Frugal February
Let's take a look at our spending from this February vs. February last year.
Business Services: I had several items reimbursed in February that were purchased in the month prior.
Pets: I think Francisco inadvertently purchased double the amount of food that was needed, so pet expense this month ($57) was definitely higher than last February ($16).
Shopping: I love that we are spending so much less on shopping. This month, I bought some stuff at Sephora, but it was mostly small Amazon expenses for Francisco and some general cleaning supplies and home goods. We also bought these WenTop Digital Programmable Timer Socket Plugs to use at home to try and control our utilities expenses. They were $13.00 each, and we've plugged them in at both our upstairs and downstairs entertainment centers to automatically shut these stations off when we're sleeping or at work. I hate paying high utility bills, so I'm hoping this leads to a positive impact. To be fair, we bought a new mattress last year, so that is why this category is so large. Hopefully, that is an expense that will only hit once every 8 years [actually, you'll see it hit again in 2016 because we returned this mattress and went with a different brand altogether.]
Food & Dining: We spent about $100 more this year on food and dining. This did include two Groupons that weren't used completely until March. This also included a trip to Chicago where we took my parents out to lunch. Also, a bottle of tequila that will likely last us a while. Alas, reintroducing restaurants to our spending made the Food & Dining category 181% higher than January, but I think it's an expense we'll continue to endure just because we enjoy it so much.
Auto & Transport: This was about $40 more than last year, but like I said, we did make a trip to Chicago. Plus, I had increased the amount I was paying on my auto loan by around $50 compared to last year.
Home: No change in rent.
Compared to last year [adjusting for Business Services], we spent 68% of our previous year's expenditures this year. This was largely due to the mattress expense. Adjusting for that, we spent 90% of last year's expenditure total. A 10% savings in spending is still a good thing!
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| Mint.com |
Pets: I think Francisco inadvertently purchased double the amount of food that was needed, so pet expense this month ($57) was definitely higher than last February ($16).
Shopping: I love that we are spending so much less on shopping. This month, I bought some stuff at Sephora, but it was mostly small Amazon expenses for Francisco and some general cleaning supplies and home goods. We also bought these WenTop Digital Programmable Timer Socket Plugs to use at home to try and control our utilities expenses. They were $13.00 each, and we've plugged them in at both our upstairs and downstairs entertainment centers to automatically shut these stations off when we're sleeping or at work. I hate paying high utility bills, so I'm hoping this leads to a positive impact. To be fair, we bought a new mattress last year, so that is why this category is so large. Hopefully, that is an expense that will only hit once every 8 years [actually, you'll see it hit again in 2016 because we returned this mattress and went with a different brand altogether.]
Food & Dining: We spent about $100 more this year on food and dining. This did include two Groupons that weren't used completely until March. This also included a trip to Chicago where we took my parents out to lunch. Also, a bottle of tequila that will likely last us a while. Alas, reintroducing restaurants to our spending made the Food & Dining category 181% higher than January, but I think it's an expense we'll continue to endure just because we enjoy it so much.
Auto & Transport: This was about $40 more than last year, but like I said, we did make a trip to Chicago. Plus, I had increased the amount I was paying on my auto loan by around $50 compared to last year.
Home: No change in rent.
Compared to last year [adjusting for Business Services], we spent 68% of our previous year's expenditures this year. This was largely due to the mattress expense. Adjusting for that, we spent 90% of last year's expenditure total. A 10% savings in spending is still a good thing!
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