Expense Report: March 2015

March came and went rather quickly for me because of a 1.5 week high key reservist duty that I had to do as part of my 10-year NSmen cycle. I for one, enjoy going for reservist duty because it’s the perfect opportunity to take my mind off work, enjoy the free food and make full use of the SAF facilities to exercise.

In this month’s expense report, you will notice that I have added some arrows on the right that are similar to those used in stock tickers. As this is the 6th month (hooray!) that I have been logging my expenses, I decided to set up an index that I call the 6-month Mickey Moving Average Expense Index (MMAE Index) that tracks my average expenses for the past 6 months. The up arrow shows an increase in spending this month compared to the 6-month MMAE Index (which is bad) and the down arrow shows a decrease in spending this month compared to the 6-month MMAE Index (which is good).

The goal is to try to get more down arrows each month and progressively lower the 6-month MMAE Index. That would show that I have successfully reduced my spending. Once I complete logging my expenses for 12 months, I plan to expand the 6-month MMAE Index to a 12-month MMAE Index to track expenses for a full year.

Transportation: $111.01 

Commuting charges on the B.M.W (bus, MRT, walk) increased by more than 50% this month due to the frequency of taxi rides I had to take to travel from home to Jurong Camp where my reservist duty is usually held.

Food: $383.12 

Food expenses decreased by 29% as compared to last month because all 3 meals are provided by the SAF cookhouse and I rarely spend money at the canteen.

Groceries: $25.10 

Grocery costs remain flat this month as I didn’t have to stock up the fridge since I was going to be away for nearly half of the time.

Shopping: $455.00 

Although I was away on reservist, that didn’t stop me from shopping online. This month I bought a new dual SIM Android phone from Xiaomi at $169 and a new Oxelo Kick Scooter at $184. It seems like quite a splurge but I justified to myself that the cost of the Kick Scooter will come from part of the extra income I made from active projects this month.

Entertainment: $168.40 

A friend of mine from the Netherlands whom I met during one of my backpacking adventures was visiting Singapore so I thought I show her around. I treated her to some of our local delicacies and drinks up on KU DÉ TA, Marina Bay Sands. Drinks were pricey so I made a mental note to spend less on drinks for the rest of the month.

Miscellaneous: $427.35 

The miscellaneous expenses this month included a red packet for my friend’s baby shower and a little TLC on my bicycle which was necessary since I commute to work on my bicycle regularly.

Total expenses for March: $2461.26 (including fixed expenses of $891.28)