Guys, I am embarrassed.
I’ve spent $6,000 already in 2018 and we’re only 2 weeks in. Not a very good start to the year. Not doing a very good job of being Not So Spendaholic.
Spending Breakdown:
First Two Weeks of 2018
| Expense Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Car Payment | $400.00 |
| Debt Repayment | $1,431.40 |
| Entertainment | $270.99 |
| Fees | $4.40 |
| Fuel | $115.93 |
| Gifts | $100.00 |
| Groceries | $48.48 |
| Gym | $79.00 |
| HOA Fees | $179.95 |
| Internet | $60.00 |
| Mortgage | $1,589.21 |
| Pets | $606.26 |
| Phone | $75.59 |
| Restaurants | $256.25 |
| Supporting Fiancee | $411.00 |
| Utilities | $138.82 |
| Vacation | $242.97 |
| Total | $6,010.20 |
Gosh, it all adds up so fast, and at least at the time, it felt like I “needed” each of these purchases.
Car Payment – of course I have to pay that, it is about $12 more than the minimum… and only at 1.99% interest, but I suppose carrying a $16,000 car note isn’t very frugal. I can afford it, and I do plan to keep it and drive it into the ground, but I can’t help but think maybe I should’ve bought a 2008 Honda Civic instead for $7,000. I think I got a decent deal though, so trying to to sweat this one too much.
Debt – I guess it’s technically not spending if I’m paying debt down, but it’s still money flowing out of my bank account.
Entertainment– $160 of this was paying ahead for 4 months of DirectTVNow, and getting a FREE Apple TV 4k for the privilege. Did I need it? Maybe not… but with my fiance moving in soon with a small child, and them coming from Ukraine, I really wanted to have more content for them to consume and get acclimated to American culture and English. At $40 a month, including HBO it’s not too terrible – but that’s how these costs start adding up.
Fuel– Gotta drive, I commute an hour each way to work…. can’t do much about that, it does seem high though. I can’t move though, because I don’t have enough for a down payment saved up.
Gifts– Late Christmas present to brother. I could have told him too bad, but our relationship is strained enough as it is, and I got everyone else gifts. He shouldn’t have to suck it up, because I chose to eat out too much.
Gym– I haven’t really gone in months, I need to cancel and keep forgetting. Making a note to stop later this week and really cancel to save this money!
HOA– I hate em… I will never move into another HOA community again.
Mortgage– OK, for this, I willingly made an extra $270 payment this month to pay down principle. I should, however, use that extra for debt repayment and then an emergency fund since this debt is only at 4.5% interest. It feels good to pay it down, but is not the best financial strategy given my position.
Pets– Ouch. Both dogs had to visit the vet recently, plus expensive food for them due to health issues, and medicine, and dog walkers for days I’m gone too long (most days). Pets are expensive over their lifetime!
Restaurants– Ugh. I need to stop eating out. This one is a killer, every month and my worst Spendaholic habit.
Supporting Fiancee – Well, my fiancee and step-daughter live overseas until they come join me soon… they gotta live.
Vacation– I’m going back to visit my fiancee in March, while I used points for the flight, I did have to pay some fees, and then deposit on the rental car. It adds up.
No – I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, and yes I realize I’m whining about spending more money in 2 weeks than many people bring home in 3 months. Lifestyle creep is real, and it gets out of hand so easily. Many items on this list I have a “justification” for, and that’s why I’m a Spendaholic, even though I should know better. I need a group meeting, or something. Actually, what I need is some discipline, and a budget I’ll actually follow.
Going to try really hard the rest of this month and come back with an update!