July Spending

Yikes. For the first time in a while, I'm actually looking at what I'm spending versus what I earn. I usually spend less than I earn, because I have some leftover cash to toss into savings most months, but if I don't have much left over, I don't stress about it because I've got some hefty savings in place already. Now that I'm blogging about how I spend and save money, I would be remiss not to give my expenditures a good, hard look so that someday soon I can properly assess my spending categories and start to... gulp... budget.

I spent the last hour or so scouring my credit card and bank statements to analyze all of the money in and out, and here is what I've come up with:

MONEY EARNED: $4166 (after 401k, FSA, health insurance, gym membership, taxes, etc. This is what is direct-deposited into my savings account each month)

MONEY SPENT: $4,203 Oops.

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BREAKDOWN: (In alphabetical order)

Beauty: $124- highlights, including tip. Ouch :( The roots were looking pretty bad, I had no choice. But no mani/pedis this month, even though I really needed one before my trip to Vegas!

Cash: $300- ATM withdrawals for items not listed below, to pay for lunches and all the taxis I paid for with cash in Vegas

Charity: $50- colleague's Swim Across America event

Dining out: $165- includes drinks I bought in Vegas. This is considerably less than what I actually spend eating out in NYC, considering that client entertainment dinners are company-expensed.

Drugstore/household: $120

Entertainment: $84- two D.C. United Tickets

Furniture: $420- to buy my roommate out of her share of the stuff we bought together

Gifts: $141- my two best friends have birthdays in July, don't expect this expense next month

Groceries: $61- I stocked up on canned goods on sale. I love canned green beans! Ha.

Rent + Utilities: $1507- $1375 rent, half of $165 for cable and $99 for electricity

Travel/Lodging: $1025- not surprising. I acknowledged from the beginning that this would be my biggest expense category. Items this month include: various taxis (including the $5 taxi I take to work every day), transportation to/from airports (I always take public transportation, but the trains to the airports are still $15 or so each way), hotel at MGM Grand in Vegas, return flight from San Fran for the wedding this fall, two Virgin America flights to Vegas in December, train ticket from NYC to DC (return ticket was free via Amtrak Guest Reward points)

Wedding related: $108- down payment on limo for bachelorette party, but will be paid back by other attendants for part of the cost



This breakdown doesn't include the things I paid for in advance of this month, such as prepaid reunion costs (flights, show tickets, dinner, etc.). But I also paid for travel this month that I won't be taking until later this year. Since I don't have any new trips on the horizon (yet... those are dangerous words), I might not have any plane tickets to buy next month. Watch me eat these words later. Other one-time costs include the furniture buy-out and the birthday gifts for my two best friends. There are no August birthdays in my family, that I know of...

Next month I expect (money in) - (money out) to be a positive number, not just because I will be conscious of spending less, but my paycheck will get a boost! The 20% raise from my promotion will be effective (YEAH!!!), and I will max out my 401k with my bonus, so no more paycheck deductions. And at the end of August, I will have maxed out my social security tax- another boost to look forward to!

Introduction

I'm a 25 year old chick living in New York City, and when I first started my job in finance (after earning a mechanical engineering degree!), I became interested in making my net worth grow as fast as possible. Who doesn't like to have more money, and so making the most out of my buck, while still enjoying the simple pleasures that money can buy, has become a personal hobby. Over the years I've developed my own tricks and methods of saving and making the most of my money, which I will try to share here. I've been following PF blogs regularly now for almost a month, and I'm feeling left out! I'd like to share my thoughts here in hopes of engaging in a broader discussion on various topics.

Disclosure #1: I don't budget. (Yet.) I keep an eye on how much money I spend, and but I think that budgets are too inflexible for my spontaneous life. I don't want to miss out on life just because it costs money (within reason).

Disclosure #2: I LOVE BARGAINS!!! Yes, I am a bargain shopper, almost to a fault. I love 99 cent stores for everyday things like ziploc baggies, sponges, dust wipes, you get the idea- love love love it! I love sales, coupons, everything- the Sunday paper is my favorite because of all the coupons! I don't buy things I don't need just because they're on sale, but I do use it as an excuse to get what I really want but otherwise might not buy ;) I will proudly discuss my bargain effectiveness on this blog, haha.

Disclosure #3: I love to travel. This year has been enormous in terms of travel expenditures, but I've been to places I've never been before, and have seen a lot of family and old friends. Places visited this year so far have been: Ft. Lauderdale, Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Albuqerque, Portland ME, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, Harrisburg PA, and later this year I will be in Richmond VA, San Francisco, and back to Las Vegas (maybe twice). Yes, I gamble, but not very much. I've been out of town every weekend for the last 2.5 months with the exception of 1 weekend, and it will continue for another few weeks from this posting (or maybe longer, as my weekends get filled up with more exciting travel!) Thus, plane tickets/ hotels and even rental cars have been my biggest spending category.

Disclosure #4: Sorry guys, if you love PF chicks, this one's taken ;)

My first series of posts will probably come frequently as I word-vomit all of the PF situations I've had recently, hope you don't mind! I appreciate your readership and your comments!

Best,
CB