My apologies for taking so long to post my May spending report. June has been really busy for me, and to be honest, I’m not so excited about the spending reports these days. I thought the reports were going to show how great I am at living on little money, but instead, they are showing I’m barely capable of taking care of myself. Sigh.
However, since I am not one to quit a project once I’ve started, I will carry on with the spending reports for the rest of 2016. Here’s the report for May 2016.
5-1-16 I thought I’d spent nothing today, then I remembered the autopayment for my phone bill. Total spent: $34.99
5-2-16 Today I left Babylon. Total spent: $69.26
30 cents for 2 gallons of water
$7.44 to Sprouts for Bragg’s liquid aminos (price reflects a 5 cent credit for not using the store’s bag)
$65 for gasoline
$3.79 to Taco Bell for breakfast (I love their potato, egg, and cheese grilled breakfast burritos.)
47 cents to send square Mother’s Day card
5-3-16 Today I bought some food and took a shower. Total spent: $6.73
$6.48 for food
25 cents for hot shower
5-4-16 Today finally got the title and registration on my van taken care of. Total spent: $67.34
$10 for debt repayment (that I do not want to discuss)
$1.20 for money order
$55.50 for van title and registration
64 cents to McDonald’s for ice cream in celebration of the van’s title and registration
5-5-16 Laundry was today’s big activity Total spent: $14.85
$5.50 to wash and dry my clothes
$7.36 for pizza buffet (including tip)
$1.99 for ice
5-6-16 I bought plastic drawers at a thrift store, in hopes of better organizing the van. Total spent: $5.50
5-7-16 Today I bought some more groceries and took another shower. Total spent: $4.92
$4.67 to grocery store from ice, cheese, and eggs
25 cents for hot shower
5-8-16 Nothing spent
5-9-16 Today I paid off a portion of the debt I incurred when I had to rent a room during my time working scoring student responses to standardized tests. Total spent: $102.77
$100 to folks who loaned me money
$1.20 to post office for money order
$1.57 to mail free coloring book to my friend’s kid
5-10-16 Today I sent a small gift to a friend who’d recently had surgery. Total spent: $27.11
$2.12 to Family Dollar for colored pencils
$24.99 to post office to mail packet to friends and for 60 postcard stamps
5-11-16 Every time I go into town, I spent money. I need to learn to stay in the wilderness. Total spent: $35.55
$1.99 for ice and $1.11 for food to grocery store
$30 gas
$2.45 to mail jewelry order
5-12-16 Finally, nothing spent
5-13-16 I went to the post office again today, and stocked up on inexpensive food at the discount market. Total spent: $6.17
$1.57 to send free coloring book to a different friend’s kid
$4.60 to discount market
5-14-16 Today I hit the road, heading to my summer job. Total spent: $99.51
$6.11 to grocery store for food and ice
$37.50 to Wal-Mart for supplies
$55.90 to Circle K for gas and a slushy
5-15-16 Today I made it to the overnight stopping point of my trip. I arrived early in the afternoon, so I took care of some errands. Total spent: $115.57
$41.98 to Pilot for gas and coffee
$42.37 to TA for gas and (possibly the worst tasting I’ve ever encountered) ice
$4.50 to wash and dry my clothes
$1.72 for dinner (at McDonald’s so I could use the free WiFi and an electrical outlet)
$25 for haircut, including tip (which was way more than I’d planned to spend)
5-16-16 Today I made it to Babylon on my way up the mountain. I bought the rest of the supplies I needed to start my summer job. Total spent: $189.72
$45 for gas
$24.40 to Trader Joe’s for food
$17.17 to Wal-Mart for supplies (that I couldn’t find at the last Wal-Mart I stopped at)
$64.49 to Dick’s Sporting Goods for the privacy tent where I will take my showers this summer
$3.66 for a delicious meal at Del Taco
And I just remembered, I got an oil change at Jiffy Lube before I went up the mountain. The receipt must be with my maintenance records. I’m too tired to trudge out to the van, so let’s call it $35.
5-17-16 Today I rode with my co-worker to job training. We stopped a couple of places before and after. Total spent: $5.63
$1.29 for a bottle of cold water
$4.34 to Dollar Tree for C batteries to power my small fan
5-18-16 I rode with my co-worker to training again today. He needed to stop in town, so I ran into Dollar Tree and bought cooking spray for the inside of the pit toilets. Total spent: $2
5-19 through 5-22-16 I spent four days on the mountain with nothing to buy. Nothing spent
5-23-16 Today was my day off. I went to Babylon and spent money. Total spent: $427.63 (WHAT?!?!? I had to check my math. But yes, I paid off one debt and paid on another and ended up spending over $400 in one day.)
79 cents for pumpkin empanada at Mexican supermarket
$1.09 to Taco Bell for breakfast (What can I say? I was still hungry.)
$4.34 to Dollar Tree for Supplies
$14.37 for groceries and ice
$6.02 to Little Caesar’s for Pizzaa
$1.99 to post office to mail…something.
$3.28 to Target for hair gel (After paying $25 for a haircut, I figured maybe I should do something to make it look good, or at least as good as possible.)
$46.94 to Wal-Mart for supplies
$2.25 for water
$4.50 to wash and dry clothes
$1.40 to Wal-Mart to pay for two money orders
$100 on repayment of debt I will not discuss
$225 to pay off debt for room I had to rent while working (see 5-9-16)
$20 for graduation present
5-24-16 I headed back up the mountain today. Total spent: $32.24
$30.35 for gas
$1.89 for coffee
5-25 through 5-30-16 I spent five days on the mountain with nothing to buy. Nothing spent
5-31-16 Today I went to the closest outpost of civilization to use the internet. I felt as if I should support the store where I was utilizing the internet (and I needed ice anyway), so I bought ice and lunch there. Total spent: $8
$3 for ice
$5 for lunch
Total spent in May: $1,255.49
Depressing! I was much happier to be in denial and think I was frugal.
For anyone who may have forgotten and for folks who just recently began reading my blog, one of my goals for 2016 is to keep a record of every penny I spend this year. Each month I give a report on what I bought and how much I spent in the previous month.
To find out how this project came about, go here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2015/12/31/spending/.
Other spending reports can be found here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/01/spending-report-for-january-2016/, here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/03/01/spending-report-for-february-2016/, here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/04/02/spending-report-for-march-2016/, and here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/05/01/spending-report-for-april-2016/.