Our Last Fives

Posted on November 3, 2006 2 Comments

Well readers, we spent a combined total of nearly $15,000 on our last five purchases, and, I must say, your lists were both delightful and insightful to read.

In that short span of 24 hours or so, we bought everything from new kitchen cabinets to bunt cake pans. We paid mortgages, rents, child care, medical and monthly household bills. We bought groceries, cared for our pets, filled up the gas tank and ate lunch on the fly. We paid plumbers and bug men. We traveled on airplanes, in cabs, in cars and on busses. We bought martini shakers, a book about Amsterdam and a fresh pineapple. We spent an undisclosed amount on investments. We gave back to the community. And we got tired. I’d say on any given day, at any given time, at least one of my readers can be found in a coffee shop, trying hard to just stay awake.

I personally loved this exercise. So often my day is a busy, blurry mess. I’m rushing from point A to point B so fast, I often don’t know how I got there once I’ve arrived. By dinner, I’ve already forgotten what I had for lunch. And so it goes that by nightfall, I usually can’t remember what I’ve spent money on throughout the day. By the time I’m up and running (ok, bumping into walls in a pathetic excuse for walking) in the morning – usually late for my train, mind you – I’ve forgotten that my expenses from yesterday were ever a concern. It’s a vicious cycle, friends.

So I think it’s helpful sometimes to take a deep breath and look at your last five expenses. Even if you don’t have time to sit down and figure out where you are for the month, this will at least ground you for the time being. You’ll note if your expenses have been wasteful, and you’ll want to do better for your next five. Conversely, if you’ve done really well, you’ll notice it and be proud! I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always want to think about my last five expenses, especially when they seem excessive. But reviewing your mistakes is the only way to learn from them, so I say you should try keeping a tab on your last five expenses randomly throughout the month and see what you can learn.

In case you were curious about where we netted out…

Our top three expenses over the past few days were:
- Rent/mortgage: $7,306.97
- Credit cards: $1,868.92
- Transportation-related: $1,530.98

The rest follow…
- Household maintenance/repairs: $1,450
- Groceries: $720.61
- Child care: $720. 35 (scary!)
- Household bills (phone, heat, electric, etc.): $319.48
- Meals, snacks eaten out(convenience shops included): $294.51
- Giving back (donations): $235
- Photos, photography: $98.14
- Reading/entertainment: $72.70
- Pet care: $62.57
- Clothing and shoes: $59.62
- Miscellaneous “Target” supplies: $56.83
- Health/medicine: $44.55
- Halloween supplies: $39.30

I’m interested to do this again to see how the end of the month affected your purchasing patterns. Y’all didn’t spend nearly as much as I’d have guessed on clothing, decor hobbies and entertainment (though that may be on the credit card).

However, there were a few expenses that were sort of lightbulb moments to me. I had no idea that child care cost so much. Likewise, home repairs and maintenance work are foreign cost concepts to me. It’s a huge dose of reality to see what you’re paying monthly for these things. Honestly, I’m glad to see those expenses showing up now. They’re the types of things you don’t plan for when you’re saving for a house (bug guys, repairs, appliances) but are costly. It’s easy to see how quickly a “rainy day fund” can disappear, with a leaky faucet and a child!

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