My Frugal Miser - November Expenses: $6,548

I spent, and spent, and spent in November.  Fortunately much of it was pre-spending to take advantage of holiday deals:  I bought $1,550 in gift cards ($100 in the Entertainment category, $900 in the Home Repair/Household category and $550 for restaurants), and I also bought $75 worth of Groupon/Living Social deals I have yet to redeem.

Accounting for the gift card/deal purchases, I spent around $5,000 in November.  I paid property taxes of $1,355.  Next year I will qualify for the homestead exemption, so this category should be cut in half in 2015.  I spent nothing on fuel thanks to mystery shopping and Shell's Fuel Rewards.  Much of the auto depreciation came from mileage accumulated while mystery shopping along with trips to Orlando for hospitality work.  I bought a new computer (for only $145!) and have sent off the old one to sell.  The old one was less than a year old, but was such a piece of crap that it kept freezing up whenever I used Quicken.

The other major expenses were home repairs.  I covered a portion of the deck to add privacy and protection from the elements and installed baseboard in the master bedroom.  I also bought curtains, blinds and several miscellaneous things to finish off the bedroom.  Last, I booked our flights and car rental for the May trip to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway meeting.  Allegiant had a fare sale when they announced new service to Omaha, so I booked early.  I even splurged for assigned seats on an exit row(!).

November Expenses:  $6,548

$388 Auto ($0 for gas, $385 for depreciation, $3 for car wash)

$0 Bank Fees

$0 Clothing

$145 Computer

$277 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol)

$869 Food

$0 Gifts Given

$2,568 Household/Housing/Home Repair
$0 Home Insurance

$245 Health and Dental Insurance

$0 Investment Expenses

$0 Medical/Dental

$29 Miscellaneous

$(6) Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions

$1,355 Taxes

$185 Utilities

$523 Vacation and Recreation