Welcome to my monthly budget! Here’s what I spent in February as a middle aged woman living in Athens, Georgia:
- $750 for housing. I live in my friends’ basement apartment which I lovingly call the Lair. This covers rent, utilities and internet.
- $286 for healthcare. This is anything connected to my doctor, dentist, therapist, or medications.
- $396 for transportation – that’s gas, parking, an oil change and new break pads. Nothing for car insurance because I pay that bill every six months.
- $108 on my cat, Agent Cooper. He is the only cat I have known where it is not a trick – if he shows you his belly, he WANTS you to pet it.
- My groceries came to $119. Here’s a breakdown of every shopping trip:
- Publix: 2 bags of tortilla chips
- Kroger: butter, satsuma, 5lb bag of potatoes, almond milk
- Walmart: Lawry’s salt, pear, onion, Gardettos
- Aldi: celery, sourdough bread, mini pretzels, roasted peanuts, sour cream, crunchy rice rolls, bananas, riced cauliflower, spinach, chocolate chips, cucumber, corn chex, rice chex, cheez-its
- Sam’s Club: 24 ct eggs, plain Greek yogurt, 20 ct protein bars, 30 count Veggie Straws (not pictured but it’s in the video)
- Aldi: mango, cheese sticks, cauliflower rice, chicken stock, udon meal kit, chicken sausage
- Aldi: pizza, ranch, salad kit
- $155 for eating/drinking out. This category does not include food I got while traveling — that’s in the travel category. I went out 5x total. One of my best friends turned 50 (lot of those this year!) so I got him a drink on the day and we went to all you can eat sushi with a group later that week. I also got to meet up with a few friends for coffee or lunch, and my boyfriend and I finally tried Food for the Soul – sooo good! I immediately had to take a nap afterwards.
- $63 for cloud storage and Adobe software.
- $33 on shopping. Another good month of thrifting — I got some things at an estate sale, a record, some 2nd hand clothes and found ANOTHER ceramic corn dish! Except for a bridesmaid dress, I have not bought a newly made item of clothing in 7 years.
- $988 on travel. Woo boy, I was able to travel a lot in February. I went to Crystal Springs, Florida to see manatees, camped at the Okefenokee Swamp, stopped in Jacksonville, camped at Panola Mountain, went to New Orleans (stopping in Moss Point, Mississippi), and Watson Mill State Park. All that came to $488. The other $500 is booking a flight to Paris and a train ticket to Dijon, France! That’ll be in April.
- $0 for my phone this month because I pay that bill once a year.
- I currently do not have any paid subscriptions and I no longer have student loans.
- I’m thankful to enjoy many things for free where I live. Lots of great parks and gardens, public art, movies at my favorite local bar, books/audiobooks/movies from my public library, and cool bands.
My total expenses in February came to -$2,898. My earnings fell a little short at +$1,722.
Due to timing, this was a one paycheck month plus filing taxes. My 2024 taxes were a nightmare of multiple W-2s and 1099s, with a lot of expenses to figure out and an overpayment on my estimated quarterlies. I ended up with a refund of $476. That plus my $1,246 paycheck is what I “made” in February. Now that I have the security of one full-time job, I don’t sweat short months like this. I’m set up for smooth sailing in March. 😎