I started November feeling relief that elections are over. I was not surprised with the result as I am more realistic this time. We also moved to a somewhat red/purple part of Washington State and I actually met people supporting the other party. We are still neighbors and our lives move on. I’m still hopeful, but of course realistic.
On another note, we celebrated Veteran’s Day with our Campfire Troupe and watched Salmon go back upstream to lay their eggs. It was really fascinating. It was my first time seeing salmon in the river and whoa, we did see a bunch of them.
November also brought us to Central Illinois for our annual visit to my in-laws. Our trip is always pretty relaxing. Life in the farm has some advantages. There was no traffic at all. It was quiet and cozy. But it was cold! I can’t imagine living there during the winter. The wind was brutal. We stick to indoor activities like the Children’s Museum, swimming at the local YMCA and staying inside. MBP, his Grandma and myself also watched the Charlie Brown Christmas. It was a good show and MBP really enjoyed it.
For our spending, in November, we spent $3,816. This was on the low end of our spending. Let’s take a look.
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Travel | 849.57 |
| Healthcare/Medical | 613.84 |
| Groceries | 445.05 |
| Education | 356 |
| Gym | 313.91 |
| General Merchandise | 256.88 |
| Utilities | 236.27 |
| Restaurants | 217.73 |
| Kids Activities | 145.57 |
| Automotive | 102.25 |
| HOA | 84 |
| Gasoline/Fuel | 75.75 |
| Home Improvement | 43.96 |
| Mobile Phone | 25.32 |
| Home Maintenance | 15.9 |
| Clothing/Shoes | 14.2 |
| Christmas card | 11 |
| Dues & Subscriptions | 7.65 |
| Online Services | 1.99 |
| Total | 3816.84 |
Travel – $849.57
We rented a van from O’Hare to Central Illinois. Mr. MMD was in charge of renting the car and he paid Enterprise $12/day for the toll fees. It was a mistake because he thought it was for the entire trip. We also paid for gas on our way back.
Healthcare/Medical – $613.84
Our health insurance was high this month. I updated our income based on the previous stock sale so we paid $468.84. I also paid for 4 PT sessions and and a Dr. visit copay. Apparently, I’m still paying for my eye insurance. I didn’t realize that it automatically renew and they make it hard to cancel it. That will be on my to do list.
Education – $356
This is for AHP’s preschool tuition.
Groceries – $445.05
This is really low because we were out for 10 days of the month. We also tried to eat as much of our food in the fridge before we leave for our trip.
Gym – $313.91
This is our monthly membership for the YMCA and Mr. MMD’s Hockey games.
Utilities – $236.27
This is for our electric and gas, water and sewer.
General Merchandise – $256.88
This is catch all for everything else that buy. I should probably try to track this closer.
Restaurants – $217.73
We ate out for during our trip and before our trip. On our way to Central Illinois, we stopped by the Old Route 66 Family Restaurant.
Kids Activities – $145.57
We signed up the kids for the basketball league at the YMCA.
Automotive – $102.25
This is for our annual registration of our Volkswagen Jetta.
HOA – $84
Monthly HOA for our trail maintenance
Gasoline / Fuel – $75.75
Three trips to Costco Gas Station for our Prius.
Home Improvement – $43.96
A trip to Lowes and Ikea. I’m returning some stuff from Ikea.
Mobile Phone – $25.32
This is for our 2 lines of phone using 1GB of data from Xfinity Mobile.
Home Maintenance – $15.9
Mr. MMD ordered a camera that can go on our walls.
Clothing / Shoes – $14.2
We got AHP a Seahawks Beanie from Costco. We will probably get him the youth version.
Christmas Card – $11
We also had our annual picture taken. This is for “shipment fees” of one hardcopy that was included in our package.
Dues and Subscription – $7.65
Our monthly Prime Subscription
Online Services – $1.99
Payment for online hosting for this blog from Google Cloud Platform