Where is the money going?

Over a period of 8 1/2 months, I have made a bit over $18,000 net. I don't record my gross, only my net, but a guesstimate based on my pay stubs would say my gross so far is over $22,000.

So far I have spent close to $3,000 on my mother, this includes groceries, bill overages, being dragged off so she can have a whopper, etc; but excludes stuff like gifts and bribes. That is excluding whatever $$$ she gets for this month (originally slated to be +$500).

By the time I refuel Noëlle, I will have spent almost $1,000 on petrol. Moving has really helped this a lot, even with higher gas prices and my mother's overages sometimes pulling into my petrol budget; I will gladly take $50 x 2 weeks over $35 x 1.5 days any day! For the mathematically challenged, that means I spend at most 2/3 what I used to, even with gas having gone up $1~$1.20+ per gallon!!!

So far I've spent almost $550 on games, that divides into about $150 on myself and about $400 in gifts. Yeah, I can be kind of generous. Also I tend to buy several copies of major games (like pre-ordering the 4-pack of Dead Island) when we get into things, and when playing related games (e.g. L4D/L4D2), I'll often 'balance the equation', so that we can all play together without having to lose people because of the lowest common denominator in our inventories.

Consumables such as snack foods and eating out has been $150, excluding the times my mother demanded we eat out (which is therefore calculated as how much I've spent on her). Some of this is from having to buy lunch after the move but most of it is just splurging on my stomach. My $2 limit on impulse snacking doesn't work if I already decided on it...:'(. I needs to work on trimming back on this a lot.

I've paid $1750 in car payments and over $1800 in car insurance. (Yes, I am getting seriously rapid for not having my license since 18.) If you combine that with petrol costs, I've paid out like $4,500 in automotive expenses thus far.

Technology has consumed approximately $600, which amounts to stuff like my monitor and Alice. Both were major upgrades over what they replaced, and actually, significantly cheaper in the end sum. Never mind that most of my technology tends to last years longer than a lot of other peoples crap.

Clothing has racked up less than $80, you can tell I'm more an engineer than a fashion mogule there.


Paying for the move from Newnan to Duluth, and a vacation to Canada, have rather raped most of my savings but both were well worth it.