What we spent in 2019

It never fails, at some point in the year I just stop blogging consistently, try and catch up, and then life comes and gets busy. We had a wonderful 2019 and despite not posting I still tracked out finances.  It was an expensive year large in part to a new to us car... and a mini kitchen remodel.

Below is our 2019 Summary:



Church Tithe/fast offerings/Giving: 

• We believe in the blessings that come from giving and living on less than you make. As a result, we tithe 10% of our income to our church, and additionally provide a monthly "fast" offering to help provide food and necessities to those who may not be able to put a meal on the table. We don't do this for the tax write off (last year we took the standard deduction), but rather because we have felt the blessings and happiness that come from this decision.
• I also fund-raise throughout the year for the American Cancer Society, and when we find a need that touches our hearts, we may also contribute to those things as well. 

Groceries: $4,747.99

• Sometimes this included non-food items like paper towels, other times not. 
• Average $395.67 a month

Eating Out: 1,500.79

• Sometimes includes going out and doing things. 

Doing Things I tracked separately: 243.26

• These I started tracking separately at some point:

• $34.35	Frozen 2 movies
  $11.81	concession snacks
  $14.95	Discovery Science Center
  $21.49	star wars movie
  $21.00	Chuck E Cheese
  $84.66	OC Fair
  $55.00	4th of July fair

Automobiles: $7,013.69

• Gasoline: $2,711.16
• Escort Gasoline: $1,612.86
• Camry/Subaru Gasoline: $1,098.30
• $489.64 was subtracted for my work driving that was reimbursed.
• Car Washes: $36
• Toll Toads: $30
• Smog: $69.75
• Camry Registration: $136
• Escort Registration: $125
• Car Insurance: $1,458.39
• Repairs/Maintenance: $2,583.39

• Escort: $980.69
• Back up switch, Oil change, fuel filter change, fuel injector tune up, AC fix, oil change and flushes, AC repair Again (still not working and not repairing further)
• Camry: $1,466.70
• 1 tire, front breaks, new battery, oil change and filters, starter, driver side mirror, leaks and oil change.

"New" Car: $30,212.45

• We paid cash and replaced our Camry with a 2019 "new to us" Subaru Outback that was rocking less than 8,000 miles. It has an extended warranty. We love it. It gets car washes. 
• Registration was included in the purchase price above.

Clothes: $1,4651.99

• Me: $852
• Hubs: $426.55
• Little Dude: $373.44 

• We do a clothing swap with my Sister in Law. We get her boys hand me down things, then return them for her youngest, and then they will likely head up to my other sister in law who's expecting a baby dude. 
• We usually need to buy a few pants or odds and ends that work better for climates, but its awesome to not build from scratch. 

• $23.68 flip/flop pool shoes (2 pairs)
• $17.51 5 pairs of pants (Goodwill-4) (Walmart 1)
• $17.18 Socks (2 bags)
• $20.78 underwear
• $5.36 shirt$42.33 PJ's (4 pairs Summer)
• $38.00 Ties
• $52.25 Mittens, Jacket, snow pants, boots for our Snow day!
• $12.83 ?
• $105.52 Black Friday shopping for underwear and PJ's next size up
• $38.00 ?

Gifts: $1,880.54

• Our Christmas total is here for all our spending on family, friends, and each other. Since our birthdays are about 6 months away from Christmas, we tend to spend a good amount on each other because its usually a list of delayed things we want that we held off until the holiday sales. I got exciting things like kitchen mats and an aero garden i'm loving,.... hubs got some video games, but also practical things like a jerky gun and good sweat pants.  
• Christmas: $1,583.72.
• Little Dude: $291.81
• Me: $436.65 (fantastic things including kitchen mats, and an aero garden)
• Hubs: $545.91 (Video games, jerky guns, drones, clothes, hiking stuff, etc.)
• Extended family: $460.65
• Other gifts: $296.82 

• There were a lot of $20 here, $20 there work events that aren't recorded here... I'm bad with tracking cash, which is why I try not to use it.
• I also didn't categorize our internal birthdays here either, they went to general spending, so next year i'll mark them as gifts, so this was just present for friends parties, mother's day, and cousin birthday parties.... 

Little Dude: $1,439.91
Big expense here was our attempt at swim lessons... We got floating down and that was about it. We stopped and will try again at another place when we aren't paying for daycare/preschool.

• $ 12.49 Birthday Present
• $ 8.62 Rubble Truck (Goodwill)
• $ 226.34 pull ups + overnight undies
• $ 9.69 (2) mini coloring books; String and animals pack 
• $ 42.74 Friend Presents x 2
• $ 2.14 valentines for class
• $ 63.16 Poop Helpers (6)
• $ 23.99 Back up "hobbes"
• $ 33.15 Last minute toy, decorations, and desserts for school class party
• $ 22.57 Hats and party favors
• $ 57.32 Walmart (Cake, Birthday outfit, wrapping paper)
• $ 36.61 Balloons
• $ 3.32 Target
• $ 2.50 kite and a water blaster
• $ 14.91 Swim Toy / Glider
• $ 43.09 Booster Car Seat for hubs car
• $ 40.92 Goggles for Swim lessons
• $ 10.00 Water beads
• $ 17.24 small pool / water deck shoes
• $ 630.00 Swim lessons
• $ 5.37 clogs
• $ 8.60 glow sticks
• $ 5.39 confetti cannon
• $ 2.12 pinwheel
• $ 21.51 poppers pack
• $ 1.05 balloons
• $ 60.30 Books at the fair
• $ 24.78 School pics
• $ 9.99 Movie on You Tube 

Daycare/Preschool: $10,3025.00

• ummmm ouch, and welcome to Southern California. We had $5,000 deducted from my work paychecks to go into an account to pay for daycare/childcare, trying to get the best bang for our buck and forked over the rest since there wasn't a better way to do it. 

Doctors/Dentists/Medical: Before I break this down, we have fantastic, EXPENSIVE, insurance through my work. Like, when Little dude was born, it cost less than $400 for an unplanned c-section and extended stay in the hospital, good. It's basically a $15 co-pay for everything.

• Little Dude: $411.91

• Lots of ENT appointments over tubes falling out and if we should put them back in. With the Doctor suggesting a delay for swim lesson basics, his body adjusted to life without tubes and now his hearing is fine!
• Cavities: Little dude had two cavities likely because we didn't use toothpaste with him because he didn't like it. Now, he had graduated from starter toothpaste to fluoride cause he spits and doesn't swallow it, and flosses. The dental bill was $211, half of all his medical costs. 
• Hubs: $638.11
• Major one here was the $374.94 we paid for (3) pairs of prescription glasses, and the $60 Costco membership we bought, just to get him glasses. We also spent $145 at the dentist.
• Me: $311.87

• This would be my two dental cleanings this year ($80 each), and me fracturing my foot in October and living on crutches and a walking boot for a month, and my Physical Therapy appointments. I've come along way. 

I think in 2021 i'm going to open a heath HSA account through my work since hubs will need glasses, and we know we will have all three dental visits each year. Now that I have tracking data, I can get a good idea on how much we should put in a HSA to start getting some tax benefits, and I learned that we can roll over $500 from year to year if we don't use it up, so even if I just start with $500, that would likely get used.

The pup: $700.00

• Exciting things like kibble, treats, and grooming visits get her nails cut and her fur washed. 

Internet: $787.88

Propane for our grill: $57.96

Electricity: $752.00

Streaming Services: $101.70 

Audible: $231.92

Cell phones: $306.21

• We use trac phone and have 2 cell phones. We didn't replace our phones this past year, but mine is getting to the point where the internal storage (only 16 gigs) makes programs not run that are helpful because I can only move so much over to the SD card... so 2020 will likely be the year of replacement phones.
• We usually just buy phones through Trac Phone, but since they are all limited to only 16 gigs internal memory, and this is the main issue/problem we have been having, we are considering buying phones with more internal support, and then porting over our phone numbers and getting a service chip for them. 
• Minutes for my phone: $144.87
• Minutes for hubs phone: $108.34
• SD card: $53.00

Fun Money: $760.00

• Usually we get $40 each,  a month, to spend on small things without talking to the other person about it. We halted automatic pocket money when we bought a new car because we had to pull funds out of non-car accounts since we found the car for us a bit earlier then planned and still paid cash, so the math won't add up to $80 a month for the whole year, and we both agreed on this plan since the holidays were coming up and we typically stop buying stuff so we have ideas for presents, lol. 

Vacation: $604.90

• One trip to Utah to visit family. We would have gone twice, but since we bought the new car, Hub's parents came to see us for thanksgiving!
• $91 odds and ends
• $332.30 Food and anniversary dinner
• $181.60 gas and transportation

Housing: $28,380.34 ($18,946.48 before reno stuff)

• Property Taxes: $3,450.65
• Homeowners Insurance / Earthquake Insurance: $643.00
• HOA Fees: $4,410.00
• Mortgage:$10,442.83
• This includes $1,274.83 in additional principal we paid down. 
• Renovation: $9,433.86
• $1,235.80 on 3 more ceiling fans, grinder and tile removal supplies, hall curtains and rod to enclose the laundry/storage area, a new kitchen sink faucet and install of said faucet.  
• $543.06 at Ikea to start some of the living room built in cabinets.... 
• $7,655.00 from Reborn Cabinets

• This was to change all the doors on our kitchen cabinets, add a second pantry, changing some cabinets to drawers, adding some weight bearing open shelves by the window, and just over all, add a bit more function to our kitchen. We also removed a cabinet that was just in the way and served no real purpose. (the one we had to take the doors off of just so I could use it). We did the best bang for our buck on the job. It wasn't everything we wanted, but I couldn't justify $2k for a box around the fridge just to extend that cabinet at the top, lol. We went this route because it would allow us to KEEP the current granite counter tops, which was an expense we didn't want to incur on this property, and we knew we couldn't IKEA this with the current counter top placement. 

 Hiking and Tree Hugging: We like the great outdoors. It's our thing... so it gets its own category. We also shop at REI because we love the ability to try out gear in different circumstances and see if it works for us, or it doesn't. We actually returned a lot of gear this past year because I wasn't happy with a lot of stuff... Packs the rubbed bad on longer hikes... sleeping bags that kept my feet cold cause there was too much dead air in the footbox because it was too long for my short self... things like that. So with that being said.... REI, Take my money:

• $ 62.30 hiking food (trail mix, dried fruit, jerky, wipes, smart water bottles, snacks, trail head expenses
• $ 204.56 Micro Spikes (2); bottom base layer for SCG
• $ 207.50 REI (Shewee, Buff, Socks, Liners, Underwear x2, trowel, dry sacs x2)
• $ 240.12 Micro USB cables (3 pack); Bluetooth speaker; Womens Merino wool base layer; 2 Tick removing tweezers; pack towel; BRS stove; fixed blade knife with sheath; sawyer filter + screw on coupling; Men's exofficio underwear;
• $ 99.90 Possum Merino Wool Gloves (2)
• $ 7.80 Leukotape
• $ 24.80 hiking wallet, 2 water bottle clips
• $ 32.08 Gaiters for Hubs
• $146.29 REI (Women's Exofficio underwear; hotlips; Toaks Pot; 2 inflatable pillows -sea to summit) 
• $ 155.50 Quilt -- used
• $ 288.00 Tent -- used
• $18.27 crocks
• $ 60.00 Thru Pack hip belt/fanny pack
• $ 54.54 Hyperlight food bag
• $ 208.84 cables, go pro-, power bank, hiking underwear x2 hubs,
• -$54.16 Hiking Hat, small items
• $ 25.93 Hiking "cookie" bars; OTC Meds
• $ 17.84 Trail magic
• $ 982.41 20 degree women's bag; Bottom and top base layers; Smaller hiking briefs; 2 sleeping pads - therm-a-rest Neo Air Xlite; 2 ice axes; Fleece boys hoodie---yup, i fit in the kids jacket better than the women's)
• $ 156.02 Dry sack (2); New Hat that does fit better; buff; kids water reservoir; piezo igniter
• $ 53.88 Teva Sandals
• $ 193.05 Osprey Eja 58 Pack - Women's
• -$193.05 RETURN OF PACK
• $64.51 Hip pack for hubs.....
• $90.25 2 pairs of pants / insect repellent
• $ 54.95 Cheap River Country back-packing tent (to see if we like a trecking pole set up)
• $ 44.29 small hiking odds and ends (sunblock, new water bottles, travel sized items, etc)
• $ (322.16) REI Return - My REI Co-op Joule 21 sleeping bag
• $ 292.91 REI - New sleeping bag (shorter!); Hat for hubs, snow stake
• $ (106.54) REI Return - Hub's old day pack REI Coop Train 40
• 297.28 REI - Kids sleeping bag, bag temp guage, air mattress pump, Osprey Stratoes 36 - Hubs
• $ (129.25) REI Return - Hubs Ice Axe
• $ 349.96 different Ice axe, Overnight pack for hubs, axe covers, leashes.
• $ 66.61 Zpacs (food bag); wallet
• $ 109.64 Trowel; (2) 4 litr dry Sac; (2) 13 L Dry Sac
• $ 14.55 (2) Odor proof barrier bags
• $ 56.56 Merino Wool Top - Me
• $ 56.56 Merino Wool Top - Hubs
• $19.39 Sock Liners
• $ 70.57 Shade tent / and Chair
• $ 299.52 Family Tent - REI
• $ 17.21 camping pillow for Eli
• $ 775.05 the triplex
• $ 118.08 REI - Car camping items; shorts for hubs, eye glasses cord, (3) hiking undies on clearance
• $ 77.52 steppers, knife
• $ 30.48 (1) hiking bra; (1) hubs hiking underwear
• -215.45 Sleeping Pad return
• -43.05 Return pad blow up device
• $ 29.99 All Trails
• $ 50.14 REI- Yeti Tumbler
• $69.96 Hub's Tevas
• $ 67.77 Yeti, lid, stickers
• $ 150.72 Big Ag Mat / Pump 

      Total: $5,450.44 ($4,698.37 after our credit card rewards)... 

Now you know what birthdays and Mother's Day / Father's Day gifts were all about.... and why this gets its own category...  and it also included a $775 ultra light back packing tent, which was hubs 1 year without Soda Bet Prize... which probably saved us that much money on dental work, no joke. And we got a family tent since little man is camping age, which helps now for vacation and travel land!

Discretionary: This is everything else folks: $5,414.98

• $281.49   TP, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, etc.
• $419.59   Kitchen and house items, like laundry soap, trash bags, ant spray, sponges, etc.
• $10.74 New years poppers
• $160.55 Ikea area rug
• $ 79.98 Turbo Tax
• $ 7.45 Postage
• $ 4.30 vday cards
• $ 8.42 gorilla tap, velcro dots
• $136.53 Make up sale (lip colors, gloss, and foundation)
• $ 59.99 Home depot cacti
• $ 971.31 Switch, controllers, games, etc
• $ 74.22 Easter Baskets
• $ 25.90 Ear buds (2 pack)
• $ 8.59 Home Depot - utility knife
• $ 16.74 Card / Car Sun Shade
• $ 29.46 Clip on sunglasses
• $ 4.30 Chapstick
• $ 32.31 Watch band, sink stopper
• $ 28.00 2nd Alexa
• $ 58.07 Eco dot holders, (3) pack of arm sleeves for sun coverage; chizzle
• $ 6.22 Home Depot - AC Padding
• $ 10.75 steering wheel covers
• $ 35.27 Cables and a quick charge wall port
• $ 11.16 Book
• 37.18 Power surge strip, etc
• $ 73.97 Cables and HDMI switches for living room 
• $ 195.00 American Cancer Society Donation
• $ 52.86 Cactus pots, flowers, etc.
• $ 100.00 food containers, webcam, splatter guard, CD
• $ 73.83 kickstarter
• $ 10.00 tablet holder for road trip
• $45.9 Harbor Fright
• $ 43.08 Giant games
• $ 28.95 Tram Ticket
• $ 8.00 Tram charge?
• $ 18.29 Car wipers
• $ 103.86 Home Depot
• $ 141.68 Halloween Costumes
• $ 14.95 Star Dew Valley
• $ 234.54 Costco (Freezer items, halloween costume couple tops, random stuff)
• $ 9.67 Silver Hair Spray
• $ 19.49 Halloween Candy
• $ 13.81 Can of Air(2)
• $ 27.74 Bbq replacement part
• $ 40.00 bread bags, roku mount, hot sauce
• $ 27.94 CD Case, Squeeze bottles, spatulas
• $ 379.25 ikea stuff for Little dude's room
• $ 65.06 Stuff to re-fluff the couch
• $ 6.45 Bath Hair Remover drain tools
• $ 88.26 Laundry basket, stocking suffers
• $ 622.54 TARGET ???????
• $ 332.66 WALMART ???????????
• $ 118.68 AMAZON ??????? 

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