Starting last month I decided it was time to get a hold of my family’s expenditures, specifically, those expenditures which are more or less in the discretionary category. With just two months of data, I don’t think I am going to start looking for trends just yet. Unlike my net worth posts, I am providing real numbers, not percentages.
I should mention that all this spending was done on my American Express Premier Gold Card so it has to be paid off monthly (i.e. I incur no interest charges and I recently got my annual fee waived).
My Monthly Discretionary Expenses
While my sprint bill may not be discretionary, for the most part these expenditures are stuff I could cut down if I chose to:
| Date | Description | Amount |
| 01/21/2012 | CROXLEY ALES | 60 |
| 01/20/2012 | TOKU MODERN ASIAN | 65.66 |
| 01/18/2012 | GROUPON INC877-788-7858IL | 49 |
| 01/17/2012 | PHILS PIZZA | 25.7 |
| 01/16/2012 | PETCO | 34.71 |
| 01/16/2012 | SPRINT WIRELESS800-639-6111KS | 123.94 |
| 01/15/2012 | Krav Maga | 112 |
| 01/15/2012 | THE VITAMIN SHOPPEJ | 48.46 |
| 01/14/2012 | BJS FUEL | 31.42 |
| 01/14/2012 | BJS FUEL | 51.91 |
| 01/14/2012 | HUNTINGTON SUPERSTAR | 20.14 |
| 01/14/2012 | JIFFY LUBE | 32.58 |
| 01/14/2012 | DINER | 22.81 |
| 01/12/2012 | Krav Maga | 52.12 |
| 01/09/2012 | BEDBATH&BEYOND# | 253.75 |
| 01/09/2012 | DREAMHOST.COM 0797BREACA | 9.95 |
| 01/08/2012 | SHOPRITE | 9.97 |
| 01/07/2012 | CARUSO’S Pizza | 39.22 |
| 01/07/2012 | WENDYS | 9.38 |
| 01/06/2012 | FINE WINES UNLIMITE 5 | 20.63 |
| 01/06/2012 | KING KULLEN | 7.54 |
| 01/05/2012 | MSKCC-BRANDED EVENTS | 50 |
| 01/04/2012 | THE MAIN EVENT | 85.67 |
| 01/03/2012 | THE VITAMIN SHOPPE | 52.98 |
| 12/31/2011 | DOLRTREE | 13.04 |
| 12/31/2011 | LA PARMA II | 122.47 |
| 12/31/2011 | PARTY CITY | 22.78 |
| 12/31/2011 | SIMPLY WINE & LIQUOR | 32.48 |
| 12/31/2011 | TRADER JOE’S | 45.4 |
| 12/30/2011 | ON THE BORDER | 58.05 |
| 12/30/2011 | USPS | 23.76 |
| 12/29/2011 | BAR FRITES | 72 |
| 12/29/2011 | MCDONALD’S | 7.48 |
| 12/29/2011 | VICTORY OYSTER BAR | 37.59 |
| 12/28/2011 | POLAND SPRING WATER BOTTLEDWATER | 69.08 |
| 12/28/2011 | ROYAL BUKHARA GRILL | 48.11 |
| 12/27/2011 | NYS BAR ASSOCIATION ALBANYNY | 25 |
| 12/27/2011 | PHILS PIZZA | 36.57 |
| 12/23/2011 | PAVILION WINE & SPIRT | 46.7 |
| 12/22/2011 | CROXLEY ALES | 26.99 |
| 12/21/2011 | HONU KITCHEN | 17 |
| 01/20/2012 | AMYS HALLMARK | 4.01 |
| 01/20/2012 | CALIFORNIA PIZZA | 39.13 |
| 01/20/2012 | MACY’S | 23.46 |
| 01/19/2012 | ALLIED PEDIATRICS | 35 |
| 01/19/2012 | AMAZON.COMAMZN.COM/BILLWA | 11.25 |
| 01/19/2012 | BEDBATH&BEYOND#0754 | 32.43 |
| 01/18/2012 | AMAZON PRIME | 79 |
| 01/18/2012 | THE HOME DEPOT | 23.64 |
| 01/17/2012 | AMAZON MKTPLACE PMTSAMZN.COM/BILLWA | 24.49 |
| 01/17/2012 | BUYBUYBABY | 22.22 |
| 01/17/2012 | BUYBUYBABY | 199.86 |
| 01/16/2012 | STOP & SHOP | 108.41 |
| 01/14/2012 | STAR KITCHEN | 14.15 |
| 01/12/2012 | 50 MANETTO HILLMALL | 28.62 |
| 01/12/2012 | PAVILION WINE & SPIRT | 22.79 |
| 01/12/2012 | ROBBINS LANE CAR CAR | 30 |
| 01/11/2012 | STOP & SHOP | 50.67 |
| 01/11/2012 | THE CHILDRENS PLACE | 18.8 |
| 01/11/2012 | THE UPS STORE | 14.02 |
| 01/10/2012 | PETCO | 44.22 |
| 01/09/2012 | SIMPLE CLEANERS | 26.79 |
| 01/09/2012 | TARGET | 12.6 |
| 01/06/2012 | SHOPRITE | 15.78 |
| 01/06/2012 | TRADER JOE’S | 34.96 |
| 01/05/2012 | AMAZON.COMAMZN.COM/BILLWA | 33.35 |
| 01/05/2012 | BUYBUYBABY | 50.43 |
| 01/03/2012 | STOP & SHOP | 119.71 |
| 01/02/2012 | FRIENDLY ICE CREAM | 53.88 |
| 12/28/2011 | ALLIED PEDIATRICS | 30 |
| 12/23/2011 | AMAZON VIDEO ON DEMAND | 1.99 |
| Total | $3,179.70 |
Last month I almost had a panic attack when I ran these numbers and found out I spent over $5,400 (Probably closer to $4,400 after being paid back and rebates receives). This month’s $3,100 is still much too high for my tastes and it seems it comes from one main expenditure:
- FOOD
I eat out way too much and I don’t think our grocery shopping is particularly efficient. I am going to try and work on this month to maybe bring down the bill below $3,000. I think the easiest way is to reach this goal is to lower the amount we buy out but I think the most realistic would be to help The Wife with the grocery shopping.
Evan
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Eating out a lot will mess up your weight too. Aren’t you trying to lose a bit of weight? Maybe you can try a month without eating out and see if it helps.
My wife and I usually “force” ourselves to only eat out once a month and then individually have a meal at another time (like meeting a friend, etc.). This is easy to monitor, although it could be hard for someone who eats out a lot right now… Once you get passed the transition period, you should be golden.
I agree with the above commenter, eating out will not only bulge your stomach but also your credit card bill. It’s a good idea to cut off most of your expenditures.
In the past I’ve looked for such details on credit card balances, and this is exactly what I was looking for!
Our credit card balances totaled is about $2,500. I keep believing I can get it down to $2,000 but it never happens. Things are cheaper over here where I live though. I think if I live where you lived, our bills would be close…
This has indirectly helped answer a lot of my questions about how I spend and if I spend to little or too much.
Thanks for sharing!
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