My Frugal Miser - March Expenses: $8,478

March, 2020 was the first month most U.S. households experienced the effects of COVID-19, the coronavirus.  We certainly did.

Not So Good

The alternator died on my car.  Replacing it cost $1005.  I'm at the tipping point where it makes sense to replace the car as the repair bills are starting to cost more than I can justify.

The cost of food was high after a couple months of more reasonable spending.  With meeting work cancelled, there were no more free meals.  Plus there was some stocking up on non-perishable canned goods.

The "fun" category was high.  Right before everything started shutting down we took a last minute cruise.  I lost a few hundred dollars in the casino.  Also in the category, we spent $166 on a fun night out with a work friend.  I paid for all three of us.  We also spent $48/month for unlimited movies at AMC.  None of these expenses will be repeated in April unless I book another cruise, which I'm considering.

I paid the annual fee on my Marriott Bonvoy American Express.  The benefits, once I'm able to travel again, pretty much cancel out the cost of the card, but it's still expensive at $450/year.

Better

We switched phone plans.  Sprint began offering a plan called "Unlimited Kickstart."  For $35/mo per line, we have unlimited talk, text and data.  We also will receive a $300 prepaid gift card each, which essentially means 8 months of free service.  This is simply the best deal I've seen for heavy-data phone plans.  I did have to get a new phone, but it was only $50.  Utilities are high because I also paid off our Pixel 3 phones when I switched.

Our April expenses will see a noticeable drop, but my income is most likely going to fall even harder.  I'm looking for ways to reduce recurring expenses, but there's very little we can cut.



March Business Spending:  $1,280
March Personal Spending:  $7,198

March Expenses:  $8,478

$1,260 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$450 Bank Fees
$31 Clothing/ Personal Care
$1,347 Fun (vacations movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$618 Food

$406 Health and Dental

$1,735 Household/Mortgage Payment/Home Repair

$0 Interest Expense

$0 Miscellaneous

$420 Taxes includes quarterly tax payments
$5 App Jobs Expenses (tolls, car washes, etc.)
$0 Unreimbursed Job Expenses
($504) Reimbursed Job Expenses

$924 Utilities
$1,151 Rental Property Expenses
$633 AirBNB Expenses