I only have three non-changeable living expenses per month: Rent at $700, car insurance at $145, and my phone bill that is usually around $150 but was discounted for this month. This comes out to $995/month or $248.75/week.

I have monthly discretionary expenses that could be reduced in the future: $393/month or $98.25/week

1. Financial education at $150/month
2. Massage from Hand & Stone at $69.95/month plus tip (I already canceled my membership and will only be getting occasional massages next year)
3. Supplements at around $130/month
4. Patreon support at $20/month
5. Entertainment at $23.05/month for AMC A-list membership

After canceling my massage membership and finishing up my financial education, next year I will be spending $173.05/month or $43.26/week

I have monthly discretionary expenses that vary:

1. Gas for the car (I budget $100/month and the range is $25 – $202 per month)
2. Maintenance on the car (usually twice/year there is maintenance done on the car and I budget $100/month for those costs. The next car maintenance at 40k miles will cost $1500 so I will have to increase my budget to accommodate this expense.)
3. Transportation (includes Good to Go, Uber/Lyft, etc that I budget $25/month)
4. Food from the grocery store (varies from $220 to $595 per month and averaged $398/month or $94/week. I budgeted $250/month for next year or $62.50/week)
5. Food from eating out (Ranged from $154 – $890 per month and averaged $350/month or $82/week. I budgeted $150/month for next year or $37.50/week)
6. Gifts (I budget $100/month and this includes shipping costs, games, and gift cards)

I have expenses that come up every so often that aren’t always monthly

1. Travel (I spent $2618 this year on travel related expenses, equal to $218/month or $51/week. I traveled to Florida and Disneyland in 2019. I budgeted $100/month in 2020 for this category of spending.
2. Housing and consumables (I spent $371 this year on clothing and household items which is equal to $31/month or $7/week. I budgeted $25/month in 2020 for this category of spending)
3. Writing (I spent $241 last year on writing-related expenses, which is equal to $20/month or $5/week. I budgeted $75/month in 2020 for this category of spending because I want to go to the Romance Writer’s Conference in the area next year).
4. Dance and fitness (I spent $579.45 total this year, to equal $48.29/month or $11.14/week even though I budget $100/month. I budgeted only $75/month for this category of spending in 2020. )
5. Taxes and tax prep (Since I have my own side business, I have to pay quarterly taxes and pay for additional tax preparation help every year)

Here is the breakdown of everything I spent in the month of November:

My typical monthly spending will not include a payment to the WA secretary of state as this was a one-time expense. Future monthly spending will not include the $69.95 for a massage. I might have more expenses related to transportation, fitness, and gifts. I am working to reduce my monthly spending on food. I combine the category for housing and consumables and this category includes clothing, personal hygiene, laundry soap, etc. I’m able to keep these expenses close to $0 because I earn gift cards throughout the year that I can use to purchase these items.