Welcome to my monthly budget! Here’s what I spent in November living in Athens, Georgia:
- I paid $756 for home expenses. That’s my rent, utilities, internet, and some fix-it items. I live in a 1 bedroom basement apartment with my two cats. It’s a very lucky housing situation.
- Healthcare was $274. This is anything connected to the doctor, the dentist, my prescriptions, and therapy.
- Transportation came to $604. This is high for me because I paid my car insurance for the next six months, but it’s cheaper than it could’ve been because Discount Tires helped me out of a jam. 😎
- I spent $82 on cat food.
- My groceries came to $121. There were some questions about my October grocery budget so here’s a breakdown for this month:
- $33.34 at Sam’s Club: 2 dozen eggs, 1 rotisserie chicken, 1 40oz Greek Yogurt, 1 12-pack of Fairlife protein shakes
- $27.55 at Kroger: 1 onion, 2 potatoes, 2 carrots, tomatoes, 1 loaf of French bread, 5 StarKist SmartBowls, 1 64oz almond milk, 1 ham steak, frozen mixed vegetables, frozen fried rice, 1 6-pack of instant ramen, 1 bag of clearance Reese’s pumpkins
- $21.44 at Kroger: 1 frozen pizza, 16 oz butter, blackberries, 3 bananas, cheddar cheese slices, romaine salad bag, sourdough bread, candy corn, q-tips
- $39.08 at Walmart: 32 oz maple syrup, popcorn kernels, 1 pineapple, 1 can great northern beans, 15 oz quinoa, 40 oz peanut butter, 5lbs flour, rotini, jar of marinara, salt, 1 can coconut milk, coffee filters
I want to clarify that while I’m trying to stick to a strict budget, I buy groceries to supplement what I already have at home. Each month, I take inventory of what I’ve got in my pantry and freezer. I meal plan and buy groceries to make those meals happen. For example, I don’t even remember when (or WHY TF) I bought dried split peas but this was the month I used ’em up in soups.
- I spent $110 on going out to eat and drink. Right now, I’m only going out to bars and restaurants to catch up with friends and celebrate birthdays. This does not include the food I ate out on trips because that’s accounted for in the travel category.
- I spent $66 on cloud storage, Adobe software, and a wrist support thing.
- I put $100 into my Roth IRA.
- I spent $84 on travel. Here’s the breakdown on travel costs:
- $27 at Gibbs Garden
- $0 for a trip to North Carolina for a memorial. Western North Carolina is still coming out of the extreme damage of Hurricane Helene. For this trip, our friends let us crash a night on their 2-night campsite which was super sweet of them. We packed most of the food but my boyfriend covered breakfast and gas. So this trip cost me nothing but if we’d split it, my half would’ve been about $35/40.
- $57 for part of our Copenhagen/Dublin trip. We paid for our flights and lodging earlier this year but I’ll probably post the entire trip and its costs here soon.
- $34 went to shopping and miscellaneous. I printed and mailed my mom a birthday card, bought some cute clothes at Goodwill, and bought a scalp massage thing.
- Nothing for my phone this month because I now pay that bill once a year.
- I currently do not have any paid subscriptions and I no longer have student loans. I also do not have any children or dependents.
That gives me a grand total of $2,231 in expenses. It’s higher than October but I also made more money this month. I brought in $3,269, making November my highest earning month of the year. My work schedule was pretty much the same but this was a three pay-period month, I received an unexpected bonus from my main job, and I had a good catering gig. Ready to get hosed in December! (Just kiddin’) 🤑