November 2010 Budget Roundup +$18,933.63

You know how when you buy one item, it opens the floodgates of spending, and suddenly you’re spending like a rockstar?

Then at the end of the month your eyes pop when you see your spending and you say:

HOLY MOTHER OF#$*@&!

What the HELL did I do/eat/buy!?

Yes. That.

That is exactly how I feel about how my November 2010 has gone.

In Japanese mochi* expenditures alone I must have spent $40 this month and this is what they look like to me when I go snacking:

Evil little tasty temptresses.

*Note: Mochi = Japanese rice snacks filled with a paste inside. Can be sweet or savoury. I chose sweet.

So here we go. Brace yourselves

INCOME: $20,546

  • Regular hours, no overtime charged this month
  • Freelanced on the side (consulting, writing, designing)
  • Sold some stuff on consignment

SPENDING: $4109.84

  • Business: $1915.47
  • Personal: $2194.37

I’ll say it right now, the instigator was none other than that iPod Touch I bought at the start of this month for getting that spending ball rolling.

I should have waited until the end or something, but I have never been very good at delaying purchases that I know are inevitable.

I don’t see the point of waiting 30 days when I know I have the money, I want it, I’ve thought about it, and have researched it for weeks.

That iPod Touch led me, singing and dancing down the path of spending, and before I knew it the month ended with a big bill.


This is no excuse at all, of course.

I’m still in love with my budget and tracking my expenses.

I just shouldn’t let my belly make all of the decisions about what to eat any more. She is not to be trusted.

BUSINESS = $1915.47

Update: Thanks to sharp-eyed Louise with her OCD compulsion to add things up, it’s really $1915.47 I spent on ‘business’.

Must’ve screwed up somewhere in my haste to put up the numbers! Thanks Louise.

PERSONAL = $2194.37

Bye bye $1000/month budget. November thumbed its nose at you πŸ˜›

December will be good though. Less chances (read: motivation) to trudge out in the snow, ice and cold weather to buy food.

NET WORTH = $165,000.06

Increase of +$18,933.63 or 11%

ASSETS: $165,000.06

Car not included in my assets but I’m sure I can sell for $500 at the end.

No house, not counting my things (laptop and so on).

  • Cash = $72.78
  • Savings = $8704
  • Emergency Fund = $34,091.44
  • Retirement = $64,707
  • Business = $57,424.84

DEBTS: $0

None.

NOTES:

  • At least I ended in the positive this month. πŸ˜›
  • Retirement investments went up
  • Average return on my portfolio is about a 7% return this year after fees
  • Savings rate is at 1.5%

SUMMARY

I am not really annoyed that I spent so much.

I know it’s not the end of the world, especially since I didn’t go into debt for the craving of some snacks.

….but at least $200 could have been avoided this month, had I just kept my belly under control and not allowed her to do the thinking and the purchasing for the two of us this month.

There were also some other unavoidable things, as my hard drives started to worry me with their hacking noises and I had to buy a new internet cable (RJ45 for you geeks out there).

That $800 electronics spend this month made my eyes pop.

Let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks they think they have everything under control all the time:

Sometimes the floodgates of spending opens and your other devilish side takes over and you’re held prisoner to the whims of the singing mochi.

*resolve renewed to do better for December*

10 out of 11 months so far kept around the $1000 range isn’t so bad in my opinion.

On the bright side, I think I might have a future career in stick figure painting.

About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.