It’s true. I haven’t provided a monthly spending update in some time. It has been difficult to capture all of my finances, and it is not until now that I feel comfortable with the new system I have been using. I recently transitioned over to Monarch after the tragic and senseless death of Mint.com. You were good to me, Mint, you were so goddamn good.
In February, I finished paying off my Affirm loan and transitioned towards building up my emergency savings in my new American Express High Yield Savings Account. I do still have a car loan with CarMax that I will focus on paying down in Q2 and Q3 of this year, but for the month of March, I will place all extra savings into my AMEX HYSA.
The Big Picture
In February, I spent so little by targeting the very biggest drains on my finances – restaurants and groceries. I learned to cook my own meals, baked salmon, had lentils on multiple occasions, and made my very first Bacon-Tot-Chicken Alfredo casserole! I also eliminated some, nearly all, subscriptions – I see you NordVPN. But I need a VPN, I just don’t really trust the cyber guerilla, and it makes me feel safe. In addition to all of this, I placed my car in storage mode with USAA, and I saved on my insurance. I also canceled the renter’s insurance and property insurance, so more savings! It’s insane how many savings are “invisible” to you, but when you’re auditing where every penny goes you tend to find the “invisible.”
January Spending: $3,786
February Spending: $1,334
Net Difference: +$2,452
Notes from February
It may seem insignificant, but it is no small feat to keep my Grocery budget under $200 and my Restaurants & Bars under $60. Initially, I had intended to not spend a single dollar at restaurants, “imagine a world where you HAD to cook your own food.” That was my mindset with that, and it allowed me to feed myself at an average cost of $8.32 per day. Most people spend that much on coffee alone, so I consider this a major victory. In January, I spent $528 on Groceries and $291 on Restaurants. Net Difference: +$578
I am also impressed, maybe relieved?, that I managed to spend only $112.94 on Gas. How did I do it? I said no to engine idling. I brought lunch and ate it in my car with the engine off, so I didn’t have to drive anywhere to eat lunch. I drove to and from work at 5 miles below the speed limit. I practiced hypermiling, and on the weekends when I didn’t have to drive, I didn’t. In January, I spent $209 on this category. Net Difference: +$96.
Overall, the difference from month to month is staggering even if I only focus on these 3 categories. This allowed me to increase my American Express HYSA “Emergency Fund” to $1,800 as of this writing, and it puts me in a financial position (no credit card debt, with nearly $2,000 in reserve cash) that I hadn’t been in since 2018.
Pay attention to this quote: “Long-lasting change comes from little steps, repeated regularly, over time.”
I believe when it comes to the world of personal finance, nothing else comes close to describing a natural law. It is not the latte that you want to account for, it is the gas that you consume on the drive to the latte while waiting in the drive-thru. It is the extra nice tip that you pay the barista for serving your warm cup of coffee. It is the time that this adds to your commute, your time away from the things that truly move you. Little by little, these things add up, and you begin to see lasting change.
Summary
In March, I aim to reduce my Grocery budget even further. I challenge myself to spend only $100, which will require me to be even more creative with my meal planning, source coupons, and find new ways to spend less. I challenge myself to spend no more than $30 on Restaurant meals and to spend no more than $50 on gas. Considering my car will be going into storage, this should not be difficult to accomplish.
At the end of this quarter, I plan to provide an updated picture of my net worth. See you next time, be happy!
Becoming A Happy Person 