I am on a mission: to pay off my debt, share what I spend living on the road and hopefully in the process make money sharing less anxiety-ridden.
Did you grow up in a household where discussing money was taboo? I did. Maybe it was my perception, maybe it was fact. Regardless, discussing money made and money spent has always been a source of anxiety. I tried with my kids to make it a little less daunting. Now to work on myself.
Personally, I love reading others’ money resets, roundups, tell-alls and yet I’ve never felt confident enough to publicly announce my own. Here we go. This is it.
Four months into this project and I’m still feeling good about it. I’ve tracked my money for as long as I can remember, only not to the extent that I do for this project. It’s a little intimidating to see how much is spent in each category. Chances are I will not continue this level of tracking once I complete my goal or after this calendar year.
Do you or have you ever tracked your spending so thoroughly before? What are your thoughts?
June’s numbers have been tallied. Finally. Let’s get into it.
The Unchangeables
Car - $360
Car insurance - $93
Life insurance - $21
Gym - $27
Cell Phone - $72
Storage - $68
All the fixed bills stayed the same as there were no monthly overlaps like last month’s car payment.
If you want to read any descriptors about the above items, please go back to March, April, and May.
The Changeables
The Dreaded Credit Cards
June $614
May $628
April $466
March $500
I have 3 cards - one for car repairs (Card C) and 2 regular ones (Card 1 and 2). Card 1 is priority. I dropped Card 2 and Card C down to minimum payments.
Card 1 got it’s minimum payment plus $286.
Card 2 and Card C got minimum payments.
Although the total amount paid went down, the amount on Card 1 went up a little. Yayyee! There are a few factors as to why the paydown amount was NOT nearly as high as I anticipated. I discuss it below and the change I’ve had to make in my strategy.
My new payoff goal for this card is mid to end August. Sadly.
Groceries - $248
The grocery amount has stabilized at $250 monthly average. I like the consistency and knowing that whether I’m trying or not trying $250 is what I typically spend.
June was my second month of doing $25 on Tuesdays and Fridays. It did not work as well in June as it did in May even though I spent the same amount total as in May. In June, I had to do larger grocery hauls because I needed to restock a lot of my supply. When I left my May housesitting gig on June 5, I intentionally dumped several food items from my stock. Some had been with me since before I started my journey in August. It was time for them to go. Also, I was traveling slowly for a week from Syracuse to Ann Arbor, MI and knew I would probably eat out more. Plus I wanted to make room for fresh supplies from different places I stopped.
I really thought when I added up the totals that June would be much higher. Surprise!
Gas
June $325
May $474
April $500
I love that the gas amount is going down again. Prices were still the same, generally. I traveled less and worked mostly in cities vs suburbs. Less miles, less gas.
Car Wash - $13
Finally, got a car wash. Man, did my little red baby need it.
Out to Eat - $148
Again, this amount is only $20 higher than last month which was $20 higher than the previous month. I hope this $20 higher isn’t a trend I’m staying on. LOL
I did think this amount would be higher too since I traveled for a week or so plus I went out to eat with friends a couple of times. (Hi Susan!)
Coffeeshops - $42
Have you ever been to a Yemeni coffeeshop? I love them so much and was pleasantly surprised to find one in Ann Arbor. I thought I would have to visit Detroit where there is a large Middle Eastern community and multiple coffeeshops. My favorite is always Adeni Chai (Yemeni black tea, cardamon, nutmeg and milk) or a version like this, which you can get in different serving pot sizes.
Laundry -$0
A perk of housesitting is having a washer and dryer at my disposal.
Water - $0
Same as above
Stuff - $987
June’s number is double May’s amount of $436.
$58 subscriptions (Britbox, Hulu, Paramount+, Patreon, Substack)
$37 books
$28 haircut
$50 birthday gift
$51 campground
$33 tolls
$42 hobbies
$49 iTalki Italian lessons
$44 bath/skincare
$198 clothes
I’m calling the catch-all category Stuff because it will be the only-happened-this-month items or emergencies or things I purchased.
I stayed in my first paid campground right after I left Syracuse. There was 2 days of storms coming and I thought a stationary location would be best. It was pleasant to have electricity and my cozy car for those rain storms.
In May, I realized it was really time to refresh my wardrobe. When you wear the same clothes over and over, the wear and tear shows terribly. Most of the clothes I had on the road with me were old to begin with, too. Some of them I’d had since I started backpack traveling 10+ years ago. It was time for some new or new-to-me clothes. I’ve updated several items and have a few more to go.
Another thing I realized was the amount of items I needed to refresh: food supplies, clothes, skincare, shoes, passport, eyeglasses, etc. I find it so easy to put off restocking anything that costs over $50, even fun things that I enjoy such as the Italian lessons. I’ve been putting off the eyeglasses for 3 years.
To compensate for these pending purchases, I’ve added a line item to the Spending Plan (thanks for the title, Marylou). For summer or until I’ve refreshed everything, I added $100 per week specifically for Stuff.
Hence the longer time needed to pay off debt.
Savings - $100
Not much but it feels good to have put something in the savings account in addition to paying down debt.
Total: $3107
*amounts are in US dollars
*all amounts have been rounded to the nearest dollar
*all writing in italic is copied from last month as descriptions
*You can read further descriptions on past Money Lists.
Debt Paydown and Goal Setting
My mission is to pay off my debt (credit cards and car) by THE END OF THE YEAR!
I’ve been doing this Spending Plan for 4 months now. What I’ve noticed about myself is once I’ve hit the required bill minimums, I become lax in my work drive and find excuses to take extra days off. I did great when I was in Arizona. Maybe it was the constant sunshine. Maybe it was because I was camping and living my best life. I don’t know. I need to kick myself out of these house dwelling bad habits I’m acquiring.
The Plan
I am using the snowball method. The snowball method is putting all your extra money towards the smaller balance first. Then as you pay off debt, adding that payment money to the next debt while paying the minimum on everything else.
For the next 2 months, I am living with a friend. Knowing what I do now after analyzing my behavior for the last 4 months, I am switching up how I do my work money planning days. Before I would do an 8 day cycle where all the money went towards the next month’s bills then the rest of the month went towards debt paydown and stuff.
For July and August, I’m doing every other day as a bill money making day then a debt reduction money making day. This includes adding in line items for savings, food, and stuff as previously noted.
Another new tactic I’m trying is putting aside $20 a day for my car payment versus doing it in 2 days time. I love crossing things off a list and crossing this off every day makes me feel energized.
Fingers crossed this plan helps keep me motivated while being house stationary.
There you go. It’s out in the open. My intention is to update every month.
Keep on trying,
Patricia
Find the joy in things whatever it may be
Hi!!!
Patricia, you continue to AMAZE me! Please don't be too hard on yourself as you pay off debt. Not to be morbid but a friend recently died unexpectedly after a three day illness. That impressed upon me how important it is to live every day noticing the small things, smelling the roses and having something to enjoy each and every day. In my case, an icecream cone can be my highlight of the day. Budget items can and do often fluctuate like weight gains and losses. As long as it is trending on the losing side I don't beat myself up about the unexpected 1-2# gains every so often. Be safe.