So shopping, obviously, haha. BUT, I got a ton of stuff. In addition to the resistance band set I bought earlier in the month I bought my husband’s birthday gift ($184), 4 very high quality throw pillows for my new couch, 2 dress shirts for husband and 10 undershirts for husband. So, I think that’s pretty good! It’s over what I aim to spend on shopping but so far we’re under for dates and a few other categories.
I spent a lot (for us) on food, $107, but a lot of that was stocking up on nuts, and I still have a freezer filled with meat. I don’t think I’ll go over on regular groceries this month but I may go over my total budget because of Thanksgiving. I’m guessing my total grocery spend will be closer to the $450 mark due to holiday hosting, but maybe not, too early to say!
My lyft/subway and Rdaneel0 fun categories are going up too, but that’s a good thing! That means I can do stuff! I went to dinner with climbingfriend and two of her friends last night, so lyft there and back plus dinner out. Still so much less than I would have spent for the exact same night in NYC, so I’ll take it
I’ve been tracking and trying to reduce restaurant spending. That did not go so well this week as I have been sick with a cold and had low energy. So this week I said ‘fuck it’ and just went out to eat for lunch one day.
Grocery shopped today and spent $157.70. It was a little over but included a few non grocery items that I’m too lazy to separate out, so in the theme of no stress, I’m not worried.
Our energy bill for last month just came and it was $122, down from $160 because we were able to turn off the AC for several weeks. Our energy costs are usually lower in the winter so looking forward to some lower expenses there for a bit.
Challenge Update: ROTH Conversion: More reading done (my god - so boring). Earlier I had figured out my basis ($$ I put in), and have the back of the envelope calculation. I think I need to pick a date to execute on this - or I will just keep reading…
Medical Insurance: Deadline is Nov 15 - at that time if I don’t submit my elections I will by default will be (re)enrolled to the plan most similar to my current plan. That is what I would elect. So - thoughts on whether I should actively elect my plan components, or trust the default?
Groceries:
Goal: $160
Spent $38.57 at Trader Joe’s today. This included a bottle of wine and stocking up on the holiday coffee and tea that they always run out of.
I have a few thing to get from Aldi tomorrow so I may update then.
EDIT: Went to Aldi, spent $28.02.
Remaining: $93.41
Eating out:
Goal: $100
I went out for dinner with a friend and, shit, I didn’t get a receipt and I paid cash, so I don’t have the exact amount. It was $16-something so I’ll just round that up to $17.
Remaining: $83
Cat expenses:
Goal is simply to track, no dollar limit.
I didn’t buy anything else besides what I mentioned above - $201.41 on food, cat toothpaste, and a 3-month supply of flea preventive.
Misc. spending:
Goal: $200
Spent: $115.12 (argh)
This included:
an umbrella to replace the TWO I broke in the last month (why are umbrellas expensive?) -$17.37.
leggings and some sweater tights (It was 20 degrees F out when I left for work today, next week we have windchills below zero F coming, NOOOOO. I will be glad to have those then.) - $55.25
soap/body lotion from my favorite handmade seller who was clearancing out her Halloween merch. - $34.50. On the plus side, she included a shitload of free samples in my order! I will not need soap for a long time!
Patreon (I totally forgot to include in my records for last month that I have a total of $8 going to various Patreons, oops) -$8
But seriously, it’s 1 week in and I’ve already blown through more than half of my misc spending budget. It continues to be really, really hard for me to rein in my spending here. I’m actually doing really well with eating out and groceries, it’s everything else that feels hard. And again, I don’t feel like any of this is super extravagant, but I guess it is when you shouldn’t be spending the money in the first place.
ETA: Hrm, in light of that, should I redirect money away from groceries and eating out and toward misc spending? If I were single I’d do that in a heartbeat, but I feel like I owe Boyfriend a meal out now and then (though he’s mostly been paying lately) and I try to keep healthy groceries in the house so Boyfriend doesn’t eat nothing but crap.
Pleased with first week’s progress, little bit of convenience food bought yesterday for Friday dinner but kept to a minimum. On track to stick within budget. I also want to add back in a bit more tracking of my accounts and NW, which I’ve let slide the last 6 months. Will do next week.
Continuing to use both YNAB and Toodledo. Adjusting each to reflect reality as the month progresses.
Happy with progress on meal planning
I’ve tracked a lot, though at least one day just didn’t get recorded. Digestion and GI tract have been much, much happier the last 10+ days. My appetite is down. This is a win in at least three ways: lower grocery costs, less food prep time, less time spent eating or looking for things to eat. Hoping the lower appetite and fewer problems with malabsorption continue.
I estimated the cost before I went shopping and was reasonably close. Grocery spending this week of $39, well below average. Eating down some of what’s in the freezer will help with lower costs this month.
Made more progress on the IRA and sorting through some IRA-related tax stuff. I contacted three tax professionals this week. One tax attorney was expensive but potentially helpful, one person seemed to know less than I did, and the guy who I consulted with about my mom’s estate taxes answered all of my questions in about ten minutes. So I don’t need the high-priced tax attorney.
I also got several other questions sorted out with the company holding the 401k, and a missing document from Vanguard is in the mail.
I plan to start the rollover on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday).
