My Frugal Miser - April Expenses

In April I kept expenses below income once again, but spending was higher than I hoped.  Because we just moved to our new place, expenses of settling in were high.

• The household expense includes a new fence we built ourselves.  We added a fence on the east side of our house for privacy and plan to create a paved patio area soon.  I also spent a small fortune on bamboo and other privacy hedges.  
• Spending on food has been higher since we began our diet.  After moving to our new home we needed to re-stock our groceries.  Also, we visited Austin and Asheville, so restaurant spending was higher.  The brisket in Austin was well worth the expense!
• HealthyWage paid me for the two weight loss bets I won.  My bicycle was damaged and had to be replaced, which affected the Health and Dental category.  I placed a $60 bet on a new 6% weight loss challenge.

Fun

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• We visited Austin/ San Antonio as well as Asheville, NC.  I booked these trips in advance before travel costs started rising.  There was no reason to redeem hotel points in Austin:  we found a Hampton Inn for $55/night.  I did use points for our Asheville trip.  Flights for both trips were ridiculously inexpensive:  $40 each (roundtrip!) to Austin and $71 to Asheville.

April Expenses:  $4,728

$263 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees (annual fee on Chase Hyatt card, trustee fee for Self-Directed IRA)
$62 Clothing/ Personal Care
$1,301 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$834 Food

$245 Health and Dental

$1,412 Household/Home Repairs

$0 Unreimbursed Job Expense

$0 Interest Expense

$56 Miscellaneous

$163 Taxes

$391 Utilities