What I bought this week - November Thanksgiving week

I’m trying out a new method of reigning in my spending:, by sharing it publicly. My spending leaks are due to buying items after long periods of being a tightwad. I get on “splurges”, which are hard to track and budget for. I go months without any major spending and then blow the budget in a two week period. Usually on items I’ve been pushing off for months that I’ve slept on long enough and still want, then purchase.

Purchases:

Sur La Table - $250 (Needed pot due to my rental property. It has been on my wishlist and was on black friday sale)

Restaurant - $15 (Wanted to feel like I was on vacation, while staying home)

REI bike bottle holder - $15 (Christmas gift)

Squarespace - Created a website for my rental property $12 monthly

Cafe - Tipped $5 (Holiday cheer, I’ll tip $5 a few more times for my morning tea in December)

Running shoes - $300 (The trail running shoes I run in were 25% off so I bulked up for the next 6 months and bought two pair)

Bike - $350 (Christmas gift. Provides gears, a freewheel, and larger wheels for my son to grow into. This bike will go faster, which allows me to run longer, giving me a chance to get my workouts in as he’s riding I run behind him.) So this is as much a gift for me as him.

Books - $70 (We need an endless supply of great books for Book of the day. Last year I spent around $650 on non-fiction books. In 2018 my goal was to read 60 books. Well, I’m already over 60 books read and have spent around $1,000 on books this year. Education is never ending and I’ll never hesitate on spending $1-15k per year on learning practical knowledge.

Parking ticket - $65 (I street park and tickets happen sometimes). I can pay one or two parking tickets per month or rent a parking garage for $250 a month. It’s half price to budget two parking tickets per month and that’s the mindset I use when I get a ticket to stay stress free.

Bike lock - $15 (Christmas gift, gotta lock up that new bike while we ride the Ferris Wheel and play on the playground)

Total Spending - $1,100

This spending encompasses my Christmas gift spending, so it’s bound to be high as I didn’t really attempt to save money this Christmas. I bought my son items I want to play with him, in which case I don’t try and save money.

Now the goal is to freeze spending ASAP! I don’t have a need for any more stuff at the moment, but I do foresee going iceskating, hot cocoa, and other holiday entertainment things, which I’m budgeting $250 for.