My Frugal Miser - February Expenses: $4,412

February was a bit expensive.  I paid the $450 annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  This is really a $150 fee with the $300 travel rebate I received.  I also completed a 0% cash advance on a credit card but had to pay a $291 fee for it.

I had several work-related expenses.  We drove to Birmingham to work on a rental property, which used a lot of gas.  I bought a new phone from Wal-Mart to replace my Republic Wireless Moto X.  The new plan is only slightly more expensive, but my Republic phone had 3G and a very slow processor.  I also decided to buy a monthly unlimited car wash plan.  A fancy new car wash opened up about a mile from my house.  Not having a clean car has kept me from driving for Uber and Lyft on some occasions, and I think this might motivate me to do some more rideshare work.  Finally, I bought two new suits.  Some of the hospitality jobs require a business suit, and the only suit I had got a hole in it.  I bought that suit 10 years ago so it was time to replace it anyway.

It seems like I spend money on vacations every month.  Last month I booked an EasyJet flight we will be taking during our summer European vacation.  I also spent $186 on a roundtrip to Las Vegas... and that included $57 I spent to pick a seat.  While there, I'm going to Denver for a day.  That flight was only $38 roundtrip.  Air travel is so cheap!

February Expenses:  $4,412

$891 Auto ($275 gas, $0 repairs/maintenance, $616 depreciation)

$741 Bank Fees
$949 Clothing

$0 Computer

$55 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol)

$383 Food

$41 Gifts Given

$42 Household/Housing/Home Repair

$28 Health and Dental Insurance (prepaid 2017 health insurance premiums in December 2016)

$0 Investment Expense
$243 Interest Expense*

$36 Medical/Dental

$0 Miscellaneous

$0 Personal Care

$35 Subscriptions

$0 Taxes
$339 Sharing Economy Expenses (dedicated phone, tolls, car washes, etc.)

$233 Utilities

$396 Vacation

*Interest expense includes student loans and the loan on my car.  As both rates are below 2%, I am completely comfortable paying the interest each month and investing the money that I would otherwise use to pay off these loans.  In February, I paid $202 to E*Trade for "hard to borrow" interest on a short sale of Sears Holdings stock.