This is the first of a series of expense reports summarizing my spending for the month. I’ll cover what happened quantitively, and then qualify those numbers with on-goings for the month. Finally, I’ll conclude with what I’ve learned this past month, and what I plan to do in the future. I’ll respond to any questions or comments you have. Thanks!
Important Going-Ons in October
- October meant Halloween! Which meant costumes, parties, drinking too much and passing out in the Uber until we were back in Culver City! Yay for being a responsible drinker!
- Booked a flight to Albany, for the opening of my father’s third restaurant, Rain.
- I cycled 16 out of 23 working days this month, for a total of 127 miles and 11.5 hours spent on the bike.
Fixed Expenses
- Rent: $688
- Internet: $30 [wireless + domain hosting]
- Gas (Utilities): $14
- Electric (Utilities): $26
- Renter’s Insurance: $10
- Car Insurance: $77.50
- Cell Phone: $25
- Netflix: $5
Variable Expenses
- Groceries: $125
- Gas: $65
- Drinks: $88 [“drinks” almost always means afterwork, with others who work in Hollywood]
- Lunches: $50 [again, work related lunches]
- Going Out: $170
- Miscellaneous: $60
- Travel: $380
- Business Expenses: $20
Total Expenses = $1,883.50
Breakdown
- Groceries: Amy and my goal has been to keep our combined grocery bill under $300 / month, which we did here, by $50.
- Gas: This may seem absurdly low for most Los Angelenos, but it’s high for me this month, considering how many miles I biked. I think it came from filling up my car before turning the car over to Amy to drive — a year long ordeal to write about later.
- Drinks: I budget $100 / month for drinks, so it looks like I did pretty well here. However, part of the reason is more than average of these drinks needed to be rescheduled, so I actually didn’t do as well as I would have like.
- Lunches: I budget about $80 / month for lunch, but again, had to reschedule one or two
- Miscellaneous: Most of this came from Halloween costs, and hosting our party
- Travel: my flight to Albany for the opening of my father’s third restaurant
- Business Expenses: I purchased a one-year license for Transcribe by wreally, to easily transcribe interviews and talks that I love. I realize this may not be a “business expense” per se, but I didn’t know where else to categorize it.
What I Learned This Month
- Since I booked my flight to Albany, and with the holidays coming up, my mind’s been on travel: how much I love it, how much it costs, and different strategies to reduce those costs. We plan on driving to San Francisco for Thanksgiving, visiting Amy’s family in Ireland for Christmas, and making a few trips back east for weddings — and that’s only in the next 6 months! I learned a ton and will hopefully be able to share my thoughts after I’ve experimented with what works (and what doesn’t).
- We threw our first party in our apartment, which was half Halloween themed / half board game night, and it was pretty awesome — something we definitely plan on doing again.
- I used Uber for the first time in October, passed out on the drive home, and since I it was my first time, got the ride for free. Check Uber out if you haven’t done so yet by clicking here (non-affiliate link).
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Photo Credit: Carlos Villela
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