Psst, I make money on some of the links in this post at no cost to you. It keeps the lights on around here. Amazon links are affiliate. It’s time for another budget report, Picky people! See how our expenses looked during September and where we plan to go in October. 

It’s a month for the record books, everyone! We managed to pay off our haunting student loan debt this month, even after going over budget in a few areas. I’m thankful that September has come and gone, because it means we’re moving on to our other financial and life goals. Ahhh.

See where our money went this month and what we plan to do in October!

P.S. If you haven’t already, please join our Picky Pinchers Facebook group! It’s a safe haven for frugal-minded folks to ask questions and share wins. I’d love to see you there!

Mortgage: $1,134.83

Yup, we’re slow ‘n’ steady paying down our mortgage.

Internet: $106.64

Standard charges for our high-speed internet with Speculum Spectrum. We’re hanging tight on not changing internet right now. Google Fiber has just come to town and they’re going to be expanding in the coming year. I would much rather give Google my money than Spectrum, so we’ll just wait until they’re in our neighborhood to make the switch. Oh, and save money.

Phones: $77.42

Our phone bill was cheaper this month thanks to a credit on our account from when I bought my new Pixel 2 XL. Google does account credits really weird, so the credit was only applied to my half of the bill, and not Mr. Picky Pincher’s. I just let Google know to apply the balance to both of our bills, so that won’t be a problem moving forward.

I wrote this review after using Fi for one year if you’re curious about the experience.

If you’d like to join Google Fi, you can do so through my affiliate link right here. After 30 days, Google Fi will credit your account with $20, which is like getting one month free.

Car payment: $345.36

Yup, we still have a car payment! Learn more about our car saga here. 

Oh, but guess what? Now that our student loans are paid off, we’re gunning for the car loans next. We anticipate paying it down starting in November and have it out of the way by the New Year. That’s, like, $350 extra in our pocket each month. There’s nothing like giving yourself a raise.

Insurance: $199.97

This includes homeowner’s insurance, life insurance, and car insurance.

Utilities (trash, water, energy): $322.25

Energy was a little high this month at $186.07. September has actually been pretty mild weather-wise, so that was surprising. Then I remembered we’re actually paying for the August cycle, which explains everything. August is the hottest month of the year in Texas, hence the high energy bill. I’m hoping we’ll see this cost dwindle as the weather begins to cool off.

Water came in at $80.97, and there’s little we can do (aside from voting) to get our bill lowered. Most of the bill is for fees; the actual usage is something like $20. Crazy, huh?

We also paid the quarterly bill for our trash at $55.21. Again, not much we can do to lower this unless we opt out of trash service altogether or move.

Groceries: $500.76

Yup, it’s another month of “what the hell” food expenses. We’re $100.76 over budget on groceries this month. Honestly, that doesn’t surprise me. I thought it was going to be a lot worse. It’s been hard to feel motivated about food. When we fall into a food funk like this, our costs usually skyrocket. Why? I don’t shop as mindfully and don’t meal plan as carefully.

We’re such Picky eaters that some days I get really down about creating meals that tick all the boxes: tasty, healthy, cheap, and convenient. Even then, I try not to dwell on feeling down, because that doesn’t get me anywhere. I just have to keep trying harder and be more mindful about our food use and expenses in the new month.

Takeout: $314.79

Oh, what not-a-surprise. We’re over here by $114.79. Sure, we did treat ourselves to a fancy steak dinner to celebrate the student loan payoff. But the troubling part isn’t that one-off celebration. Looking through our spreadsheet, we ate out more consistently throughout the week during September. We’re eating out more regularly for meals that we should be eating at home. This also adds up a lot over time!

I’m hoping that, by being more careful with home-cooked meal planning in October, we can cut down food expenses. It’s a constant struggle, y’all.

Medical: $359.01

It’s been an expensive month on the medical front. I picked up a few prescriptions and hubs needed meds for his seasonal allergies. Zap also had a trip to the vet to treat a nasty bout of giardia. But of all the things we spend on, I’m the most okay with going over budget on medical, because health always comes first.

Gas: $131.02

Gas was a little higher in September. This is mostly because we were prepping for a potential hurricane. There was a gas shortage during Hurricane Harvey last year, and I was NOT about to run out of gas again. We fueled up both the car and the truck, in addition to ten gallons in our gas cans.

Household: $110.93

By popular request, we started separating out household items in our budget.

Some popular items we bought this month include:

• Frontline: Preventive meds for the cat!
• Stamps: It seems like I never have stamps when I need them. I bit the bullet and bought a 50-pack from Costco. I’d wager to say we won’t need stamps again for at least two years.
• Face brush: Mr. Picky Pincher gets dry skin in the winter. We picked up a face brush to help him care for his skin in the cold weather.
• Clorox wipes: Ugh. I don’t know if y’all have ever seen giardia in action, but … it’s messy. In ways I can’t even describe. So yeah, we picked up a few canisters of Clorox wipes to keep our house a little cleaner. Thankfully Zap is feeling better!
• Litter: After giardia we had to clean out the litter box and start anew.
• Shave cream, false nails, and hair mask: We earned a $25 Target gift card from our health insurance. We used it to buy a few self care items, because why the heck not?
• Piping bags: I finally used my huge collection of piping bags

Student Loans: $4,000

‘BYE FELICIA!!

Yup, we paid off the last of hubs’ loans. In total we’ve paid off $65,000 of student loans in about two years. Not bad, eh? We did contribute a good chunk of my freelance earnings to the loans, which enabled us to pay them off earlier than planned.

Mr. Picky Pincher called Nelnet and verified the loans are paid off free and clear. We’ll receive written documentation in the mail in a few months to make it official. I’m proud to say this line item will be gone-zo from next month’s report.

Other: $1,219.77

Yup, we’re always in trouble here. Let’s see where in the world we threw our money this month.

Here are some notable September expenses:

• Hurricane supplies: In addition to the gas, we also stocked up on food, water, and other essentials for the potential hurricane. We’re thankful we didn’t get a hurricane! It was annoying to drop an unexpected $100 on this, but it does mean our emergency prep is done when another emergency comes around.
• Gifts: We had a family birthday this month and bought a gift.
• Cat laser: So, this is weird. The batteries for cat lasers are more expensive at HEB than a new, better cat laser. It makes zero sense to buy a $7 battery for a $2 laser. So we just bought a new laser for $7 and Zap loves it. It’s the only toy we’ve ever bought him that he will play with regularly.
• Ring annual membership: We had bought my dad a Ring doorbell for his birthday in August. Amazon link here. Unfortunately, his house isn’t compatible with the Ring, so he sent it to us and we’re using it now (it was too late to return to Amazon). We paid $30 to store all footage from the Ring for a year. We’ve already used it to avoid creeps that come up to the door, so it’s money well spent.
• Coffee scented candle: This is a luxury purchase of mine. I LOVE the smell of coffee. It’s comforting and it actually helps me feel more productive. I bought a delightful coffee-scented candle on Amazon and keep it in my office. Amazon link here for fellow coffee-lovers. 
• Hotel booking: Mr. Picky Pincher has a professional test in late October. It’s in Austin and starts early on a Friday morning. I’m sure we could save money and wake up at 3 am to get there on time, but why kill ourselves over it? We booked a hotel room to make it easier on hubs, so he can relax before the test.
• Vinyl records: Mr. Picky Pincher is a total audiophile. He picked up a new vinyl record from one of his favorite bands.
• Desk elliptical: Ugh. Our beloved elliptical went to Appliance Heaven this month. I got this new elliptical that I could use both sitting and standing. It’s okay, but it’s certainly not as good as my last elliptical. I put it in the office so I can get a walk in while I’m working, but it’s not good for a proper workout. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do for cheap exercise that I’ll actually find enjoyable.

• Coffee shop costs: Standard costs for me to go freelance in coffee shops. Normally I would call this a frivolous and silly expense, but you kinda have to buy something if you want to work in a coffee shop. Once I write full time I’m going to look into coworking space memberships. I like coffee shops, but not everyone is there to work. I want to be in a space where I can expect a reasonable amount of quiet.
• Girl Scout fundraiser: My nieces are all Girl Scouts. As a former Scout myself, I’m obligated to help other Scouts out during fundraisers. I bought a few magazine subscriptions to help them raise money in their fall fundraiser.
• Botanical gardens yoga: Hubs and I wanted to get out of the house and have an adventure. We went to the botanical gardens to do yoga and a cooking demo.
• Zoo membership: I purchased a zoo membership for $30. It’s a great way for me to get out of the house once I’m self-employed. And who doesn’t like taking a walk and watching elephants?

Total expenses: $4,822.75

Total expenses with student loans: $8,822.75

Some people have asked about retirement contributions. Great question! I contribute $200 monthly to a Roth IRA, which I don’t count as either an expense or savings. I act like it’s money I never see. Mr. Picky Pincher also contributes to his employer-sponsored 401k, but we also act like we never see that money. I guess it technically counts as savings, but it muddies the water in our calculations, so retirement contributions aren’t included here.

We also don’t include costs for medical, vision, or dental plans, since that comes out of Mr. Picky Pincher’s check.

Savings rate: 47.26%

Cost per meal: $4.53

October goals

Mmm, September. It was a strangely over-budget month and yet we still crushed our student loans. I can’t even describe how good it feels to have this over with. What’s funny is that the happiness is short-lived. Mr. Picky Pincher is nervous about his test, I’m nervous about quitting my job and starting a business, Zap is nervous about the cat next door encroaching on his turf. We’re all nervous Nellies. Despite that, it’s important to remember the victories and see how far you’ve come. I never believed this would actually be possible. It hasn’t been easy, of course, but it’s been possible.

Anyway, we did poorly on the food front in September, which comes as no surprise to most people. My goal for October is to not only rein in food expenses, but to find the joy of cooking again. I’m convinced that creativity, happiness, and curiosity play a big part in our commitment to eating well and cheaply. We’ll see how we do in October!

October is going to be a weird month. Since my employment is changing, we decided it would be best to bulk up our savings this month. Just in case. Then we’ll tackle our car loan starting in November. I can’t wait to start the New Year with zero debt!

We want to know: How was your September? Were you a Frugal Francine / Fergus or a Spendy Susie / Stan? 

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