Sooooo after a few productive months, May and June expenditures were pretty rough. We spent WAY TOO MUCH MONEY!!! And the worst part was that our expenditures were pretty much all within our control.
As a result, we’ve made no progress on #OperationCrushStudentDebt recently, after a very productive few months.
Despite our outrageous spending, our net worth climbed to $630,572 (~$, driven primarily on the back of automatic investments into our retirement accounts, combined with a $10,000 jump in value in real estate.
Key May/June Expenditures
Travel: $2,251
A big expenditure was an upcoming trip to Jamaica for a friend’s 40th Birthday party trip (all inclusive resort). We paid for half of this trip in the prior month, so this is listed on the previous net worth report as well. We also spent on a trip to Boston to visit friends and on extra expenses associated with having my wife joining me on a work out of town for a political event.
Political Contributions: $875
We are right in the middle of election season (i.e. “silly season”) and I’m an active political person, both in my personal and professional life. As a result, I’ve made numerous contributions to first time candidates running for both federal and state elected office. The good news is my candidates are 4/4 on winning their primary elections (and for most, a primary is the only competitive election in the Democratic stronghold where I live).
Gifts: $625
My wife bought me a sports jersey and a wireless headset for my gaming PC for my birthday. She’s amazing. We also made a number of small donations to local charities and my fraternity.
Food & Dining: $2,507
This is clearly our fault, as only $642 went to groceries during these two months. $971 went to restaurants and $559 went to fast food, with a bit more on alcohol/coffee/etc. This expenditure level is quite extreme, even for us (we like food a little too much, plus DC is expensive). We will work on keeping this budget under control in the future.
Shopping: $985
This is all miscellaneous B.S. I can’t remember any major expenditure here, just little things that add up. We’re usually very good in this category, but I think the mentality of “we’re already over budget, what’s a little more” caught up with us.
Gift to Self: $1,500
With law school winding down, I decided to treat myself and spend $1,000 on a collectable trading card game and to attend a tournament near me that required registration costs, renting a car, and renting a hotel. While the number looks huge, the deck will retain its value for the most part (or maybe grow over time), so the true “cost” was significantly less it seems.
Health and Fitness: $1,268
We had several major expenses in this category. $620 for summer hockey registration (two leagues); $510 for doctors, dentists, eye care, & pharmacy; and $138 for gym memberships. I don’t regret any of these expenses. They all add to my well-being and hockey provides a great outlet for my aggression and an excuse to drink beer with good friends. I do need to take greater advantage of my gym membership though. I haven’t been in many months.