Hi internet! This is our first ever family spending report. I excluded charitable giving (including giving to our church) because I see this spending is based off of conviction rather than the more traditional needs/wants classification of spending. I definitely recommend that you incorporate charitable giving as part of your financial plan, but I think the amount you give should be based off of personal and faith based convictions rather than whatever I do.
With $3391 our spending for the month was in line with our historical averages.
With home spending down (due to no costly renovations), childcare was our top expense. This is one area that I do not plan to lower expenses in the near term. We pay a close friend to take care of our son. I am happy to exchange some hard earned dollars for peace of mind, early childhood development, drop off and pick up (most days), and a large number of photographs texted to me throughout the week.
The worst money we spent this month was $1.60 impulse Redbox spend. I can't remember what movie we watched, but I remember being a little upset that my husband paused it while I took a bathroom break because I just wanted it to be over with (we watch movies on a computer in bed, so it's tough for one person to watch movies while the other one doesn't).
The best money we spent was the $26 in clothing which covered Shoe covers for my husband who bike commutes to school each day. It conveniently rained the four days following the purchase, and my husband sent me many shoe pictures.
With home spending down (due to no costly renovations), childcare was our top expense. This is one area that I do not plan to lower expenses in the near term. We pay a close friend to take care of our son. I am happy to exchange some hard earned dollars for peace of mind, early childhood development, drop off and pick up (most days), and a large number of photographs texted to me throughout the week.
The worst money we spent this month was $1.60 impulse Redbox spend. I can't remember what movie we watched, but I remember being a little upset that my husband paused it while I took a bathroom break because I just wanted it to be over with (we watch movies on a computer in bed, so it's tough for one person to watch movies while the other one doesn't).
The best money we spent was the $26 in clothing which covered Shoe covers for my husband who bike commutes to school each day. It conveniently rained the four days following the purchase, and my husband sent me many shoe pictures.
Bicycle and car expenditures both trended above our monthly average. On the bicycle front, my husband got two new tires and tubes, a spare replacement kit (pump and CO2 cannisters), and some other things that I can't remember. This coming month we will be spending money on new brakes for my bike- I've been YouTubing so it might be something I can do myself.
On the car front, we renewed our tabs, fixed a flat, repaired the exhaust, and changed the oil. And by we, I mean Harry's Muffler shop and Atlantic Avenue Tire and Service did those things. All at reasonable prices. And our car no longer rattles.
I'm hopeful that next month our home expenses will hit historical highs as we purchase the materials to lay down Pergo in 1/3 of our house, but we will only go through with the purchase if we've sealed the basement floor and completed the electrical work.
On the car front, we renewed our tabs, fixed a flat, repaired the exhaust, and changed the oil. And by we, I mean Harry's Muffler shop and Atlantic Avenue Tire and Service did those things. All at reasonable prices. And our car no longer rattles.
I'm hopeful that next month our home expenses will hit historical highs as we purchase the materials to lay down Pergo in 1/3 of our house, but we will only go through with the purchase if we've sealed the basement floor and completed the electrical work.