FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Mortgage - PITI 31.7% of total expenses
Home Maintenance 12.9%
Groceries 9.9%
Utilities 8.9%
Vehicles 8.3%
Gas 7.7%
Horses 7%
Personal Care 3.3%
Cats 3%
Debts = $88k remaining on the mortgage
Savings rate = 67%
Months to planned retirement - 19
EXPENSES NARRATIVE
Mortgage—This is the same every month. I also am making additional payments on the principal (which I don’t include in this category) and intend to have the mortgage paid off by the end of 2023 (earliest contemplated retirement date).
Home Maintenance—Got the septic tank pumped. This is an expected expense every few years. It sparked conversation between DH and I about ways to get out from under the expense and time involved in maintaining a house.
Vehicles—Also regular expected maintenance. It sparked conversation about selling the luxury car and replacing it with one that costs less to maintain. This is a difficult idea for DH because he is very proud of the great price he got on the car and he likes that it is the lowest-mileage car we have ever owned.
Groceries—Analysis of our groceries expenses has revealed that DH and I each go over budget in different ways. I spend too much on specialty baking ingredients (real vanilla, fancy flour, macadamia nuts, dried fruit, etc.) and DH spends on convenience foods due to his lack of cooking skills (pre-made bars at $2 per bar, almond butter, chocolate-covered almonds).
I have been trying to reduce my wish for a wide variety of fancy ingredients by reducing the range of things I bake. This is difficult for me because baking is one of my main creative outlets.
We will try to reduce DH’s buying of convenience foods by teaching him how to prepare more foods from scratch. So far he has enjoyed learning how to make overnight oats, rice in the rice cooker (he hates stirring or watching something on the stove), pork shoulder in the instapot, and bean dip. He was less thrilled with learning how to make flatbread and chocolate chip cookies. I thought the cookies would be a win because he loves to eat them but it turns out making them involves too much active participation. He is happy to pull a tray out of the oven when the timer goes off, which is nice for me because I find it annoying to have to stop whatever else I am doing just to pull out a tray.
OTHER AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Health and Fitness—I am cycling much stronger than last year (I had hardly any red blood cells at this time last year, so not much of an accomplishment) and also I am riding stronger than 2 years ago. I don’t track any numbers because I find that messes with my head and takes all the fun out of riding.
ERE projects—I started foraging for yarrow due to a post in a different thread (the foraging log perhaps?). I enjoy adding it to my salads and it helps the purchased greens stretch to more meals. I’m not sure I should call it foraging since I pick it from my flower bed but I didn’t know it was edible when I planted it so perhaps it is repurposing.
I washed and waxed and tuned up our mountain bikes. I rarely bother to wash them because as long as the drivetrain is clean-ish the dirt doesn’t actually matter. I am loaning my bike to a friend for a week and thought it might be nicer for her if it was clean. Loaning it out is causing me some anxiety but I want to support her effort to go compete at the Quarterhorse World Congress. It is the first time she has ever qualified and she was having trouble scraping money together to cover expenses. The venue is huge; you can rent a golf cart to get around but I told her it would cost a lot less to just ride a bike from her trailer to the barn. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed that my bike doesn’t get stolen or something while it is away from home. DH says it has served me well for the past quarter century and we will simply buy me a new one if this one gets stolen but I HATE getting used to new bikes and want this one to last for another quarter century.
I’m still trying to perfect my hummus recipe. The latest batch was too salty and the one before was not salty enough. I like the texture of this batch and hope I can remember how much olive oil I used.
Reducing—I got rid of another 50 or so comic books. The boxes are slowly emptying out. Goodbye, She Hulk. You made me laugh but now I must move on.
GOALS FOR NEXT MONTH
- Try taking in the armholes on a dress. I don’t know if this adjustment is as easy as it appears to be. We will see. If I mess it up too much I can wear a jacket over it which is what I have to do now anyway with the armholes being too large.
- Keep putting in bicycle miles.
- Get rid of some more comic books.
- Donate to the ReStore 3 boxes of tiles that the previous owners of our house left behind. This one is a carryover from last month.