I realize it’s a bit late in the year for me to be doing my recap of 2007 of expenses, but better late than never. Besides this way it’s actually closer to being a year away from last year’s report.

While I actually had more details of my expenditures this year compared to last year, I decided to simplify what I actually report in the blog. Mostly, I wanted to remove savings from the report.  While I actually feel like savings is one of the most important “expenditures” there is, I also feel the least comfortable reporting it.  For that reason I also removed charities and gifts as a category.  However, another reason I decided to remove savings as category is that I want my monthly investment performance report (admittedly very much a work in progress) to be the reflection of how I’m saving and investing. This report really is a report of how I SPEND my money.

For those who know me there should be no surprises here.  My biggest expenditures are Dining Out/Entertainment, Vacations, and Rent in that order.  In actuality the number for Dining Out/Entertainment is somewhat exaggerated because I’ve put all cash expenditures into that category. I don’t track cash expenses.  I switched late last year to using my credit card almost exclusively for all purchases big and small, and as result that number will be increasingly more accurate.  That said when I do use cash it’s almost always for food or drinks anyways.

Here’s a look of my expenses by month.

I’ve expressed each category per month as a percentage of the annual total. As you can see, there’s quite a bit volatility month to month.