I found it interesting to track my overall spend (not utilities or standard bills) and will try to keep up as I can, for myself if nothing else.
August 28th-September 3rd
- Friday: M & I went to the outdoor mall to drop off my suitcase for repair. They waived the $25 fee to mail it in because the wait was quite long. We had a glass of wine & a couple of appetizers on our date, and received the happy hour pricing. We spent $40 (including tip) for that. I sold an MP3 player I found in the garage on eBay for $13. Total net spent = $27.
- Saturday - Picked up two Olay lotions for my face (with sunblock) & paid $13.60 after a bunch of rewards, discounts, etc. Total net spent = $13.60
- Sunday - Picked up groceries - $42.47. Sold two shirts on eBay, for $40.03. Total net spent = $2.44
- Monday - picked up my prescription at CVS - $20.
- Tuesday - heard back from the repair shop on my suitcase - it is $198.83 to repair, which I approved. The suitcase is 12 years old, so was out of warranty, and has lasted through countless international trips & I love it. A new one is significantly more, so I decided to keep this one in use. - $198.83 in net spend.
- Wednesday - Swapped Nick's flight home for Christmas to Southwest, to use up some of the credit we bought. You aren't able to pay taxes with a voucher, so $50.68 total net spent.
- Thursday - no out of pocket spending
Total flexible spend for the week = $312.55. It was a reasonable week - wait until we pay for a plumbing issue in the next spend summary! ;-)
Its sort of eye opening to see where money goes in normal weeks. I'm going to keep doing this through October and get a quarterly look to spot my tendencies and if Im making spending choices that alugn with my priorities, or where I might needcto rethink some budget categories. Good luggage is essential when you travel like you do. Ive limped along with a carryon thats decades old from when I traveled to DC frequently, and borrowing a hard medium size ( but needs to be checked) from my daughter. I need to invest in one for what I plan in future travel.
ReplyDeleteJust doing daily totals can be scary!
ReplyDeleteI was inspired to keep up with my personal expenses. I am not sharing it on my blog, but lets just say it has been a little shocking.
ReplyDeleteOOf - plumbers, electricians, and everyone else who is skilled labor - pricey!!
ReplyDelete