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My 2021 Expenses and Income

December 28th, 2021 at 10:19 pm

Total expenses for the year were $45,092. That's up a bit from last year's $41,000.

Top 10 Ranked Expenses:

1. Property taxes $6,792, about the same as last year.

2. Out of pocket medical: $6,253, which represented a huge increase from last year due to my menscus tear knee surgery and subsequent physical therapy.

3. Tree work: $6,223. I had one huge silver maple cabled and another huge white pine taken down, both for safety purposes.

4. Food: $4,363. This is notable as it is about $400 LESS than last year. (Each year, food just keeps on increasing, and this is the 1st time I've managed to spend less.)

5. IRS: $3,654, a new category this year since I'm self-employed now (still working for the same agency though) and so now I make quarterly estimated tax payments.

6. Washer/dryer: $2,282. This felt like a splurge but it really wasn't as I used an unexpected IRS refund. (Thank you, Joe B.) The purchase included cutting edge heat pump technology in the dryer, plus service warranties on both. I figured if either needed a repair it would be pricy.

7. Household: $1,916, a bit of a catch-all for stuff for the house.

8. Cat: $1,659. It adds up, between expensive cat food and vet visits.

9. State taxes: $1,230 (also due to my estimated tax payments throughout the year)

10. Lawn & garden: $1,193. This includes bi-weekly mowings.

Here's what my Top 10 look like in pie chart form:

What's perhaps more notable about my Top 10 list is what did NOT make it to the Top 10 this year: Health insurance, which last year cost me $3,524, substantially more than this year. (Again, thank you, Joe B.)  Also of note is the fact that my property taxes and most utilities stayed the same: electricity, water and sewers. I did go a little crazy with clothing shopping, spending $721 more than last year. I spent $490 less on heating oil and $235 less on homeowners insurance (plus $237 less on my umbrella policy) after changing carriers. Another big drop was seen in my car upkeep: $700 less compared to last year.

Income-wise, I earned just a bit over what I spent, so I ended up with a net savings of $587 this year. This is fine as I stopped contributing to savings and retirement a number of years ago after I met my retirement savings goal. My strategy is to pay my living expenses with my part-time work until I completely retire in 3 years' time. So with my paycheck, combined with an Xmas check from dad and the IRS stimulus, I was able to cover 100% of my 2021 expenses. I even managed to earn $582 in credit card rewards and $446 in freelance work from my one remaining freelance client.

 

5 Responses to “My 2021 Expenses and Income”

  1. disneysteve Says:
    1640732636

    Nice breakdown. As you said on my blog, our situations are rather similar with us both now working part time with the goal of breaking even or hopefully saving a bit and letting our nest eggs grow untouched until we retire completely.

  2. Lots of Ideas Says:
    1640788461

    Thank you for mentioning how the Biden economic actions have helped you.
    It makes me so happy to hear people I ‘know’ benefitting from what he is doing!

  3. PatientSaver Says:
    1640791743

    Lots of Ideas, thanks for your comment. I can honestly say Joe Biden is one of only 2 presidents whose policies have had a direct beneficial impact on me.

  4. rob62521 Says:
    1641155188

    Very organized breakdown of your expenses!

  5. PatientSaver Says:
    1642466539

    Runesoldier, thank you for looking at the pie chart so closely, because you caught a mistake!!

    My food total was in fact $4,363. That other figure, $4,754, was actually what I spent on food in 2020! (I was using my 2020 pie chart as an easy template where I could just update numbers.) So thanks again for catching that. My dining out expense is practically nothing, at jut $130 for the year.

    So my 10th highest expense, to replace the duplicate food expense, would be Household, the only catchall type category I have for things like anything for the house that's not a huge expense, like dishtowels or something like that. I have a separate category for "big" expenses over $500.

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