My Cost of Living in the Austin, TX Metro Area-January 2022
Investing $2026 USD
I keep my monthly investments exactly the same when I don’t get any monthly commission. My job has a 4% 401k match and I am also investing in my Vanguard brokerage account and a new Wealthfront brokerage account.
About $626 is invested into my Roth 401k, $1,000 into my Vanguard brokerage which completely goes into the Total Stock Market ETF, and $400 into Wealthfront that is in an aggressive investing fund mostly made up of stocks.
Savings $2000
I decided to save $2,000 to me and my husband’s house savings fund. We are under contract for new home that is scheduled to completed in the summer.
Rent & Utilities $1154
My husband and I now split the rent and utilities of a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment in the Austin Texas metro area. This total includes my portion of our rent/sewage/water as well as our electricity bill and apartment insurance. This month’s bill was $1 more than last month’s.
Groceries $384
I recently started ordering food through Hello Fresh through a promotion rom a co-worker. The majority of my lunch and dinner meals are from Hello Fresh, and I get the rest of my breakfast and pantry items from HEB grocery (the best grocery store in Texas). I expected my grocery bill to be above $400 this month so I’m doing really well. I’m not monitoring my grocery spending too closely anymore.
Charitable Giving $135
This month I made my quarterly donation to a child I’m sponsoring in Kenya, and my monthly $36 donation to another child that I’m also sponsoring from Kenya. This is something that I’ve been doing for over two years and I write the young girls letters throughout the years.
Subscriptions $40
I am subscribed to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and pay membership fees to two YouTube creators that I love to watch. I’d say that this is worth it because my husband and I have favorite shows on different subscriptions and this is a very small price to pay for entertainment when it’s not safe to go outside due to COVID-19.
General Merchandise $382
This spending went down quite a bit from the previous two months. Whoo hoo! This spending includes some winter clothes, household items, some new clothing items for my daughter and other random items for our apartment.
Restaurants $129
This month I made up for no restaurant spending the previous month. I enjoyed a take out lunch from Chili’s with my husband as well as pizza from Dominos. Both of these meals purchases lasted for two or more meals and was worth it having a lunch ‘date’ with my husband when we both don’t get to go out like we used to now that we have a baby at home.
Debt Payoff $300
This goes toward my low-interest personal loan. I have increased the monthly payment by $60 to chop down this debt much quicker. I’m still considering paying it off completely by the end of this year with my commission money.
Dependent $184
This cost is for diapers alone. I order a specific brand of diapers that is scent free, has no additives, and is much softer than other common diapers and therefore gentler on her skin. I bought two boxes of diapers that get delivered straight to our door.
Healthcare $56
This cost is for a 3-month supply of birth control pills. Right after I got birth, I got a Depo birth control shot that lasted for 3 months. After that, I started using birth control again. My husband and I are considering other long term methods in the future but for now this is what we are using.
In conclusion…
In the entire month of January, I invested and spent a grand total of….$6790 USD. I’m happy with this number because I spent money on what was important to me and my families health and happiness. I also saved money towards our house fund. So I consider it a win. 🙂
Do you track your spending? If so, tell me how you do so and I’d be happy to hear from you!
