The first quarter of 2021 ended. Unlike last year, I find myself more and more optimistic. AHP turned one year old last month and his schedule is getting more and more predictable. We are venturing outside more and more, enjoying the local parks and the trails that our neighborhood offers.
MBP started playing soccer. The “academy” was in our elementary school and we were thinking of more ways for MBP to socialize outdoors. I am 90% sure that we are not going to do this again. MBP was not really into it or perhaps just too young. Majority of the time, he was picking up grass or wants to play with other kids.
Spending
We spent $3,281.87 this month. Ouch!
I tried to deliberately spend a little more money this month because our spending last year was very low and I guess I succeeded!
Food – $902.08
We spent $902.08 on food. We usually spend between $600 – $700 a month. Our grocery spending was higher with more trips to Costco. I also ate quite a bit of fancy easter chocolate candies before easter. Those Lindt bunnies were tasty.
Health Insurance – $657.15
Health insurance for this month was $657.15. The kids are still under apple care because of COVID-19 act (?). I’m not really sure, but I won’t argue with the state plan on this. Mr. MMD and I are paying full premium at bronze level.
Gift – $477.06
We bought an iPhone SE for my mother in law as a birthday present for her. She loves it and it would be another medium for us to face time.
Utilities – $338.99
Utilities clock in at $338.99 this month. Out internet was charged for February and March so it cost twice this month. We paid $28.5 for our cell plan for 2 lines. This was the first time that we used more than 1gb for Xfinity mobile.
Auto – $289.66
We spent $289.96 for car this month. Our car insurance cost $230 for 6 months. This was higher than our last 6 months premium. I don’t know why! I got some other quotes and this was the cheapest. We only have one car and only carry liability. Oh well – maybe it is inflation?
Others are combination of shopping for items ordered from Amazon for some sewing materials. Hobbies are the cost to maintain this blog which includes the annual domain renewal and monthly hosting from Google Cloud Platform. We also bought some treats for our furbaby and paid for our monthly Amazon Prime Subscription.
And here are the detail expenses:
| Categories | Description | Grand Total | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food | Groceries | 707.79 | Higher this month |
| Food | Restaurants | 119.10 | Take out Chinese Food |
| Food | Junk Food | 65.19 | Those Easter Candies! |
| Food | Alcohol & Bars | 10.00 | For Mr. MMD |
| Health | Health Insurance | 657.15 | 2 person at bronze level |
| Gift | Gift | 477.06 | iPhone SE |
| Kids | 529 College Fund | 200.00 | |
| Kids | Kids Activities | 119.87 | 6 weeks of Soccer for MBP |
| Kids | Kids Gadgets | 63.38 | New monitor for MBP |
| Kids | Baby Supplies | 41.23 | Diapers |
| Utilities | Electric and Gas | 158.08 | Hopefully this will go down as it gets warmer |
| Utilities | Internet | 90.00 | 2 months of internet bill |
| Utilities | Sewer | 62.41 | |
| Utilities | Mobile Phone | 28.50 | We used more than 1gb of data! |
| Auto | Service & Parts | 4.50 | Residual from tires |
| Auto | Auto Insurance | 230.00 | 6 months from progressive |
| Auto | Gas & Fuel | 52.46 | Gas |
| Housing | HOA Dues | 73.00 | Annoying HOA |
| Housing | Home Improvement | 4.90 | Something from Lowes |
| Shopping | Shopping | 75.63 | Sewing materials and some other items |
| Hobbies | Books | 13.09 | Atomic Habits was 50% off |
| Hobbies | Hobbies | 12.62 | Blog annual domain renewal |
| Pets | Pet Food & Supplies | 9.36 | Treats |
| Subscription | Subscription | 6.55 | Amazon Prime |
| Grand Total | 3,281.87 |