Expense Report: April 2015

Let’s do a quick recap.

Last month was the 6th month of my expense tracking adventure and I created a 6-month Mickey Moving Average Expense Index (MMAE Index) that tracks my average expenses for the past 6 months. I also added arrows to each expense category to show if this month’s expense figure in that category was higher or lower than that category’s MMAE Index.

I also used the MMAE Index for each category as the budget for the following month so that there’s a reference for me to look at and try not to go over-budget.

The result is nothing short of amazing! I had a record-breaking month by having the lowest monthly expense to-date.

Transportation: $54.94 

Commuting charges on the B.M.W (bus, MRT, walk) increased by more than 50% this month. I only took 4 taxi rides, 3 of which was used to bring the family to attend my cousin’s wedding. As I’ve been making an effort to cycle to work at least 4 times a week, I only took 14 train rides this month which is way lower than the average public transport commuter in Singapore.

Food: $267.31 

Food expenses was reduced by 29% in March due to army reservist and I’m proud to be able to reduce it by another 30% in April as I dined in restaurants in 4 separate occasions. Using the 6-month MMAE Food Index as a budget helped me to track if I’ve been visiting restaurants too often. I think dining in restaurant once a week is a decent frequency and I will try to maintain this.

Groceries: $65.33 

Grocery costs went up a little due to the number of times I prepared lunch for work this month. I started a grocery price book to see if it helps knowing which of the 3 supermarkets in my neighbourhood offer the cheapest price for the produce that I usually buy. Let’s see how that pans out in the next few months.

Shopping: $0 

Hurray! There was absolutely nothing necessary to buy this month so I’m proud to not have to spend any money on in this category this month

Entertainment: $145.60 

The expenses chalked this month included 2 movie nights with snacks and 2 drinking sessions with colleagues after work. I’m happy with this month’s Entertainment expenses as I felt that I kept a tight rein on the budget

Miscellaneous: $57.22 

The miscellaneous expenses this month included a red packet for my friend’s baby shower and personal grooming. I starting to see the point in not paying higher prices for products just because of their brand. For example, I opted for the $2 Clean and Clear facial cleanser instead of a $29.90 facial cleanser from The Body Shop and the cheaper cleanser does the job just as well.

Total expenses for April: $1481.68 (including fixed expenses of $891.28) 

This month’s low spending helped to move the 6-month MMAE Index down to 2709.56 (Awesome!) I will try to continue driving my average monthly expenses down. Who knows? If this becomes a habit, then it just means I would just need a smaller retirement nest to retire.