My total expenses for the year were $42,851, about $800 less than last year, so I count that as a win.

A closer look at my top expenses reveals, however, that in only one category, my cat, my expenses stayed roughly the same as last year;  7 other top expenses rose by as much as 94% (maintenance). Surprisingly, there was also one category, electricity, that dropped by 1% compared to last year. That must be attributable to my turning the lights off all the time since I'm still on the same 3-year contract I locked in 2 years ago at a very good rate. My spending on lawn and garden increased by 54% (mower raised his prices) and car upkeep (10-yr-old car) by 41%.

Top 11 expenses:

Property taxes: $6942
Kitchen upgrade: $5582 (cabinet paint job, new sink/faucet)
Food: $5203
Oil tank replacement: $4300
Lawn and garden: $2658
Maintenance: $2,644
Cat: $1897
Heating oil/cleaning: $1476
Household: $1401
Car upkeep: $1015
Electricity: $1008

I also have 8 "mid-tier" expenses, and the story there is prices rose in most categories, the most marked being the 62% increase in dining out. That's probably a result of both rising restaurant prices as well as the fact that I treated family a few times to some very nice meals out. Notably, the $690 I spent on gas for the car this year was a 15% drop from last year. My prices for car insurance ($645) and homeowners insurnce ($615) saw only modest increases from last year, which is again a surprise.

I have another 8 "low-tier" expenses that aren't really mentioning.