We had a busy November ending with a nasty germs that took our household. As of today, Mr. MMD is recovering from some nasty cough. A week before I had a pink eye with some mild fever beforehand. The boys also have a never ending snot.

Aside from the germs, we had a good November. We had our annual holiday picture taken this month at JC Penney. I purchased a groupon deal that includes 3 Digital Images and 1 print out. The photographer was really trying to upsell us this time, but I stick with the 3 digital images. It was an easy decision because there weren’t a lot of good images to choose from. The photographer was not very good with the kids. I was lucky to get 1 good family shot.

We also went to the Zoo this month. We got our tickets from Camp Fire. MBP is part of it and they gave out free tickets to the Zoo. They also got a badge by completing some of the scavenger hunt. The zoo already have some lanterns at the time and they are starting to decorate for the holidays.

The kids also met Santa at the Bass Pro Shop. We got a free photo print out and a “movie”. It is unfortunate that they don’t give out a free digital image. It was my first time visiting the store. It is huge like an REI, but catered more towards hunters, fisherman.

We were also in Central Illinois for 9 days, visiting family. We flew direct to Chicago and drove for almost 3 hours to Bloomington area. The kids are pro at travel by now and did great. In Illinois, the kids were able to run around the corn field, visit the Children’s Museum and spent some quality time with their grandparents.

In terms of finances, this month we spent $3,672. This is the first time that our spending was lower than $4k. I also started using Empower, aka Personal Capital to track our spending. I’ve been using Mint for this blog, but Intuit is sunsetting the app, so I’m switching to Empower. We use Empower to track our net worth so all our accounts are there anyway, but it is also more granular on categories. Anyway, here it is…

Healthcare/Medical – $741.24

Mr. MMD had a colonoscopy this month and paid $350 copay. I’m sure there are more bills to come next year or so. I also purchased a transition glasses from Zenni. It was very affordable at $145.24. I’ll write a review after a couple of months of usage. My doctor’s office was about to charge me $400+ for the same glasses. I paid $164 for my eye exam for a new eye prescription. Mr. MMD had a prescription co-pay of $100 after his colonoscopy as well. I also took MBP to an eye doctor to get his vision check. The doctor doesn’t seem concern with his vision. I’m hoping that none of my kids will ever need some glasses.

Groceries – $632

We usually spend $800+ on groceries. This is low because we were visiting family for 9 days and they fed us for free!

Travel – $352

We rented a car through Costco for $349. $4 are for the tolls.

Education – $323

Monthly preschool tuition for AHP. He goes 5 days a week for almost 3 hours.

Home Improvement – $258

I bought 2 apple trees and 3 blueberry bushes to be planted in Spring for $255.31. There is also some charges at Lowes for $2.50

Electronics – $252

Mr. Mmd bought a new monitor for his computer.

Health Insurance – $145.98

Our health insurance is $99.58. Dental Insurance is for $41.4 and my eye insurance is $5.

Utilities – $251

Our gas and electric bill were $137. Sewer were $67 and water were $48. All normal for the month.

General Merchandise – $148

I bought a latex pillow at Latexforless for $75.56 and another slim latex pillow at Amazon for $32.81. I also bought a couple of books at goodwill for our book club book and wine exchange and some bath soap for the boys on subscription from Amazon was delivered this month.

Health Insurance – $146

Our monthly health insurance for $99.58, dental insurance for 41.4 and my vision insurance for $5.

Restaurants – $146

We ate out on our travel days. We also had a take out from our favorite teriyaki place one day.

General Merchandise – $114

This is a catch all of everything else. I bought 2 books from Goodwill for a book exchange for our book club. I also bought 2 new pillows, one from latex from less and another one from Amazon. So far, both are good.

Automotive – $97

This is the annual tab renewal of our 2010 Volkswagen Jetta

Gas – $93

Majority of this were from our trip to Central Illinois.

HOA – $79

Monthly HOA. This will increase to $84 next year

Christmas Cards – $66

I printed out our Christmas cards from Canva. I also got some stamps from USPS and the shipping fee from JC Penney of our Christmas photo.

Gym – $43

I registered for a 5k run here in our neighborhood which will happen in December.

Kids Activities – $35

The kids got some books from scholastic. We also got free tickets from the Woodland Park Zoo, but paid for parking.

Mobile Phone – $17.2

We only used 1 GB of data for this billing.

Pets/ Pet care – $15

I used the Instacart credits and purchased our furbaby her dog food. This is usually $70+.

Dues / Subscription – $7.65

Monthly Prime subscription.

Hobbies – $2.01

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