Low spending month- Week 3
Week 3 has come and gone of our low spending month. I thought it was going well until I did the math. It seems like another week of failing to keep the spending down. Previously we spent $1,859 in week 1 and $1,045 in week 2.
So how did low spending Week 3 go?
Home – $884. This includes $443 for new stools and another $150 for soil and gardening supplies. It is not all a loss as I sold our old vacuum for $60 on Craigslist and plan on selling our old stools for $200. This is also the first week with a large home expenditure (Stools) as the prior two weeks home expenses did not even get their own category.
Still, our home continues to be one of our largest expenses. This is one reason why the smaller the house, the better off you are. Less upkeep, less cleaning, less things breaking, etc. Prior to this home I debated owning property with 5 acres plus, now smaller seems better. I realize that privacy is what I really want. Not necessarily a ton of land to maintain.
Shopping – $253- This category continues to decrease down from $625 in week one and $460 in week 2. This is promising and will likely continue to improve.
Donations – $100 to the American Heart Association. Donating is a good expense and not one I am upset by.
Restaurants– $92- Similar to week 2. We unfortunately ate at a vegan restaurant for lunch. It was okay and of course over priced. I do not think we will be going back anytime soon. That meal alone cost us $45.
Gifts – $75 – We were invited to a nice dinner Saturday night. I brought over an orchid and a nice bottle of Scotch.
Groceries – $359- A bit lower then week 2. We continue to eat organic fruit and a lot of humus. None of this is cheap and this is above our $200 weekly grocery budget. We are going to have to revisit these expenses.
Other – $57
The grand total for week 3 is $1,820. This is a step back from week 2, but if we look at most regular expenses (restaurants and groceries) then we did about the same. It was the home expenses, mainly our new stools, that cost us. Other than that we spent a $175 on gifts and donations. I really don’t mind spending money on others and so this does not bother me.
I am learning that despite trying to spend less, we still spend a lot. This is a good behavioral item to know and try to understand better. It seems food is a big expense. Other than that, our home has led to higher spending (like the new bar stools). Hopefully we can make improvements over the next few weeks and months.
Wow, scotch and an orchid? Wanna come to dinner at our house?? 🙂
A bottle of Scotch and an orchid–great gift. Can we invite your family over to dinner? Lol!
I am always happy to come over to your house for some good food! I will bring the booze…
Deal! Let us know next time you’re close to New Hampshire! We’ll cook you some Chilean food!
We love Chilean food! See you soon.
Great decrease in shopping, over $400 a week! Do you have an idea of the possible minimum expense you could have?
We track our monthly expenses, but I am still not sure what the monthly minimum would be. I know what the home, bills, etc. costs are but it is the other non-essential expenses that are kicking our butts. I suppose if we needed to reduce it we can, but right now we do what we can. As long as I am saving a descent portion of my income then I am content.
Hi DDD! Recently discovered your site and have been enjoying it a lot (as a fellow Dad and Doctor)! I like this exercise and will definitely consider trying it myself. I have a general idea of my monthly discretionary spending, but I am more a lumper than a splitter when it comes to budgeting, so I don’t know the exact breakdown.
You almost bought a 5-acre property? I am breaking out in a cold sweat thinking about the maintenance. I care barely keep up with our 1000 square foot backyard estate some weeks!
Thanks for sharing, and keep up the great work!
Thanks for stopping by Dr. Curious! Yeah almost bought 5 acres and now have a half acre which is still a lot of maintenance! I have a friend with a 100 acres and I am not sure how he does it.
Lumping is my typical method too, but I am trying something different this month.
Gah, sorry about that vegan restaurant. Sounds like it was worth a try at least; now you know you won’t be back. I’ve always wanted to try a vegan restaurant but I debate whether the cost is worth it (I could just fix myself a salad and BAM. Instant vegan meal). But great job on monitoring your spending!!
Ha, yes if you can make a salad then you will be eating vegan! It is wild how much more some places can charge because they serve a very specific part of our population. Plus we have industrialized meat eating so much that it is now cheaper then many organic vegetables.
Since there are so many incidental one-off expenses, it’s hard to glean too much from week to week trends. But being mindful of your spending (and publishing it!) will have benefits to you going forward.
Very true. We keep a track on our monthly expenses, but this month are trying to be mindful of the weekly expenses too. The one offs are the ones that hurt us the most at the end.