We also had an....entertaining month if you will. We spent an unusual amount of money in this category. We went to a Flames Hockey Game (tickets were free) and spent $75.50 on food/beverage and parking. We also went to a Philip Phillips Concert ($102, plus a $20 CD), and our Sirius satellite radio subscription renewed ($107).
My bestie from BC and her daugher also stayed with us for four days this month so we spent more on eating out then is normal (even for us....we went out 22 freaking times! 22!) and on groceries (or something else at Costco)....so we were bad. I suppose the meals out with my friend could be gifts or entertainment - but it was food in our mouth out of the house, so into the eating out category it goes.
But hey! We spent less on alcohol then normal...so that's a good thing.
We also made some purchases from our planned spending savings accounts (which I don't know how to track using the spending journal). Jordan has been saving Christmas, Birthday, and Pop-Bottle money for a while now and finally had enough to buy a PlayStation 4...and you know what? He bought a new computer instead! He salvaged what he could from my brother's old tower and monitor (Thanks Brother!) and spent just under $700 on the machine and operating system.
Since now he has a computer, and we only have a small office with a small desk we decided it was time to finally get the office set up for two people - that meant a new desk! (we'll be selling the old one). A trip to Ikea, and Home Depot (and I had $40 in gift cards) had us spending just under $500. We had $300+ in the home maintenance fund, so that and some of my own allowance/birthday money is going towards that purchase.
Vehicles! Turns out even new ones need to be maintained. My car started vibrating furiously going down the highway at 100km/hr....many hours and a frustrating weekend later we had a bill for $150 for re-balancing the tires.
What a month indeed.
YIKES! Maybe you could do a post here about how much you've spent on eating out weekly. That might help?
ReplyDeleteI think you're right! Thanks for the idea!
DeleteThese months hurt, don't they? Sometimes I feel like we're just giving away money, especially when it's time for house renovations!
ReplyDeleteFor planned spending, we still treat it like regular spending. Even though we've saved for it, we still need to track it to see where all of our money is going- a spending journal for us = all money out the door. It provides a complete picture when you have a year's records.
I have years and years of records but I've always tracked once it was already spent. We're hoping this app gives us a 'live' picture instead of a 30 days later picture and that it helps keep us more disciplined.
DeleteI have some months were I go out to eat a lot and other none at all... I think it evens out so I don't sweat the high months. It usually means spending time with friends and great conversation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
Delete