2008 Expense Wrap-up

So, today I took a few minutes to analyze my spending in 2008. Luckily, my credit union gives me very detailed expense reports, from which I can review over a year's worth of transactions. Unfortunately, my major bank does not do this. In fact, I can only retrieve 3 months of transactions, none of which are organized. For this quick analysis, it's ok, as I only use my major bank for my necessities (school related costs, gas, groceries, etc.), so there isn't much I can do about those expenses anyway, and that account is sometimes supplemented by my parents to help me through school. (I have started using an export tool so I can track this information better in 2009 and beyond)

My credit union is where my credit card is run through, and it includes all of my personal spending: travel, gifts, restaurants, entertainment, miscellaneous expenses, etc.

The breakdown is as follows:

Major Category Summary	Purchases	Amount	% of Total
Travel	14	592.90	12.72%
Restaurant	64	1,430.86	30.69%
Merchandise	23	687.43	14.75%
Automotive	20	404.31	8.67%
Education	9	604.00	12.96%
Other	34	942.17	20.21%
Totals	164	4,661.67	100.00%

Obviously, my restaurant spending makes up a huge portion of my spending. This is something I am trying to control, and I know that 2009 will be better as my girlfriend is out of the country for 5 months, and a vast majority of this spending comes from dinners with her. We both enjoy going out to eat for the food and the atmosphere, and it is tough for us to cook for each other, as she is a vegetarian and I am a meat lover. I pay for most of these meals, as evident by my spending. With her gone for awhile my restaurant spending will consist of some stops at Subway or takeout pizza with friends - which will reduce this total drastically.

Other: What does all this stuff mean? Well, it appears to be mostly entertainment. I love sports, and go to lots of games (buying the cheapest tickets and sitting in the nosebleeds of course). My girlfriend and I also enjoy going to movies (we've cut down on that quite a bit in favor of cheaper rentals), plays, musicals, concerts, etc. so those also make up a chunk of this total. For 2009, this category will remain mostly the same, although about $100 of 2008's totals include a new cell phone which shouldn't be necessary in 09, which will help this area.

The next largest category is Merchandise, which isn't the best description for these purchases, but they amount to: some groceries, some merchandise (clothes and other miscellaneous items), some iTunes charges, and a number of gifts. There isn't a ton of wiggle room in this category.

Education: Includes a few of my books, a few tickets to football/basketball/hockey games through the university (misleading of course, but hey, I'll count em as education expenses), a couple of parking tickets :( , and some standard student fees. In 2009, this should drop a bit as I likely wont have as much time for sporting events, have hopefully solved my parking issues on campus, and have been working to cut down on my book costs.

Travel: I love to travel, and hope to see all corners of this Earth before my time is up. I know that this will always be a large expense for me, and I am okay with it. My experiences, limited as they are now, are my greatest memories and I firmly believe in spending money on experiences rather than material 'things.' This total only includes hotel stays and a few bus tickets here and there from our stays in Canada, Chicago, and Mackinac Island. Travel spending amounts to much more of this, as we eat out, visit museums/touristy things, gas, etc., which helps explain higher restaurant, automotive, and entertainment expenses. This year will be more expensive, because of the cruise, and we will also try to fit in a couple of other weekend trips.

Automotive: gas, oil changes, a new window. Real fun stuff. $400 and this isn't anywhere near my total for gas, as I almost always use my other card from my major bank for my gas costs. I am held hostage to the gas prices on this one! $4 a gallon was killing me, hopefully lower gas prices are here to stay for awhile (although I generally support a high gas tax to encourage the growth of mass transit in my area). But, for the time being, there are no feasible transit options besides driving, and I do a lot of it. I drive home often, roadtrips, and my girlfriend's school is 60 miles away, so for now, it is what it is. Upon graduation next year, I intend to live and work downtown, which should massively cut this time and money consuming habit.

So, there it is, most of my spending for 2008. I will make a lot more money in 2009, and should still be able to cut some of these costs, although I imagine my total will increase a bit for the year - which is ok. I am happy as long as my saving % increases, and I am able to meet my savings goals (IRA, savings bonds, CD, stocks, and cash) which I briefly outlined in a previous post.

Wow, long post - can you tell I am ALREADY procrastinating on my school work?!?