Year To Date Credit Card Spending 2014

Hello Sophisticated Spenders!

I was cruising through my credit card statement and was curious on what I’ve spent so far this year.

It was CRAZY!

Since Jan 1, 2014, I’ve spent $46,462.82!

Crazy right?

Here are the categories (in my Alex Trebek voice-I love Jeopardy!):

Merchandise & Supplies: $20,300.99

Travel: $7,479.16

Restaurant: $6,563.83

Transportation: $4,620.53

Business Services: $3,829.66

Communications: $2,328.70

Other: $910.77

Entertainment: $415.17

Fees & Adjustments: $14.01 (a foreign transaction fee)

Note there are $0 interest charges because I pay the balance IN FULL every month!

Whew!

That means that my average monthly spending was $3,871.83.

That’s $129 per day-EVERY day!

Ouch!

My goal for next year is to cut that number in half!

Yes, IN HALF!

Here’s how I plan on cutting back:

1.  Stop crashing my car!  I am a terrible driver.  I may need to catch the metro a few more times per month.  Or just be more careful when I’m driving-but I’m careful ALL of the time…right?

2.  Try to get sponsors for my 2015 conferences!  I can make a serious dent in that travel budget by getting paid to attend some of these blogger conferences.

3.  Get a boyfriend!  hahahahaha.  Self explanatory!

4.  Meal Plans!  I love cooking but I also hate wasting food.  I need a better plan for my eating because I like restaurants and I like cooking.  There HAS to be a balance somewhere in there!

5.  Re-evaluate Needs Vs Wants!  I’ve been long overdue for this one.  Moving from a 1500 sq ft 3 bedroom townhouse to a 500 sq ft studio has been life changing (Cutting the cable has also been great).  I am a lot more picky with what I buy because I don’t have space for a whole bunch of junk (AKA wants).

Your Turn!!!!

I would LOVE to hear your numbers for 2014!

How much have you spent in 2014?  Was it good or bad?  How will you make changes?

(Please share this with a friend that would find this information useful!)