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Eyes on the Goal

Personal finance and other stories for freedom seekers

What Are My Basic Monthly Expenses?

3. December 2016

The road to financial independence always comes down to two factors: income and expenses. One side of the equation is how much money I earn every month and the other is how much I spend.

Although I am a firm believer that I am the creator of my reality, the truth is that increasing one’s income takes time and a lot of effort. There is only a limited amount of promotions. There is only a limited amount of opportunities in a given company/field. The competition is tough. I might get the yearly bonus but my efforts might as well go unnoticed.

And this is the employee’s world. Being a business owner or a freelancer is even tougher.

We don’t have so much control over our income. And the most annoying thing – it takes an awful lot of time!

What we really have control over is our expenses. My goal is having my basic expenses covered. I first have to know what that amount is. Here is how typically a financial month looks like for me:

Home & Utilities

  • Rent: €468 (includes electricity, water, internet, heating)
  • Hosting & Domain: €5

Food & Drinks

  • Groceries: €220
  • Lunch: €0-50
  • Eating out: €0-25
  • Snacking: €0-30
  • Drinks: €0-16

Sports

  • Kickboxing: €70

Health & Personal care

  • Dental insurance: €8
  • Medical supplies: €15
  • Waxing: €36
  • Haircut: €45 (every 3 months)
  • Cosmetics: €30

I don’t include taxes and health insurance here. They are automatically deducted from my salary. This is the money I spend after I get my paycheck. It depends on the month but on average I need €1000 a month to cover my basic expenses.

My expenses for October 2016

My expenses for October 2016

Additionally, I spend every month on:

Education

  • Books: €0-42
  • Audible: €9,9
  • Courses, coaching: €0-500

Gifts & Donations

  • Gifts: €0-150 (birthdays, Christmas, etc.)
  • Donation: €25 (to Room to Read – because the world change starts with educated children)

Leisure

  • Spa: €0-50
  • Entertainment: €0-30
  • Vacation: €0-2000 (flight tickets, accommodation, etc)
  • Massage: €0-45
  • Joy: €0-50 (something just for the pure joy of it: bubble baths, aromatic candles, flowers, etc.)

Clothing & Footwear

  • Clothing: €0-60
  • Shoes: €0-120

The additional expenses can be anything from €200 to €1000.

My expenses from the last 3 months

Sept: €1,872 – I splurged quite a bit; I bought tickets back home for Christmas; I had personal coaching; I went on a two days masterclass;

Oct: €1,015 – very good month, no additional expenses;

Nov: €1,783 – very good month for basic expenses; I bought flight tickets to South Africa;

Before I started diligently noting down my expenses and having a monthly overview I always wondered where all my money goes. This is the first and most important step – find out where all your money goes!

The second step is to reduce your spending – find out here how I cut my expenses in half!

Spread the ❤

Related Posts:

  • Pack Your Own Lunch at Least Twice a WeekPack Your Own Lunch at Least Twice a Week
  • Pay Yourself First - Set and ForgetPay Yourself First - Set and Forget
  • How I Cut My Expenses in HalfHow I Cut My Expenses in Half

3 Comments / Filed In: Updates on the Goal
Tagged: expenses tracking, saving money

Comments

  1. Nancy Lutz says

    17. December 2016 at 12:45

    Hey Kate,
    I think we use the same tool for keeping track of expenses. I bought the Pro Version a few years back and never regret it. It helped me a lot to see where the money goes.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Nancy

    Reply
  2. kate says

    17. December 2016 at 14:47

    Hi Nancy, I will cover the Toshl app in a separate post. I enjoy how easy and fun it is – no matter if it’s the free or the pro version. Plus Toshl has the cutest monsters ! 😛

    Reply
    • Nancy Lutz says

      18. December 2016 at 18:14

      I love those cute monsters so much. They are actually motivating. 😀

      Reply

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Hi, I am Kate App

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