The Monthly Expenses of an Early Retiree – March 2021

The first quarter of 2021 ended. Unlike last year, I find myself more and more optimistic. AHP turned one year old last month and his schedule is getting more and more predictable. We are venturing outside more and more, enjoying the local parks and the trails that our neighborhood offers.

MBP started playing soccer. The “academy” was in our elementary school and we were thinking of more ways for MBP to socialize outdoors. I am 90% sure that we are not going to do this again. MBP was not really into it or perhaps just too young. Majority of the time, he was picking up grass or wants to play with other kids.

uhmm – yeah, that ball

Spending

We spent $3,281.87 this month. Ouch!

I tried to deliberately spend a little more money this month because our spending last year was very low and I guess I succeeded!

Food – $902.08

We spent $902.08 on food. We usually spend between $600 – $700 a month. Our grocery spending was higher with more trips to Costco. I also ate quite a bit of fancy easter chocolate candies before easter. Those Lindt bunnies were tasty.

Health Insurance – $657.15

Health insurance for this month was $657.15. The kids are still under apple care because of COVID-19 act (?). I’m not really sure, but I won’t argue with the state plan on this. Mr. MMD and I are paying full premium at bronze level.

Gift – $477.06

We bought an iPhone SE for my mother in law as a birthday present for her. She loves it and it would be another medium for us to face time.

Utilities – $338.99

Utilities clock in at $338.99 this month. Out internet was charged for February and March so it cost twice this month. We paid $28.5 for our cell plan for 2 lines. This was the first time that we used more than 1gb for Xfinity mobile.

Auto – $289.66

We spent $289.96 for car this month. Our car insurance cost $230 for 6 months. This was higher than our last 6 months premium. I don’t know why! I got some other quotes and this was the cheapest. We only have one car and only carry liability. Oh well – maybe it is inflation?

Others are combination of shopping for items ordered from Amazon for some sewing materials. Hobbies are the cost to maintain this blog which includes the annual domain renewal and monthly hosting from Google Cloud Platform. We also bought some treats for our furbaby and paid for our monthly Amazon Prime Subscription.

And here are the detail expenses:

CategoriesDescriptionGrand TotalComments
FoodGroceries707.79Higher this month
FoodRestaurants119.10Take out Chinese Food
FoodJunk Food65.19Those Easter Candies!
FoodAlcohol & Bars10.00For Mr. MMD
HealthHealth Insurance657.152 person at bronze level
GiftGift477.06iPhone SE
Kids529 College Fund200.00
KidsKids Activities119.876 weeks of Soccer for MBP
KidsKids Gadgets63.38New monitor for MBP
KidsBaby Supplies41.23Diapers
UtilitiesElectric and Gas158.08Hopefully this will go down as it gets warmer
UtilitiesInternet90.002 months of internet bill
UtilitiesSewer62.41
UtilitiesMobile Phone28.50We used more than 1gb of data!
AutoService & Parts4.50Residual from tires
AutoAuto Insurance230.006 months from progressive
AutoGas & Fuel52.46Gas
HousingHOA Dues73.00Annoying HOA
HousingHome Improvement4.90Something from Lowes
ShoppingShopping75.63Sewing materials and some other items
HobbiesBooks13.09Atomic Habits was 50% off
HobbiesHobbies12.62Blog annual domain renewal
PetsPet Food & Supplies9.36Treats
SubscriptionSubscription6.55Amazon Prime
Grand Total 3,281.87

How was your Q1 2021?

The Monthly Expenses of Early Retiree – February 2021

We celebrated 2 birthdays in February. It was my grandmother’s birthday and AHP’s birthday. We’ve been really good at low key celebrations with just the immediate family. We also went to a drive by birthday parade for one of MBP’s classmate. She turned 4 and was so cute about it.

There was also Valentines Day. This year we cut out rainbow colored heart shaped and wrote letters to the kids. We stick it outside their doors for a whole week before Valentines Day. MBP really loves it.

Valentines Day Hearts

We also enjoyed playing with a LOT of snow this month. MBP got really into and even AHP joined in. I have to remind myself of the great fortune we have to own time and be able to play with the kids during snow whatever day it is and of course not having to worry about work. There were many snowman and snow angel involve.

Snow, Snow and Snow!!!

Spending

We spent $2,480.01 this month.

Healthcare is our biggest expense, similar to last month and clocked in at $633.41. Mr. MMD visited the dentist for cleaning. We do not have dental insurance and Mr. MMD paid $140 for x-rays, exams and cleaning. It is still cheaper than paying for dental insurance. Health care premium is also cheaper because apparently the kids are still under Apple Care, and we over pay last month.

We spent $633.41 on food. We ordered buckets of chicken from KFC for AHP’s birthday and ordered a Costco sheet cake. The sheet cake was huge and delicious!

Utilities were high this month at $397.11. It was not unexpected since some of these utilities get paid every other month. This month, we did pay for all of them.

We still contributed $200 for MBP’s 529 plan and paid the registration fee for next year’s preschool of $60.

We bought two set of tires for our Prius. We only have one car and need to make sure that it is on top shape.

The rest are under $100 and are pretty straight forward below.

CategoriesAmountComment
Health Insurance539.82
Dentist140.00
Groceries560.68
Fast Food47.15
Alcohol & Bars19.99
Junk Food5.59Junk food is lower than last month. Yay!
Electric and Gas153.41
Water89.77
Garbage75.21
Sewer62.41
Mobile Phone16.31
529 College Fund200.00
Preschool Tuition60.00
Auto & Transport235.362 Tires for our Prius
Gas & Fuel18.50
Service & Parts2.00
Clothing98.344 new pants for Mr. MMD
HOA Dues73.00
Toiletries33.00
Pet Food & Supplies26.00Doggie bag from Amazon
Personal Care16.92
Subscription6.55Prime Subscription
2,480.01