2021 Spending – Less than previous years, at least?

So just for kicks, I went back to compare spending year over year from 2019 (I have solid data as far back as that date). If you have read my blog, you know that I have been pretty good at posting annual spending reports, namely this one from 2019 and this one from 2020.

Wow. I just lied to you. I didn’t post an annual spending report for 2020. Let’s just say it was MORE than 2019, and leave it at that (reminder, I did buy a new-to-me nice reliant automobile with CASH in 2020….so there’s that).

Anyway, we spent $83,975 in 2021. Almost 6k less than 2019 and let’s say “several” k less than 2020! Now you’re probably wondering, “Why are you celebrating, T? This seems insane for someone who is supposed to be frugal and shooting for FI/RE!!!”

And you are correct. When you have a husband who has zero interest in curtailing his lavish lifestyle for your FI desires, we’re doing “ok”. When I first asked him when he planned to retire, he said, “Oh I’ll work until I’m 65 and just live off my government pension!” We are very compatible people but not at all alike in the area of managing our personal finances and having a vision of early retirement.  Granted, I have made small strides in changing his mind on this. Now his plan is to retire at 61. HA! I also have an 8 year old, who doesn’t even have a job yet. Now I’m working to instill a strong saving mentality with him, but it’s slow going. His Lego addiction seems to be overpowering the balance of his “save” jar.

So about the 84k in spending. Around 21% of this is mortgage & property tax.

I did a wee analysis to see how much I could reasonably shave off of this without really changing our lifestyle too much, and I came up with about 4k of shavings. Shavings for savings. See what I did there?

Wouldn’t it be neat to set a goal to spend less than 80k this year? We don’t have any huge purchases planned at this time, so I think it’s totally do-able! We need a new back deck, but it can wait another year, since no contractors seem to be available anyway. Note to self: get quotes and book it this year instead of waiting.

The Plan to shave 4k

There is no plan. I just wrote this blog post without knowing exactly how I will shave the 4k. I mean, some stuff is “simple”. Call Bell, threaten to cancel internet for the umteenth time. Actually attempt to buy/eat more frugally and have less waste.  Buy less cat toys. I’ll come up with something for my next blog post.