They call it ‘Silly Season’ for a reason – I easily forget my bank balance and make it rain with dollar dollar bills.

This pretty much summarises my December:

To break down how I spent my December and Christmas break:

Hmmm… spending close to 100% of my income. No bueno!

December ran over 5 weeks, so this increased my overhead costs due to weekly bills and costs. I actually had to dip into my savings because I was spending so much on going out and eating, which is a BIG NO-NO.

A big chunk of my income went to overhead costs – predominately rent –  however due to the 5 weeks of the month there were extra weeks payment for both rent and gym.

Entertainment was a big expense and over $200 more than last month due to a few farewell dinners, birthday dinners, Christmas and catchups with friends and family while back in my home town. 60% of Entertainment expenses were for dining out/food, 40% was for drinks at bars. Going out a lot also has side costs like taxis and public transport (I walk to work so no public transport related costs here).

Gifts, Clothing, Entertainment and other misc expenses made up $1,527 of expenses for the month – a huge amount and almost all can be cut down.

So overall, I’ve actually gone backwards in my budgeting, after having taken money out of savings to cover these going out costs. It’s so obvious where the problem is – going out for dinners, take-away food, drinks at bars – but breaking this habit is easier said than done, especially when they’re usually at social gatherings out at venues when the big spending occurs. While I have a lot of fun at the time, spending $10 here and there on a drink or food seems small but quickly adds up to a $100 or $200 night out. Yikes! I can’t afford to keep throwing away money like that!

xx Miss Piggy