September roundup

Clothing – two skirts, two tops, two pairs of sneakers, running shoes. Handbag!

New purse love: How gorgeous is that?

Debt –Trucking along with repaying me; should be done by the end of the year.

Dining and bars – Higher than usual, we’ve had some good meals out this month. Japanese. Malaysian. And some good ol fashioned takeaways.

Entertainment – Xbox, movies (at the cinema).

Groceries – There’s no getting round it, this is high. Prices are going up, and we’re eating better and more interesting/varied meals. We did stock up in the last week, so going into October slightly lower. But still. Dairy has already leaped up since the GST increase, and no doubt so have other things if I pay closer attention…perhaps $130 / week isn’t so realistic anymore?

Gifts – included my purchasing of our anniversary present ($95). Did not include T’s mum’s birthday present (more later).

Holidays – Our weekend away (accommodation plus food). Also includes $141.30 on his birthday: $52.30 on food plus $89 games. But he repaid $50 of that.

Medical – Mainly my contacts. Ouch.

Savings – As always, doesn’t reflect the whole picture, just “extra” savings, and T’s. I usually aim for $1k (which is more than 20 per cent) , but have no idea if I made it this month. Repentant, I will not let anything slip by me in October.

T fun – Stuff purchased online through the credit card, paid back by him. He also randomly bought one lunch out of this account.

Utilities – Right on target…

Vehicle – This month saw something like $65 go toward maintenance/repairs, $72 on my bus fares and the rest gas. He uses a tank a week – between $50 and $70. The commute is not all that long given he doesn’t have to deal with peak hours, but he does tons of other driving around to see friends etc. I’m starting to think he should handle gas entirely; it might get him to be more conscious of that.

Uncoded – an extra $112 for his mum’s birthday gift and the rest for new cellphone.

Also, this money thing is doing my head in. T used his own card for some car repairs/maintenance. So we ended up making some of HIS purchases from the main account to balance it out. So here I was, categorising food purchases as “vehicle”. He also spent some more on work gear out of his own pocket, which isn’t reflected here.

Extra income: Totalled $1172.61 this month.
$467.11 lump sum as negotiated by my union (mostly saved, just over a quarter spent on, er, contacts, pillows and running shoes);
$140 for one of my Metallica tickets (spent on T’s mum’s present/new phone)  $85 from a focus group (spent on clothes and beauty);
$15.50 for our old washing machine (gave to T to spend);
$465 from my side job (split between T’s birthday, our anniversary present – an early purchase – and my travel fund).

I really do spend a ridiculous amount of time managing our money. It’s lucky I’m a nerd.

Carnivalistic fun

Thanks to Canadian Finance Blog for my inclusion in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance!

A peek into my psyche

Me in Millions interviewed me for her resurrected Monday Morning Inspiration series this week. Check it out!