Inspired by J.D.’s post, I decided to see how I spent my money last year. These are some of the interesting categories.
Bad Habits
- 2007: $2,520
- 2008: $1,630
These habits include smoking, bars, clubs, video games and other such things which I don’t really like anymore. Luckily, by summer of 2008, I was already cutting back on these habits. That’s why I almost saved $900 compared to 2007. I plan to eliminate all these bad habits this year.
Clothing
- 2007: $550
- 2008: $400
I buy clothes only when I need something. Even then I usually use my credit card points. Most of my clothes and Shoes come from Gap, Express and Target. I think $400 on clothes per year is quite reasonable.
Dining
- 2007: $1,530 – Coffee: $190, Fast Food: $670, Eating Out: $680
- 2008: $1,880 – Coffee: $370, Fast Food: $810, Eating Out: $700
It looks like I drink way too much coffee. I have actually stopped drinking coffee in Starbucks. My own coffee taste so much better. Since I don’t cook, i am not sure if I can cut back on eating out though.
Hobbies & Activities
- 2007: $960
- 2008: $2,590
Wow that’s a big jump. Stuff in this category includes, photography, music, movies, road trips, camping and more. I did buy a new $800 camera last year. Even if I exclude new camera, I still spend twice as much money on this category than 2007. However, this category includes things that I like and I am not to worried about extra money spent last year. 2008 was indeed fun year.
Groceries
- 2007: $990
- 2008: $1,900
Kinda surprising that I spent so much money on groceries. Only thing I buy is bread, cold cuts, cheese, milk, cereals and cleaning supplies.
Anyways, it was really insightful. I use only one credit card for all my transactions and I simply import that data into Quicken. I carry only a few bucks in cash for emergencies, so usually I know exactly how my money was spent.
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