Mrs 15 HWW always told me that January is the period when she would feel poor and fat. Which I tend to disagree openly and agree quietly. 😉 There’s her birthday, her dad’s birthday, her uncle’s birthday, new year celebrations and this year, even CNY celebrations came early too in January. In short, it’s a month of spending and feasting.
I don’t think I am a tightwad and I have been even pretty nonchalant about budgeting. Although I record expenses religiously, I have rarely put off an expense just because I feel we have been spending too much. (At least not openly.) But boy was I shocked when I tallied up the expenses for this month.
$5,013! That’s at least $1,000 more than the average! But then not surprising after you have seen the detailed and bloodied breakdown for this month’s expenses:
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Eating Out: $742.55
Hawker ($262.50) – Considerably high since there was a week when I was on course and all the lunches were provided for. I have even gained a kg from that before CNY even came.
Fast Food ($37.60) – Bulk of it was spent on a weekday dinner with my brother and wife at Subway
Restaurants ($442.45.) – Two main contributors. A birthday treat for my father-in-law at Uncle Leong’s seafood where we feasted on some crabs and a TCC treat for 4 since we get a 50% discount on Mrs 15 HWW’s birthday month.
Groceries: $308.75
Supermarket ($211.15) – Drinks and tidbits. CNY is the time to stock up on these processed food since they are way cheaper during this period. Also bought ingredients for 2 steamboats.
Wet Market ($75) – Some expensive prawns, sotong and meat
Bakery ($22.60) – Starting to become a habit to buy my breakfast at Maxwell market before I go to work.
Beverages & Snacks: $11.80
Beverages ($4.30) – A couple of afternoon teas
Snacks ($7.50) – A couple of cheap waffles and Mr Bean ice-cream
Utilities: $130.16
Electricity, Gas & Water ($71.43) – With the cold weather, air con usage went to almost zero.
Cellphones ($58.73) – Two M1 iPhone Value+ plans with no excess usage.
Transport: $171
1 cab trip, 2 EZ Reload transactions for her and 1 for me.
Departmental: $320.60
Clothing ($307.60) – A dress for Mrs 15HWW, some basic tops and bottoms for me from Uniqlo and I got a couple of tops for my brother too
Personal Items ($13) – A new padded sole for my shoes and some toiletries from Watsons.
Miscellaneous: $1350.80
Others ($878.80) – About $100 for CNY goodies and Ang Baos in excess of $700 make up the bulk of this section
Gifts ($446.00) – A wedding dinner attended by the both of us, a birthday treat for a friend, a present for my father-in-law
Entertainment ($26.00) – A karaoke session in JB! Had a wonderful time but my wife had to deal with my deaf-tone singing. Oops.
Insurance/Medical: $7
A visit to the doctor early in the month.
Total: $3,042.66
Overall Total: $5,012.66 (included fixed expenses of $1,970)
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Hi hww
I think it is clear that the excess comes mainly from the $700 angbao which in other months you would not hv incurred (unless you generously give angbao to everyone every month ;)).
So no worries and I think you r doing great. I spent quite a fair bit on the month of january as well.
Hi B,
Thanks for the kind words. =)
Actually, even without the ang bao, it’s still considerably high at $4,300. But CNY played a big part in jacking up overall expenses. The new clothes, goodies and steamboat etc.
Just got to cut down slightly in the months ahead, if possible.
Hi M15HWW,
Happy new year gong xi fa cai!
Is your ang bao netted? Did you take ang bao out flow – ang bao inflow?
Wow after reading your expenses, I now feel so glad I stay with my parents. I reckon if I stayed by ourselves, our expense would increase by about 1k. Due to eating out, utilities, additional insurance, etc.
Hi ERSG,
I didn’t receive much ang baos. Just one from parents in law. Guess it’s either we have less relatives or we are not as generous as you. =p
When we stayed with our parents, our expenses were also much lower. Able to save almost 70% of our salaries easily then.