A mixture of some illness and being busy at work has meant this post is coming slightly late. But, with February well and truly behind us, it’s time to publish our expense report!
Apart from MMM, my biggest frugality idols are the Frugalwoods. I have always wanted to be able to say I am just like them, and this month I can! The Frugalwoods published here about their spendy February. We had a pretty spendy February too.
The main culprits were a service and four new tyres for Poopsie’s car, which we are getting ready to sell, and a whopping lawyers bill. While we had to see the lawyer and we’re very happy with the work they did, it’s still a bit hard to swallow (and it’s likely we’ll receive one more bill this month).
Our savings rate dropped by exactly fifty percent from what it was in January. Ouch!
Without further ado, here are our February expenses:
| Category | Amount | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,745.80 | Standard rent in our area. Unfortunately we have just been notified that is is going up in April. |
| Internet | $49.95 | One of the cheapest providers we have found. |
| Utilities | $210.21 | Quarterly electricity bill. This may be slightly higher next time as it doesn't account for the full period since I moved in. |
| Groceries | $560.09 | We both agree this is too high. We have been experimenting with some vegan/vegetarian eating this month. This has meant buying a few pricier items (sauces, spices etc) but we haven't bought any meat. Hoping to get this down to be consistently under $400 a month. |
| Car Costs | $1,847.51 | Wow! Apart from the usual fuel and insurance, the majority of this is from getting Poopsie's car ready to sell. This included registration renewal, CTP, four new tyres and a service. Hopefully it sells soon! Oh, and don't forget our parking ticket. |
| Kids | $1,374.05 | Child support, private health insurance and about $100 for one of their birthday presents. His birthday isn't until April but I like to plan ahead and buy on sale where possible. |
| Mobile | $49.10 | Nice and low. This is for both of our phones. |
| Household | $84.94 | A large chunk of this was postage (my sister lives really far away), plus a few non-grocery items from Big W. |
| Miscellaneous | $3,156.65 | Almost $3000 of this was lawyers fees. I should have gone to law school! The cost was required and we're definitely glad we did it, but it's still a huge amount. There may be one final (much smaller) bill next month. |
| Eating Out | $313.25 | This is an extremely large amount for us. About $250 of it was planned, special occasion eating out (friends visiting from interstate), but the rest was just waste and laziness. We'll get better at this. |
| Clothing | $80.99 | A new swimsuit for me. We have been taking advantage of the beach much more now that we're living together and I didn't have an appropriate swimsuit that fit. |
| Travel | $411.03 | Most of this was travel insurance for our trip to the USA in August. I also paid for half the hotel amount for a weekend in Melbourne I am doing with my sister in April. I booked my flights as well, but they were free using Frequent Flyer points. |
| Gifts | $23.01 | Two books for my best friends daughters and Poopsie bought me some flowers for Valentine's Day. |
How did your spending for February go?
Haha, that is the only way that I would have anything in common with Frugalwoods as well! My February was, sadly, exactly the same as January. Granted, this is because we are in the recording/getting to know where money is going phase, however our weekly spending is still WAY too high. Let’s hope we both have a better March!
We have to take the wins (being like the Frugalwoods) where we can, Mrs ETT! Good luck with your March spending!