My Expenses vs Normal People Expenses
So I am reading this book called Your Money or Your Life which was recommended by several popular financial bloggers. It has a lot of common sense information (though it wasn’t always common sense to me, so I’m sure it’s not for everyone), but at about half-way through so far, I came to a weird realization.
Throughout this book the author talks repeatedly about keeping track of expenses. He emphasizes keeping track of every penny that goes in and out of your life (which I’ve been doing since Jan 2005), and shows example of categorization so you can get a better picture of your financial “world”. But a lot of the examples he talks about are things like tanning salon or meals out each week.
I’m reading through all of this and I’m thinking to myself “But hell, none of this applies to me so how am I supposed to do anything here?”
I’ve realized that I’ve pretty much “trimmed the fat” on my expenses. Which is actually a GREAT feeling. I don’t have the normal expenses that the people this book is geared towards do. I spend money on 1. Savings/Retirement 2. Bills and 3. Occasional enjoyment. I rarely ever go out to eat (I went out Friday night for some Indian food with a co-worker, but we used the gift cards our bosses gave us for Christmas), I don’t go shopping just to go shopping, I don’t do things that cost a lot of money, and I always take care of my bills and future first.
I decided to put some of this into perspective.
Comparison of Expenses from 2005 to 2008:
Haircare
For years and years I’ve dyed my hair blonde. I was born blonde, I had dirty blonde hair as I got older, but eventually I just started dying the shit. And let me tell you, brown to blonde? It’s an expensive fucking process.
January 23, 2005 - $82.00
May 17th, 2005 - $116.92
August 29th, 2005 $93.00 (last time I ever dyed my hair).
The hair stylist recommended I get my roots done every 3 months. I didn’t always make it because it’s expensive (Could you imagine $100 every three months just for hair?)
If we average it out, $100 every three months comes to $400/year in just hair dye.
I let my natural color grow out for almost 2 years and then decided to switch to all natural henna at $30 a bundle which lasts me at least 6 months, maybe more.
If we average -that- out, we’re talking less than $60/year, maybe closer to $40/year. That’s 90% I saved financially. But lets not forget how much healthier my hair is now that I am no longer bleaching, drying, or using chemicals on it.
Food Service
From February 2005 to June 2007, I had 59 transacations with the Schwan’s Specialty Food Delivery that totaled $2,978.39. (This is where the beauty of Microsoft Money comes in people, instant gratificational totals)
Total from June 2007 till now? $0 fuckin dollars. That’s 100% savings right there.
I want to do more comparisons of savings, but some of my categories need re-adjusting as far as food/restaurants. But I’m proud of the evolution I’ve made. I still want to compare all of my services to make sure I’m getting the best service for the cheapest price (like refinance my car loan, re-evaluate my insurance, etc), but I think I’m on the right track.
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