** Click here for more info on my monthly spending roundups.**
Clothes: Jeez. Well, T got a haircut, and I snapped up some $45 Dickies for him. The rest of it was me, all me. I admit, I did some shopping in anticipation of the new job – tops, skirts, a cardigan, and brown boots. I also got my old black boots resoled; I bought them secondhand, but the leather quality was amazing and I wasn’t ready to give them up.
Dining: A record low. Enough said 😀
Entertainment: Here’s how it went. Get a text offering only $2.99 for any new release movie/game at our local store. Snap up the offer. Realise we have $12 in late fees from previously. Ouch. (This is why we pay for Sky TV/movies…) Also included guitar strings, and pliers/wire cutter things to cut them off. And booze for a party.
Groceries: Hmm. I think it was a five week month, but it’s still a little high. Prices just keep increasing :[ I might do another grocery challenge soon, or weekly shopping recaps.
Home expenses: Bought a cheapie new cell phone to tide me over til I get my work phone (my old one died a sudden death).
Insurance: Contents insurance for the quarter. I should really see if I can pay this yearly and get it aligned with our car insurance.
T fun/lunch: S’okay, I suppose. I definitely feel our financial ship has not been running very tightly, as we actually hardly saw each other at all last month. That’s changed now; and our budgeting is going to get a bit stricter.
Utilities: Pretty average, power was a little lower than usual as I was still partly in credit.
Vehicle: Was actually about $100 higher than this, but it was paid on T’s own card due to eftpos issues at that petrol station. Right on target, ouchly.
Work expenses: I can’t keep up with all the courses/training T has got lined up. Not that it’s a bad thing 🙂
This month I made an extra $530, mostly from freelancing (should have been another $27 for a mystery shop, but error first on the assigning end, and then at my end, led to no payment. Here’s how it went: Asked for a survey at either one of two very close locations. Was assigned one of them, which I immediately put in my calendar. I was familiar with the retail chain, so only gave my survey a cursory glance before going in on the day. When I entered the results online, I noticed the heading listed the OTHER store location. Emailed the staffer who assigned me the survey, who replied it was fine and it was the same company. So I went ahead and finished filling it out. What do you know – a few days later I get a call about it. And a few days later, a call saying they can’t pay me. While I should have picked up the discrepancy earlier, I’m not at all impressed with the situation).
How did your May go?
I need new work clothes! I’m jealous.
Do they do coupons in New Zealand? That’s the only way that I am able to shave a few bucks off of my grocery bill as prices keep rising. I hear they are up an average of 3% just from last year. For eggs and milk it’s in the double digits.
No coupons.
I like how colorful your pie chart is. I’m still not charting my items in enough detail. Though for May, my expenses were lower than normal (even with a quick trip to New York). However, I’m already sensing that this month expenses will be higher. Argh!