Wednesday, February 25, 2009

whoops: my own economic meltdown

So…
I just finished a grueling morning project and thought I’d take a break and see what my spending looked like for the past 2 months. I didn’t think I was really overextending myself. So I downloaded all my transactions from my bank.

HOLY CRAP.
Since January, I've spent over $5000 while my monthly revenue is considerably less than that. How I managed to do this without the use of a credit card, I don't know.

What I've Spent in ONLY Two Months
Meals (includes takeout, morning coffee, lunches, dinners and bars) = 688.29
Misc (i.e., non-essential shopping) = 677.63
Cash (every ATM withdrawal+fee)= 663.00
Rent = 600 (Roomie gives me a special, non-market rate deal)
Savings = 606
Entertainment (movies, books, netflix, iTunes, uh, online services, etc.) = 445
Grocery = 438
Utility = 359.96
Medical = 243
Cleaning lady = 170
Work expenses (travel, etc) = 152.96
Transportation = 40

The stuff in black? Rather modest, as monthly expenses go, I think.
The stuff in yellow?? Totally out of control. Un-ac-ceptable. Especially if I want to get my own apartment in the spring.

What I spend in two months on extras could clear my debt! I feel like an idiot.

5 comments:

Silvana said...

How the hell do you spend only $40 on transportation? Do you walk to work or something? Transportation stipend from your company? Cause whoa.

Greg said...

Voice of Slim Pickens: Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that (money).

Delia Christina said...

@M.LeBlanc - my Roomie drives.

@Greg - apparently, I've been funding my own private Vegas.

liza said...

Yeah, but given you could clear your debt in two months, you're not doing so bad. Plus, you have a hefty chunk set aside for savings. Both of which is doing pretty OK, in spite of spending wantonly. But then you gotta be wanton somewhere...

Delia Christina said...

my savings are rather substantial, to date. i'm proud of the way i save. and now that i've got this new budget to try out to keep my discretionary spending under control (i want to cut it by 50%) i think i can start making contributions to my ROTH later in the year.