November is surprisingly an inexpensive month for us. Most of what we buy are starting to become a routine, with the exception of those one time expenses.
Our November Spending is $3,512.61
Health Care
Health insurance is still the biggest expense for this month and will continued on until December. With our projected low income next year, my research suggest that we will received a substantial subsidy for our health insurance. I’m still finalizing the details of our next year’s insurance. To that note, I maxed out my out of pocket expense this month. I have a maximum out of pocket expense of $3k for the plan year. My health insurance is covered through March until it resets for another year. In theory, I can keep this until February to cover for all child birth expenses. This is part of the reason that I’m still finalizing our insurance for next year. We also have to buy some iron and vitamin c supplements. My 28 week blood draw showed that I am slightly anemic.
Food
Groceries are surprisingly cheap considering that we hosted Thanksgiving for 8 people. We kept it simple with Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry and rolls with pumpkin pie for dessert. We also bought some beer for the occasion. My father received either a free turkey or ham from his work. My family is not a fan of turkey, but since this is one of the rare times that we are in town and celebrating Thanksgiving, he asked for a Turkey and gave it to us to cook. My husband cooked all Thanksgiving food and my parents brought some traditional Filipino food. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful meal while watching football and MBP singing “You Are My Sunshine” with his Ukelele.
Our eating out is limited as well. There’s just no good restaurants in the area. MBP is pretty happy with Costco/ Food Court and Happy Meal food. I really miss the restaurants in Seattle, especially the Dimsum places that MBP loves.
Utilities
Our utilities are low because our garbage and water bill are paid every two months. We only have to pay for sewer, electric and gas for this month. The change in weather definitely reflected in our gas bill since we are heating more. It is still cheaper than our old oil furnace in our old house in Seattle. Our Electric and Internet remain constant for the most part. Our cell phone bills from Xfinity for 2 lines is still $18.24. This is very low since we never go over 1 GB of data.
Gym
We are still a member of the Y. MBP is still enrolled on swim lessons twice a week and gymnastics on Saturdays. This is something that we’re evaluating since we’ve missed some classes. For now, it will be in auto pay. MBP still goes at least twice a week, so we will see.
Kids
The only expense that MBP added this month is his class photo for $35. Other than that, we didn’t have to buy him anything aside from food of course!
December will most likely double this with presents and some other “one-time” expenses. So far though, we’re happy with the November expenses and surprised on how low it is, considering.
And here’s our expenses for the month of November
| Description | Amount | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Health Insurance | 1,387.24 | A couple more months in COBRA. |
| Groceries | 589.24 | |
| 529 College Fund | 400.00 | I put this as an "expense" since it is alloted to MBP's college fund. |
| Doctor | 255.98 | Some more doctor bills |
| Utilities | 155.04 | Only Gas, Electric and Sewer are paid this month |
| Gym | 115.00 | |
| Shopping | 89.86 | We bought some external hard drive and some other stuff |
| Gas & Fuel | 83.65 | |
| HOA Dues | 68.25 | |
| Pharmacy | 58.61 | Iron and Vitamin Supplements + Laxatives |
| Internet | 49.95 | |
| Education | 49.00 | My Ethics class for my continuing education requirement to remain a CPA |
| Household Supplies | 37.15 | Anything else aside from Groceries |
| Kids | 35.00 | MBP's class photo. Cost 50% less than in Seattle |
| Restaurants | 26.08 | Food Court |
| Alcohol & Bars | 24.88 | Thanksgiving Beverage |
| Fast Food | 19.18 | Happy Meal |
| Mobile Phone | 18.24 | 2 lines from Xfinity Mobile |
| Hobbies | 17.99 | Another domain name that should have been expired |
| Pet Food & Supplies | 16.38 | |
| Makeup/Toiletries | 6.29 | |
| Books & Supplies | 5.04 | I paid a fine from the library |
| Gift | 3.99 | Wedding Card |
| Electronics and Software | 0.57 | AWS monhly fee to host this blog, which is sooo cheap! |
| Grand Total | 3,512.61 |
Tell me, how was your November?