My Frugal Miser - September Expenses: $3,725

During September I did well at controlling most of my expenses.  I was particularly happy with the $213 I spent maintaining my rental properties.  That category has been high this year and it's nice to see it this low.  I would like to spend no more than 10% of my rental income on repairs and maintenance but it has been higher than this in 2012.

My personal expenses were about where I would like them to be.  I did spend $330 to make the last of two payments on our cruise vacation we are taking in December.  I am hoping my fuel expense ($258 in September) will be lower moving forward.  I traveled to Birmingham three times last month and don't expect to be making that trip as often in the future.  I also think we can lower our food expense, maybe to below $200/month if we eat out less and I take on more mystery shops.

September Personal Expenses ($2,230)

$327 Auto ($69 for service, $258 for fuel)

$0 Bank Fees
$23 Clothing
$86 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol)
$296 Food
$15 Gifts Given

$819 Household/Housing/Home Repair
$139 Health and Dental Insurance

$0 Homeowner's Insurance (paid annually each June)
$0 Medical
$0 Miscellaneous
$0 Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions
$0 Taxes

$199 Utilities
$330 Vacation

September Business Expenses ($1,495)

$1101 Mortgage Interest (rental properties)
$180 Interest on Debt (not including Mortgage Interest)
$213 Rental Properties - Maintenance and Repairs


Total September Expenses : $3,725

Notes

• I don't include principal payments in my expenses, only the interest portion of my monthly mortgage bills.
• I expect Auto Service to increase as a percentage of my budget.  My Corolla just hit 150,000 miles and I have no plans to get rid of it.