December 2020 Budget Breakdown

Hello everyone! If you’re new to my blog, at the beginning of each month I take a look at the previous month to see what I saved, invested, and spent. I’m in the beginning stages of my journey to reach early retirement and reach financial independence. A great way to do this is by tracking your expenses, which I do with a great platform called Personal Capital which is completely free to use. I have all of my checking accounts, credit cards, Roth IRA, and brokerage account linked to it which makes it easy to get a birds-eye view of my spending and saving habits.

If you missed my November 2020 budget breakdown you can read that by clicking here. This month my spending was lower than the previous month (phew). That is because, in November, I spent more than usual to pay deposits and application fees for a new apartment with my partner. I didn’t do any traveling during the holiday season and stayed at home.

Investing $2,600 USD

This month I invested $1,000 into my Vanguard brokerage account which is done automatically at the end of the month. I setup recurring monthly transfers so there wouldn’t be any urge to not invest one month. I want to make my investing is easy as possible to not create any friction. About 90% of it goes towards the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) and about 10% goes into the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND). I just buy shares based on the dollar amount after the amount has been automatically transferred from my savings account.

I also made a $1,600 lump sum investment to meet my Roth IRA’s $6,000 limit for 2020. Now that it is fully funded, I will start putting money into my 2021 Roth IRA as a lump sum in January with my commission check. That way my Roth IRA will already be funded and I can focus on investing in my brokerage accounts that I can tap into before the age of 59 1/2.

Clothing/Personal Gifts $248

This category is made up of the gifts that I bought for myself for meeting my savings and investing goals for 2020. Sometimes I can find myself being crippled and hesitant to purchase nice things for myself. I decided to buy myself some quality clothing, a new hypoallergenic body scrubber, and a quality set of towels. I had been wanting to buy the specific set of towels for over 6 months and decided that it was the perfect time to do so.

Rent & Utilities $314.29

This month’s rent and utilities came out to be much, much lower than the previous month. My husband and I split the last week of rent at our old apartment, and I paid for our electricity, sewer, and water bill. We are getting the month of January free for rent at our new place.

Groceries $369

This month I managed to come below my $400 monthly grocery budget. The switch to the cheaper grocery store near my new apartment has definitely paid off. I stick to mainly shopping the store brand and even bought some extra purchases such as pies and cakes for the holidays that I wouldn’t normally buy. I’m hoping to get this down even lower next month.

Charitable Giving $36

I always give $36 per month to Save the Children which helps sponsor a smart, adorable girl in Kenya. This money goes towards providing her and her family with clean water, school fees, and school supplies. I plan to write to her and her family again soon to make sure they are staying safe during these tough times.

Subscriptions $130

This category includes my Netflix subscription, Amazon prime membership, and a monthly payment to support two YouTubers that I enjoy watching. I also paid my $95 yearly fee for my Chase Sapphire Preferred card that I use for my grocery and online spending. I use the points and get more value out of it so as of now it is still worth me having this card.

General Merchandise $639

This month I went a little Amazon crazy. But, tis the season for giving and buying household supplies!!! After reviewing exactly what I ordered, I can see that I purchased a belt for my husband, a silverware divider, dryer sheets, a trash can for our bathroom, doormats, massage oil, a queen mattress for our guest room/office room, a mattress cover, a proper desk for me to work from (bye-bye kitchen table), a new comforter, two sets of bed sheets for our bed, and a more comfortable pillow. I also preordered a digital watch from Wyze that only costs $29.99 and had some features that I wanted in a watch. I expect to receive it in January. Whoo, what a list!

Healthcare $6.71

This was a copay that I made for getting bloodwork done. My health insurance covered the majority of it.

Restaurants $19.75

My husband and I made one visit to our favorite chicken wing restaurant on a Saturday. It was definitely worth it!

Debt Payoff $240

This goes toward my low-interest personal loan. I plan on paying this off in under two years. But for now, I’m paying slightly more than the monthly payments. I brought down the amount a bit because I expect to pay this off as a lump sum towards the end of 2021 or early 2022.

In conclusion…

December was a good month for me. Even though I ended up staying at home (as usual) and didn’t travel due to COVID-19 lockdowns, I took some time off to reflect and enjoy spending time with my husband.

In total, my investing, saving, and spending this month came to a grand total of….$4602.75 USD.

Do you track your spending? If so, tell me how you do so and I’d be happy to hear from you!