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Home > It's a Wrap, the 2021 Numbers Are In

It's a Wrap, the 2021 Numbers Are In

January 9th, 2022 at 07:11 am

After balancing my final account, I've been waiting on the statement, the numbers are in. Sadly, overall I spent 14% more than the previous year( 2020).

 

First, my savings accounts increased by $6789.87; liabilities went up by $2400.07. Last month I used the CC for dental work, I'll be paying it off this month, I wanted to use the CC for points, that equal cash. 

 

I paid off $15,429.81 in student loans; decreased the mortgage by $3455.10, and my net worth increased by$2306.14. 

 

Where I spent my money the most was student loans, up 269% (payments); entertaining, up 101%, I bought season tickets to football games, dental up by 125% and personal care, up by 86%, I started back going to the salon and I'm now cutting this out, so my personal care line item should decrease. Clothing  was also up, 26% 

 

I didn't see much decrease but the mortgage decreased by 7%, auto registration was down by 9%, cellular down by 9%; and miscellaneous spending down by 4%  

 

Looking at these numbers really put things in perspective. I'll admit, I lost focus in June and hadn't started budgeting again until December. 

 

Some things I'm doing to ensure this is a better year:

  • Started the cash envelopes back up
  • Started budgeting again 
  • Cutting my salon visits 
  • Will not buy season tickets to the games this year 

That's it 

Posted in Reaching Financial Freedom, Spending, Budget | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “It's a Wrap, the 2021 Numbers Are In”

  1. crazyliblady Says:
    January 9th, 2022 at 01:34 pm 1641735252
    1641735252

    Your numbers look great to me, as you paid off a huge amount of debt and saved a lot of money. The increase in spending for 2021 compared to 2020 might be because you were working from home/locked down in 2020. Most people were not traveling or shopping as much, so don't beat yourself up.

    However, I am just curious why you did not use your HSA to pay for dental work.

  2. Amber Says:
    January 9th, 2022 at 02:21 pm 1641738079
    1641738079

    Hi Craylady
    I honestly forgot about the HSA, and just learned that since I have COBRA I can still contribute. The amount is minimal so I'm going to use it for upcoming doctor visits

    You're also right about the start of the pandemic, in 2021 things started to get a little “normal” for me. Not sure why I hadn't thought of that 🙄

  3. Turtle Lover Says:
    January 9th, 2022 at 02:36 pm 1641739010
    1641739010

    things are looking good! 😀

  4. Lots of ideas Says:
    January 9th, 2022 at 05:12 pm 1641748338
    1641748338

    Amber, I hope this makes sense.
    You can deposit the amount you are going to pay the dentist to the HSA, then reimburse yourself. The cash flow will be the same, but depending on your tax bracket, you will ‘save’ 12-25%. This is true for any medical bills up to your HSA limit. You my be able to still make 2021 deposits. Check with your plan.

    And I urge you to think about denying yourself salon visits and football tickets. if these bring pleasure to your life, are you ‘punishing’ yourself by dropping them? Maybe cut back salon visits to longer intervals. You are doing great, and life must have some simple pleasures…

  5. Amber Says:
    January 9th, 2022 at 08:22 pm 1641759741
    1641759741

    Thanks Lots of Ideas
    Your are right, I've already decided no tickets this year and reduced salon visits.

    Regarding the HSA, I'm on COBRA, and thought I couldn’t deposit since it would post-tax, now that I know, I'll be making contributions

  6. VS_ozgirl Says:
    January 10th, 2022 at 09:10 pm 1641849011
    1641849011

    Amber, I totally hear you on certain expenses creeping up because there was a period of time you weren’t tracking them really! I’m dealing with the same thing… I found over the last couple of years, especially last year, that while I’ve been tracking our income and expenses, I haven’t really been watching them or thinking about what they all mean, so when there is more spending there is no thoughts about whether we should be spending on that thing. I’m hoping to save a bit more this year so that there will be less available to spend/fritter. Good luck with decreasing your spending this year!

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