Everything I Spent in November
This year I’m sharing what we spend in our household each month and why.
Reasons for sharing this with you all are two-fold.
1) It holds me accountable. Accountability is a very important pillar of healthy money habits.
2) It fosters a community of openness and transparency here on my site, which is my goal. If we talk about money, we all grow more comfortable with it. So I’m putting my money where my mouth is... 😏
We are 40 year old dual income family with 3 kids ages 14, 11, and 9.
Some expenses will be shown as percentages while others in U.S. dollars.
Pivot Expenses & Surprises (the unexpected…)
As a reminder, October was a bit embarrassing… I overspent unnecessarily. And last month, I shared that we made a plan to react to the data with action to rebalance and move forward. Read on to see how we did…
Planned Expenses
Home: Mortgage + Utilities = 18% of spending
We were just under budget here. Utilities lately have been trending below expectations — a delightful surprise that we hope continues.
Home: Repairs & Services = 9%
We had to have our mower and trailer repaired. While it was a hefty expense, we used our repair fund to help. I’m very grateful we have that savings fund and that we continue to keep it full.
Home: Supplies = 1%
We were back under budget in this category with nothing unexpected.
Home: Subscriptions = 1%
Nothing unexpected in this category this month either.
Insurance = 1%
This is just our life insurance policy. Health insurance is paid before my paycheck gets to me, and our auto policy is now paid just twice a year.
Food = 13%
We host Thanksgiving every year, so November is always a spendy month for food. Knowing that, we add a couple hundred dollars to the November food budgets every year. Even still, our grocery spending was about $90 over. Womp womp. Fortunately dining out came in $180 under, so overall we stayed below budget on food in November!
Auto: Gas = 2%
We do a little bit of extra traveling in November, so we’d budgeted about $500 this month for gas, up from the usual $360 most months. Fortunately gas prices have worked in our favor lately. This month we only spent about half that much! We will likely lower this budget a little for November next year.
Giving = 5%
Last month we donated to our local Rescue Mission, an organization that provides meals, shelter, resources, and independence training to the homeless men, women, and children in our area. We have tender hearts for this population, and we are pleased to be able to support this non-profit organization.
Family: Kids = 9%
Braces, pay days, and the monthly saxophone payments are now budgeted here. We are celebrating that for the first time in a while we kept this category on budget!
Family: Health = 4%
My counseling bill hit twice this month, but because we budget extra we stayed on track.
Our daughter did have a sick visit to the doctor this month, so we anticipate an extra bill in December for that.
Fun Money = 9% of income
My husband and I each have our own guilt-free budgets for stuff we want. Each is tight enough that we do have to keep an eye on them but also loose enough that we’re not stressing over every single dollar or discussing every expense. It’s a good balance for us.
My Fun Spend - Specifics:
I’m challenged myself to a “No Spend November,” as mentioned in last month’s recap. It was a challenge (especially with Black Friday sales… eep!) But I’m thrilled to report that I hit my goal!
A portion of that savings reimbursed last month’s overage. With the leftover saved money, I contributed to my business account and purchased a new computer. The one I’ve been using lacks the resources I need, and for the last year I’ve done most of my work inefficiently from my phone. I am thankful to be able to invest a bit more into my business.
I don’t share details of my husband’s fun spend here, but I can share that he also ended the month on budget. Together we learned that with intention we are able to navigate a balance and right the ship, and I’m proud of us!
Savings & Investments
Short term Savings:
$415 for Vacation Fund
$200 for Repair Fund
$170 for Christmas
We bought some Christmas gifts from this fund in November. I cannot explain what peace it brings me to arrive at this time of the year and not even bat an eye at all the holiday spending! Instead of worrying about where we’ll get the money, we can focus on the joy of the season!
We also socked away $500 into our Big Dream fund.
All these funds are all kept in HYSAs, so that saved money earns interest!
Long Term Investments = 16%
$1,166 for 2024 ROTH IRAs (mine + my husband’s).
{For those who qualify, the 2024 max ROTH IRA contribution is $7,000, which is $583 each month. My husband and I each have a ROTH account, so $1,166 per month is our plan.}
The rest of those investment dollars went toward our kids’ 529 investments for post-high school education. Because the majority of our spending was under budget, we had a couple hundred extra dollars to add to our kids’ college funds.
November is in the books!
We’re proud of the work we did to balance October’s overspending and for maintaining our repair and Christmas funds!
Please remember — It has taken us a decade of ups and downs to get on the same page with our budget, and while we’re nowhere near perfect, we are making steady progress and keeping our overall direction on track.
Budgeting is a marathon not a sprint, so take it easy on yourself if your numbers didn’t add up the way you’d expected. Allow for grace. Reflect, learn, and adjust.
How did your November spending go? Let’s all learn from the surprises and celebrate the wins!