Here are all of my expenses for the last month! I paid my 2019 property taxes in November, and I paid my 2018 property taxes in January. I bunch my deductions and itemize on my tax return every other year. I’ve been doing this for several years because I pay so little interest on my mortgage since it will be paid off in seven years. So, I took the standard deduction on my 2018 tax return, but I’ll be itemizing on my 2019 return (with $9,750 of property taxes). With the new, huge standard deduction, I will just barely get over it, and this strategy won’t work for me much longer unless the standard deduction and personal exemption revert back to the old tax laws in 2026 (which will happen unless the new laws are extended or rewritten). Those are my only notes for the month.
November 2019 YTD Total
- Alcohol 5.40 287.82
- Automobile: fuel – 319.82
- Automobile: insurance – 701.00
- Automobile: maint & repairs – 374.95
- Automobile: regist & inspec – 93.25
- Batteries – 24.76
- Beans (canned) – 14.24
- Beef jerky – 16.98
- Bird food – 42.00
- Bread 1.78 16.40
- Butter 1.99 1.99
- Candy 2.15 2.15
- Carrots – 8.87
- Cereal 1.19 15.41
- Charity 100.00 100.00
- Checks – 34.55
- Cheese – 6.77
- Chicken (canned) – 14.34
- Chili (canned) 9.90 13.86
- Chips & pretzels 2.57 17.20
- Cleaning supplies – 25.01
- Clothes – 19.47
- Cosmetics – 14.04
- Crackers (saltine) 0.75 2.25
- Crackers (snack) 6.14 17.27
- Dentist – 194.00
- Eggs 0.58 4.53
- Fast food 1.83 23.24
- Feminine products – 15.05
- Fruit (grapes, bananas, etc.) 0.90 43.50
- Gambling – lottery 2.00 18.00
- Gambling – other – 0.00
- Gifts 1.08 51.61
- Greeting cards – 4.27
- Grits – 2.78
- Home: HOA dues – 413.91
- Home: insurance (flood) – 418.00
- Home: insurance (standard) – 475.40
- Home: insurance (windstorm) – 614.00
- Home: maintenance & repairs 3.23 251.24
- Home: mortgage 745.83 8,204.13
- Home: new A/C & heater – 5,804.48
- Home: property taxes 5,010.99 9,750.19
- Hot dog wieners – 4.37
- Hummus – 1.89
- Ice cream (incl. fruit bars) – 3.96
- Laundry detergent – 13.08
- Lettuce, tomato, & cucumbers 3.43 37.03
- Medicine (OTC) & supplies 2.74 11.90
- Milk 3.78 39.02
- Olive oil (for salad dressing) 10.39 19.28
- Olives 2.96 15.19
- Orange juice 1.05 12.17
- Pasta/Rice sides 6.16 12.83
- Peanut butter – 1.98
- Pizza (frozen) – 34.06
- Popcorn (kernels) – 2.84
- Restaurants – 148.25
- Rice – 1.75
- Salad dressing mix – 32.38
- Sausage – 5.64
- Soap (body wash) – 13.44
- Soap (dish) – 6.02
- Software – 27.05
- Sour cream – 3.07
- Sports drinks (b/c lawn care) – 11.31
- Taco seasoning – 5.28
- Toilet paper 14.06 46.48
- Tunafish (canned) – 3.52
- TV dinners – 10.28
- Utilities: cell phone 2.64 454.58
- Utilities: electricity 47.60 613.48
- Utilities: internet/cable 99.61 1,083.29
- Utilities: natural gas 18.42 214.92
- Utilities: water/trash 45.56 476.41
- Vegetables (canned) 3.44 11.19
- Vegetables (fresh) – 0.50
- Vinegar (for salad dressing) 1.99 1.99
- Vitamins 19.78 94.42
- Yogurt – 5.88
Total $6,181.92 $31,953.46
Linda 🙂
The Heart of Frugal Living 