March 2008 Spending

Yes it is very ugly! I bought a bicycle that cost me $1,062 including new bike shoes and a speedometer. The good thing is that in April I received a $337.50 reimbursement from my employer for it and I will receive another $220 in June. So at the end of the day the bike only cost me $504.50.

Obviously it was not just the new bike that sent me over the edge with my spending, I also paid $150 on my Citibank Visa balance that I did not include in my original budget, I had extra pet expenses related to pet medications ($119) and pet sitter expenses ($74). My travel expense was high in March due to a weekend at a cabin. Some months I will not have any travel expense.

Note that the monthly averages are equal to the yearly amounts divided by 12. Items like my salary have higher monthly averages due to me only getting paid twice in March. Some months I will receive 3 paychecks so it will average out.

All in all, I hope to do a little better next month. It is hard because I am in a new relationship and we have a lot of things we want to do (eat out, travel, etc.). As the relationship settles in there will be less expenses.