The kids went back to school this September and we happily adjusted back to some routine. This month was full of back to school activities arrange by our wonderful PTA. I was also able to see a dermatologist, had an acupuncture and some physical therapy while the kids were in school. I have some mole that I wanted to get check and luckily found a dermatologist that can see me within a month time frame. I drove about an hour for this, but at least I have some sort of a baseline and will just need to have an annual routine exam.

I’ve also been dealing with some back and neck pain. I spent all of August doing some yoga stretches. My doctor recommended some form of physical therapy after my X-ray showed some form of arthritis. So far, I really liked my PT. I also went back to the gym for some strength training. I try to go 4 times a week, with an upper day and a lower day. I think the gym and the PT combination is going really well. I’m feeling less and less aches and pain. I have this goal of being able to do a pull ups by the end of the year. I’m optimistic, but we will see.

We also took the kids to their very first husky game. I forgot how much I enjoy watching live games. We stayed in Seattle for the weekend as well and stayed with our longtime friend. We took the kids to the University bookstore and got our purple gears on. MBP already had a jersey that I got from goodwill. He got a football instead. We had lunch at a Gyro place that I frequented back in the days and then we got some bubble tea. We walk from the campus to the stadium so the kids had a “tour” of the campus. It was a beautiful day, the fountain was up, the sun was out and both kids walk the entire time. We didn’t even have to carry AHP. During the game, AHP was giving high fives to other husky fans. MBP decided to root against the husky and had a melt down when the huskies got a touch down. Huskies eventually won and MBP decided to cheer for them after half time.

On to our expenses. It was an expensive month that costed us: $8,301. Let’s take a look.

Description	Amount
Healthcare/Medical	2,913.48
Travel	937.80
Groceries	686.52
Home Improvement	664.27
Kids Activities	584.89
Gym	516.91
Restaurants	454.56
Education	377.44
Clothing/Shoes	294.95
General Merchandise	249.35
Dues & Subscriptions	137.65
Utilities	126.47
Automotive	122.11
HOA	84.00
Gasoline/Fuel	77.67
Home Maintenance	30.02
Mobile Phone	25.26
Internet	9.95
Gifts	5.75
Online Services	2.03
Grand Total	8,301.08

Healthcare/Medical – $2,814

The main expense is for a full body MRI from Prenuvo. They are opening up an office in Seattle this December and I signed up for it. This is mainly to appease my anxiety and to address some aches and pains and constant sickness that I’ve been having. The cost of the exam is $2,499. It is fully refundable, 72 hours before your appointment. Mine is not until December, so I have a couple of months to think if I will push through it. The main complications is having a false positive diagnosis. I also spent $150 for 6 sessions of physical therapy. I have a $25 copay, every session, up until 25 sessions. I also spent $145 for various copays from doctors, dermatologists, and x-ray. I paid $15 for an acupuncture copay. I paid $99.48 for our health insurance and $5 for my eye insurance. The vision insurance should end this October.

Travel – $937

I booked our flights for our annual visit to Illinois, this November. This is always a fun visit and we spend Thanksgiving there.

Groceries – $686.52

This is a little lower. Maybe because we ate out more this month.

Home Improvement – $664

Mr. MMD replaced our pedestal sink downstairs. It cracked. We purchased a vanity from Lowes and paid to dispose the old sink. He also built some shelves for the shed.

Kids Activities – $584

These are various kid activities like soccer, ice skating, Campfire dues and other school related items. The non school related item that is here are the tickets to Polar Express Holiday train ride. I’ve been meaning to check this out and a bunch of family from Campfire will do this with us. This should be fun!

Gym – $516

Our monthly gym membership for the YMCA is $166. The rest are for hockey for Mr. MMD.

Restaurants – $454

We’ve been eating out almost weekly. For September, we were in Seattle for a husky game, so we ate out for lunch, dinner and brunch the next day. We also pay for concession foods at the husky game.

Education – $377

Monthly preschool tuition for AHP for $356. He goes everyday for 3 hours. I also paid for our PTA membership for MBP’s school.

Clothing/Shoes – $294

I bought some shoes for MBP, and clothes for me from Amazon. We also went to the mall and got the kids some clothes from a brick and mortar store. It actually feels weird buying things from an actual store now since I buy almost all of our clothes online or at Costco.

General Merchandise – $249

The biggest expense is our merch (t-shirt) items for the husky game. Mr. MBP, myself and AHP got some husky gear and MBP got his husky football. These are not cheap. I got MBP’s husky jersey from Goodwill for $3.99, while our t-shirts from the University Bookstore were $30 each. The rest of the items are various stuff from Amazon, Walmart and Costco.

Dues and Subscription – $137

We renewed our Costco Executive Gold Membership for $130. Costco is our nearest grocery store and we go at least once a week. We get 2% back which pays for the cost of the membership. The other $7 is for Amazon Prime.

Utilities – $126

This is only for sewer and water. I think I forgot to pay our electric and gas last month.

Automotive – $122

Oil change for our Prius and a $40 parking payment for the husky game.

HOA – $84

Neighborhood HOA to maintain our trails and playgrounds.

Gasoline / Fuel – $77

3 trips to Costco for gas. I’ve been driving more lately with the trip to PT and the gym. The kids also has more activities this year outside the neighborhood.

Home Maintenance – $30

Some stuff from Amazon for our house.

Mobile Phone – $25

Our monthly cell phone bill for 2 lines using 1gb of data. This used to be under $20, but Xfinity Mobile increase their rate. This is still way cheaper than our old T-mobile line 5 years ago.

Internet – $9.95

This is our monthly internet bill.

Gifts – $5

MBP’s friend broke his knee while playing in the monkey bar. We got him some get well balloons and coloring book.

Other Expenses – $2.04

My bill from Google Cloud Platform for this blog.