expense was for one month’s health insurance premium.

Travel expense includes the annual fee on one of my credit cards and taxes on an award ticket for my next flight to Thailand.

There also was an expense of $286.71 to help my wife with some of her expenses in Thailand

This month’s expenses should be about the same.

How was your month?