DD’s Monthly Expenses – November 2009
School has been kicking my butt lately. I’ve never looked forward to Thanksgiving as much as I did this year, and then it flew by way too fast. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some time to squeeze out some posts during finals week.
As you long time readers know, I track my family’s expenses. Below is the damage from November:
- $840.39 – Mortgage
- $759.20 – Health Insurance
- $600.32 – Dishwasher (Repair & Replace)
- $520.49 – Groceries
- $450.00 – Preschool
- $176.73 – Household Misc
- $155.00 – Student Loan
- $152.56 – Christmas Presents
- $148.19 – Electricity
- $141.73 – Beauty Products/Services
- $114.06 – Dog
- $103.65 – Phone/Internet
- $89.98 – Contacts
- $85.00 – Eye Exam
- $77.92 – Dinning Out
- $67.72 – Gas
- $56.00 – Utilities (Garbage, Sewer, Water)
- $42.40 – Gift
- $42.35 – Vehicle maintenance
- $36.96 – Medical
- $34.00 – Donations
- $14.51 – Kids Care
- $4.81 – Kids fun
- $2.00 – Tennis
- $0.17 – Music (i-Tunes)
For a grand total of $4717.14!
I’m a little surprised this total wasn’t higher.
Biggest Budget Busters:
- $600.32 – Dishwasher (Repair & Replace) – In the middle of the month we noticed that the dishwasher wasn’t getting dishes that clean anymore. Then it quit draining. So we had it serviced ($85). Then after a week, it acted up again. Instead of putting more money into it, we replaced it ($515). Not how we wanted to start the holidays 🙁
- $520.49 – Groceries – Hey, we spent $10 less than last month!!! But it’s still way over what we normally spend. The $50 I spent on Hemp milk probably didn’t help (We’re still having smoothies for breakfast).
- $152.56 – Christmas Presents – I’m including this here, because while this total isn’t so bad yet, I fear it’s the tip of the iceberg. As much as I want to stimulate the economy, I think its best to nip this category in the bud before it gets out of hand.
- $141.73 – Beauty Products/Services – For once none of this is for me 🙂 Half of this is for skin care products for my 2-yr old son (he has horribly dry skin) and the other half was for my lovely wife.
- $114.06 – Dog – This seems high, but half of it is food (big bag) and half of it is for eye drops. Luckily both of these things will last for a while, so it’s not like we spend this month every month. Although I did notice that she’s due for some shots.
Biggest Budget Breakthroughs:
- $14.51 – Kids Care – The above mentioned 2-yr old, the one with really dry skin, is getting closer to being potty trained. I can’t wait until I don’t have to buy diapers anymore.
- $0.17 – Music (i-Tunes) – This is the first time I have ever listed an expense in this category. You know why? iTunes gift cards. Two Christmas’s ago I made out like a bandit and I haven’t spent a non Pearl Jam dime on music since. Well they finally ran out (hence the strange total), so I’m on my own again. Hey, speaking of Pearl Jam, did you catch them on Austin City Limits? ROCK ON!!!
Last November we only spent $3129.00! Holy European Carry-all Batman, how can that be?
Before I freak out too much I should point out that if you take out Health Insurance and the Dishwasher, we’d be looking pretty spiffy this month too.
And lets face it, looking spiffy is what it’s all about.
Until next time,
-DD
And the Hits Just Keep on Coming…Escrow and Health Insurance
One month checkup – July’s Expenses
You spent alot of money. I would of washed dishes by hand for a while at least until spring. $500 is too much for a dishwasher. Especially at Xmas time. Your child’s skin sounds like an allergy. You could try getting away from any soap products and wash him with just warm water. Don’t use fabric softeners, or harsh detergents on his clothes and double rinse his clothes. Staying away from soaps would only be necessary for a few years, and would pay off in future years by having glowing skin. I think you are still spending too much money and are losing your frugal focus.
Considering you got a lot done (i.e. the dishwasher, eye exam & contacts, servicing your car, and dog food that will last awhile), that’s not bad at all! It’s really nice to see that although your family may have many expenses to cover, you are still donating a portion of your income. That’s really generous of you during these hard economic times!
@ Car Insurance Phi –
I was surprised we were under 5K. i thought the dishwasher would totally blow things up for us.
And if you thought November’s donations were cool, wait until you see December’s 🙂
@ Dee –
Thanks for the tips on the skin care. My daughter had pretty bad allergies at that age, so it wouldn’t surprise me if my son has them too.
We thought about waiting on the dishwasher to take advantage of the gov’t rebate program that is coming out next year, but then obviously we changed out minds. The dishwasher was only $385. Installation, Taxes & Disposal came to $130. That’s where I feel got hosed. But that’s the price I pay for not being very handy.
Seeing how we spent $1600 more this November than last year, I’d agree that we spend too much.
Wow, that is a lot on health insurance!
It’s amazing how the little expenses add up! Whenever I do an audit of my spending, it’s always the little eating out and coffee and little things that shock me at how much they end up being!
Why do you think you were so much higher than last year? Just the health insurance and dishwasher?
The mortgage is always a killer expense it’s eats up so much of our disposable income, i’m just glad that interest rates are rock bottom at the moment. Nice to see that you made some room for a christmas present budget too!
DD, You have a cool blog here. Its cool how you reveal your expenses every month. It looks as though you are living the typical middle class life just like we are. I feel your pain pertaining to your dishwasher we just had our water heater blow up last week and that was a $500 punch in the gut! Thankfully my cousin is a plumber so i was able to get the new water heater installed for a case of beer. I look forward to reading more of your blog and keep up the good work!
@Jonathan – Actually I think my mortgage is pretty manageable. What I’d love to bring down is our health insurance. Hopefully when I finish school and get a job, it will offer health coverage.
I also need to get my groceries back under $400. This new diet is wreaking havoc on my pocketbook.
@ Debt Kid – The Dishwasher and Health Insurance do make up the majority of the difference ($1300). But there are other areas which are higher too.
And yes it is a lot for health insurance.
@ John Doe – There are lot of plumbers in my family, but the problem is they live 300 miles away. Too bad I didn’t take up the family biz.
I’m glad you like the blog.