Returning to the fold...

[Focus_on_the_fire]

Hi everyone,

Consider this a post for accountability.

I did the first real end of the year spending review since the end of 2019. It wasn't pretty. It's not like everything went to hell and I have to turn in my Mustachian membership card, but I'm pretty tarnished at this point.

The positives: dumping Cricket for Mint Mobile (annual), opening a new Vanguard account, and continuing to invest.

The negatives: I'm not going to go into gory detail, but the amount of online impulse buys in 2020 and 2021 was embarrassing. We drifted back into takeout/delivery. We even did Hello Fresh. (OMG...what were we thinking?!)

I'm ready for this hangover to end. So, armed with a new 2022 budget/investment tracker, I'm running back to the community and to sanity.

 :)

[Kwill]

Welcome back! You're probably not the only person who'd like to forget about 2020 and 2021. Good job making it through and finding a way to start again.

[Jack0Life]

Much much were your expenses ??

[Ron Scott]

:)

It was nice to see this thing at the end of your post.

I have often found my little purchases give me as much pleasure as my larger ones, don’t “add up” much to affect any life goals I have, and are good for the soul.

In their attempt to shoot for the jugular, some people seem to develop a fine sense for the capillary.

[Focus_on_the_fire]

:)

In their attempt to shoot for the jugular, some people seem to develop a fine sense for the capillary.

HAHAH... Very true. I was a little shocked to find myself using deliveries as something to look forward to, which is terribly, terribly wrong. 

[Focus_on_the_fire]

Much much were your expenses ??

For the year we spent on average about 1,000 a month on food, 300 on gifts, and 300 for personal items. The metric that surprised me was online orders. It was just too easy to click the order button and I think, as I mentioned before, there was a psychological element of having something to look forward to.

I ordered in other places, but Amazon is the standout. in 2018 and 2019, most of the purchases were birthday or Christmas gifts to ship to family around the country.

2018--33
2019--33
2020--91
2021--67

My goal for 2022 is to use what we have and only order online for gifts when I need it.

[DeniseNJ]

go to the first MMM post and start reading the blog over.  It will help you reset.

[Jack0Life]

Much much were your expenses ??

For the year we spent on average about 1,000 a month on food, 300 on gifts, and 300 for personal items. The metric that surprised me was online orders. It was just too easy to click the order button and I think, as I mentioned before, there was a psychological element of having something to look forward to.

I ordered in other places, but Amazon is the standout. in 2018 and 2019, most of the purchases were birthday or Christmas gifts to ship to family around the country.

2018--33
2019--33
2020--91
2021--67

My goal for 2022 is to use what we have and only order online for gifts when I need it.

Dang you went from 33k to 91k ?? That's crazy.
I think for a brief period where we were DINK for 8 months, we spent without keeping track and probably spent just as much

[darknight]

go to the first MMM post and start reading the blog over.  It will help you reset.

This.


This year I re-read almost every post and it helped me double down. While nearly everyone I know is buying new cars/trucks another property, I was getting very tempted.

[Virtus3]

This post spoke to my soul ha!

I'm susceptible to excessive spending and the last year and a half between the stress of work, COVID, and having young kids fueled by a fairly significant increase in "disposable" income definitely took us off the path as well. You're certainly not alone.

[Catbert]

Much much were your expenses ??

For the year we spent on average about 1,000 a month on food, 300 on gifts, and 300 for personal items. The metric that surprised me was online orders. It was just too easy to click the order button and I think, as I mentioned before, there was a psychological element of having something to look forward to.

I ordered in other places, but Amazon is the standout. in 2018 and 2019, most of the purchases were birthday or Christmas gifts to ship to family around the country.

2018--33
2019--33
2020--91
2021--67

My goal for 2022 is to use what we have and only order online for gifts when I need it.

Dang you went from 33k to 91k ?? That's crazy.
I think for a brief period where we were DINK for 8 months, we spent without keeping track and probably spent just as much

I suspect this was number of shipments (or maybe items) rather than a $$ amount.

[Ron Scott]

:)

In their attempt to shoot for the jugular, some people seem to develop a fine sense for the capillary.

HAHAH... Very true. I was a little shocked to find myself using deliveries as something to look forward to, which is terribly, terribly wrong.

I post to forums on mechanical watches and guitars. Some of these guys are nuts. They’ve got what they themselves refer to as gear acquisition syndrome—buying something new in the hopes that the next one will be THE ONE.

When the delivery is the highlight of the day…

[fell-like-rain]

I post to forums on mechanical watches and guitars. Some of these guys are nuts. They’ve got what they themselves refer to as gear acquisition syndrome—buying something new in the hopes that the next one will be THE ONE.

When the delivery is the highlight of the day…

People in vintage bike circles call it the N+1 problem; the number of bikes you want is always the number you have plus one.

[seemsright]

Hi everyone,

Consider this a post for accountability.

I did the first real end of the year spending review since the end of 2019. It wasn't pretty. It's not like everything went to hell and I have to turn in my Mustachian membership card, but I'm pretty tarnished at this point.

The positives: dumping Cricket for Mint Mobile (annual), opening a new Vanguard account, and continuing to invest.

The negatives: I'm not going to go into gory detail, but the amount of online impulse buys in 2020 and 2021 was embarrassing. We drifted back into takeout/delivery. We even did Hello Fresh. (OMG...what were we thinking?!)

I'm ready for this hangover to end. So, armed with a new 2022 budget/investment tracker, I'm running back to the community and to sanity.

 :)

Please do not beat yourself up too bad. 2020 and 2021 both have been very hard years. Our state still has mandates, and restrictions so it is looking like 2022 wont be easy either. I have done what ever I have had to to keep my head on straight during the whole time. The whole point of money is to do what you need to do.

[Kwill]

Much much were your expenses ??

For the year we spent on average about 1,000 a month on food, 300 on gifts, and 300 for personal items. The metric that surprised me was online orders. It was just too easy to click the order button and I think, as I mentioned before, there was a psychological element of having something to look forward to.

I ordered in other places, but Amazon is the standout. in 2018 and 2019, most of the purchases were birthday or Christmas gifts to ship to family around the country.

2018--33
2019--33
2020--91
2021--67

My goal for 2022 is to use what we have and only order online for gifts when I need it.

Dang you went from 33k to 91k ?? That's crazy.
I think for a brief period where we were DINK for 8 months, we spent without keeping track and probably spent just as much

I suspect this was number of shipments (or maybe items) rather than a $$ amount.

That's what I was thinking, too. Would be good to hear from the OP.

[iluvzbeach]

I post to forums on mechanical watches and guitars. Some of these guys are nuts. They’ve got what they themselves refer to as gear acquisition syndrome—buying something new in the hopes that the next one will be THE ONE.

When the delivery is the highlight of the day…

People in vintage bike circles call it the N+1 problem; the number of bikes you want is always the number you have plus one.

This is absolutely my husband’s response regarding the perfect number of vintage motorbikes, antique guns, or guitars.