How we spent $35k in 6 months

You know you wanna know. It's our first half of the year spending recap.

I am one of the co-hosts on a podcast called Inside Out Money, and consistently some of our most popular episodes are the ones where we tell-all on how we spent our money. We just did our mid-year spending recap episode, and I wanted to come share with you the details!

This does not include housing. And right now we’re transitioning between two homes so we are spending an absolute boatload of money on housing, but here are all of our day to say expenses:

This adds up to a little over $31k. The remaining categories? Here’s the fullllll breakdown if you’re interested.

How do I get this beautiful chart? Why, it’s generated from Monarch Money. I get a gift card if you use my link to sign up for Monarch, but I’d sing their praises for free because I looooove this tool so much.

Some thoughts on the first half of the year:

• I need to get my travel hacking organized and make sure I’m not paying fees on cards where I’m not getting the value. I have not really been on top of this/

• KNOCK ON WOOD this year medical expenses are reasonable, home maintenance and vet stuff are basically 0. No car repairs! This is all bringing our overall expenses much, much lower compared to last year.

• Almost all the clothing I’ve bought this year has been secondhand (except one dress and some shoes). I feel really good about that! Shopping secondhand is far, far cheaper and way better for the planet.

• My Costco spending is way up and my Amazon spending is almost $0. I am participating in the Target boycott and my Target spending is $0. Not gonna lie--I miss Target!

On to this week’s vitals…

What I'm Reading: I am reading the second book in the Finlay Donovan series. It’s silly, campy, murder mystery fun. (That’s an affiliate link! I earn literal pennies if you buy something from Amazon after clicking it.)

What I'm Eating: So. Many. Peaches. It’s my favorite time of year when peaches are ripe and available everywhere.

How I'm Moving My Body: Easing back in after taking a couple weeks off while I had a cold. I did a barre class today and felt pretty darn good.

What I'm Watching: I finally, finally started the final season of And Just Like That, the Sex and the City reboot. It’s so bad, and hear me out, I think it would be 100% better if they still had Carrie narrating. TV shows with narrators are so good! (Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, Felicity…)

What I'm Obsessing Over: I downloaded a really dumb game on my phone. You pull screws out of wooden blocks one at a time and watch them fall. I’m embarrased to tell you I’m on Level 38.

Sending you love, my friends. Be safe out there.

xoxo

Liz