My Frugal Miser - June Expenses: $2,241

We traveled extensively last month, so there wasn't time to spend money.  We drove to Nashville for a meeting job, so auto expenses are higher than normal.  Also, even though I don't report my rental property expenses on a monthly basis, I should confess that they were quite high in June.  I rehabbed one of my properties, which cost nearly $5,000 last month.

In June I purchased many gift cards for future use, and I categorized that spending as "food".  American Express offered me a $30 credit each time I spent $100 at Wal-Mart, so I bought $500 in Wal-Mart gift cards.  Steak N Shake had a gift card promotion for a $5 certificate for every $20 in gift cards you bought.  I used my Discover card, which was offering 5% cash back on restaurants this quarter, to stock up on those.  Amazon had a special on a few different retailers where you could buy a $50 gift card for $40. This inflated my actual food spending, which was still high at more than $300.

I paid my periodontist $530 towards a dental implant.  This category will continue to be high as the implant costs more than $3,000.

I report my gambling winnings on the same line as my losses.  During our trip to Las Vegas I won more than $800, so there is income where there would normally be an expense.

June Expenses:  $2,241

$630 Auto ($4 for gas, $626 for depreciation)

$42 Bank Fees

$40 Clothing

$0 Computer

($884) Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol) - income this month

$1288 Food (inflated, as more than $900 was used to buy gift cards that I will redeem in the future)

$0 Gifts Given

$15 Household/Housing/Home Repair

$141 Health and Dental Insurance

$0 Investment Expenses

$530 Medical/Dental

$0 Miscellaneous

$0 Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions

$0 Taxes

$140 Utilities

$298 Vacation and Recreation

June Expenses, Excluding Vacation and Home Repairs:  $1,928