We spent about $4,250 in March and it was actually another rather frugal month by our standards. If we excluded the $700 that we paid for the day trips in Melbourne, the number would be much closer to $3,500. After including this month’s expenditure, we have still managed to lower our average expenditure this year slightly to $4,371.
This also means that when we take our trip in May, there’s only accommodation and the daily expenses to deal with. So the expenditure is unlikely to explode in that month when we “amortise” the trip like this.
But it’s notable that we have used up half of the $5,000 buffer we have given ourselves. We are definitely not on track in keeping within $42,000 this year.
Eating Out: $607.30
Hawker ($181.10) – Another month of hawker expenses falling below $200 as the cooking habit during weekday lunches is sticking.
Fast Food ($55.50) – A couple of Burger Up treats to some of my students, a meal at Mos Burger and a Mac breakfast with the Mrs.
Restaurants ($370.70) – Still a manageable 10 entries and 3 were spent at Tung Lok. Had another good meal at Putien that was close to $100 that jacked up the spending.
Groceries: $279.30
Supermarket ($200.30) – A big shopping spree at Giant and Ikea earlier in the month and plenty of trips to the nearby NTUC to stock up on fruits, vegetables, eggs and some frozen fish. Not to forget some Haagen Daaz ice-cream.
Wet Market ($79) – Due to rain, market closure and “a lack of motivation”, I only ran to the wet market twice this week. Each trip is about $40. $10 for chicken, $15 for veg and another $15 for seafood.
Beverages & Snacks: $7.60
Beverages ($7.60) –2 cups of Koi
Utilities: $186.59
Electricity, Gas & Water ($90.04) – Electricity usage was at a lower 245kWh for this month. 41KWh of gas and 7.9 Cu M of water meant the bill added up to $95.15.
Cellphones ($96.55) – $51.55 for me and $45 for the Mrs for our mobile services. Mine comes with upsized data.
Transport: $150
2 EZ Reload transaction for the Mrs and one for me.
Departmental: $283.70
Clothes ($111.70) – I bought a Down jacket in preparation for our upcoming Melbourne trip. Some long pants for the Mrs and me too.
Books ($172) – The average work expenses for the Mrs and I are quite high. On average, we are spending at least $100 a month on books for our students. Perhaps it would be fairer to strip them away so that I can stick to the budget?
Miscellaneous: $1,054.80
Medical ($214) – A trip to the dentist for the both of us and a trip to the doctor for me. Prior to this, I have not seen a doctor for more than 2 years.
Travel ($700) – We managed to get some good discounted prices on Groupon Melbourne for day trips to Yarra Valley, Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island.
Others ($140.80) – A Malay wedding that I attended with the Mrs, a VR game experience that we bought on Groupon and a SAFRA Punggol one month gym pass for me.
Total: $2,569.29
Overall Total: $4,254.29 (included fixed expenses of $1,685)
actually your expenses are quite extravagant than mine.
I have a full-time job with income of 100++k yet I spent much less than you.
I always eat out at cheap places such as hawker and mass-class restaurants.
I would never eat at places like Putien. It always remind me of cheaper alternatives like my mum’s cooking. I’m always trying to cut down on food expenses as it is the largest and most easily controlled.
A down jacket for Melbourne? just a jacket with some inner shirts would do…
My clothes wear until spoil then buy.
Why do you even need upsized mobile data?
My mobile plan only costs $32/month on a corp plan.
Hi Lucas,
Kudos to you for having a high income and very low expenses.
I have to admit that compared to some, my expenses do appear rather extravagant. But it’s still manageable for now given the income we are getting.