What did I do this weekend?
Well, for no reason other than boredom, I downloaded my bank account history for the year 2010 to an excel file, and proceeded to collect, categorize and arrange all my spending and earnings for each of the five months so far. I have made several conclusions.
1. A debit card is great because you can keep track of all your spendings online. They show up as Fry's or Whole Foods (grocery) or Walmart (that water filter) or Payless Shoes (those cute ballerina shoes). Of course, everything from my weakness that is Amazon shows up as Amazon, but I can easily go to my Amazon account and check my order history to figure out what it was that I bought.
2. Per month, I spend $477 on rent and internet. I spend an average of $232 on groceries, household related items (like toilet paper and a water filter), and eating out at restaurants. I eat about 50-60% organic and shop at Whole Foods which isn't the cheapest. I spent an average per month of $71 on clothes, shoes, etc, $10 on cosmetics, and $25 on medical, hygiene, and supplement expenses. I also spend around $5 on books. I also have some other minor miscellaneous spendings.
3. I discovered that around $5 per month go down the drain. No I'm not talking about unnecessary purchases, I'm talking about idiotic things that happen where money is spent without a corresponding service or item obtained (no good reason). I also spend about $10 on completely useless and unnecessary purchases.
4. My 300 dollar tax refund was a life saver and great way for some guilt-free splurging.
5. I somehow still managed to save 500 dollars per month on my measly student salary.
6. Clearly, a tightening of the belt is in order. My monthly earnings are about to be cut in half since the semester is over, and with it, my teaching assistantship. So I need to shave off $200 from my expenses. I don't think that'll be a very hard thing to do, as my clothing expenses are going to zero, so are my cosmetics expenses, medical expenses and my books. I will also have to cut all unnecessary spending to get to my desired $750 mark: i.e. Watch out, I'm going into survival mode, and that means I shall be penny pinching!
Money Savers for the Budget Needing People:
- I don't use conditioner. I mixed some rosewater, a 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 drop of tea tree oil in a small water bottle with water. I use about a 1/4 cup as a final hair and scalp rinse and leave it on. I Love it and it costs next to nothing as opposed to the "natural stuff" I would've bought ($12)!
- If you air out your clothes after you wear them, and wear them again several days later, you'll get a lot more use out of them before they need washing. Saves money on laundry.
- Don't eat out. By cooking at home, even with high priced organic food, I found out that I actually spend as much half of what my friends in college spend on eating out, even with value meals and McDonalds junk. So make your lunch and take it with you.
- Clothes: Yes I know, we're all slaves to fashion. However, I've found that by spending some money and buying good quality stuff, you actually save money. I know that because my cheap $15-20 blouses need replacing after a season, and my $40 or $60 dollar blouses can last at least 3 or 4 years, usually more. So for people like me who are not huge fans of clothes shopping, that means less shopping trips, yay!
- Look for good grocery deals. I buy organic fruit that is in season, when it's cheap, and when it's nearing its last days so the price it cut down by half. I spend money on high quality grass fed cow milk and yogurt, but I save it when I buy a large gallon of way cheaper Lebanese (Koura) olive oil from the local Middle eastern store.
- You only need 4 kinds of cleaning supplies. Dish washing liquid, Laundry detergent, Toilet bowl cleaner, and an all-purpose household cleaner. You could make your own cleaner, I doubt if it saves money although it'll definitely be better for your health and environment.
- Good General Rule: When you buy something, anything from a bra, false jewelry accessories, shoes, blouse, cooking pot, to cleaning sponges, alway think: what's the option that's going to give me the best use from this, does it work a variety of options, the best re-use possibilities, and is this something I will need/care about 1 week from today.
Cheers.
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