Many good things this month!
First, my credit score is doing super well! I checked it on leap year day but forgot to include it in my February review.
What am I going to do with it? Apply for a mortgage for a shoebox in Toronto lol.
For reals tho, no plans to use it in any way since I don’t plan to buy a house or even plan to live in a country that uses an Equifax credit score.
Spendings Report: $4,094
Really freaking high my goodness.
A slew of things this month kinda all came up in succession:
- Chinese taxes ($440)
- New TV ($340) the first ever TV I’ve bought!
- Re-upholstering an old sofa ($340)
- Two close friends’ birthdays ($300)
I’m not terribly mad about paying for any of the above, especially the TV and sofa because I’m in my *~*nesting*~* era. I’m settling in one place and want a nice apartment I can invite my friends over to and these are the associated costs. The place I work at now suits my needs so well I don’t see myself moving around for a good few years yet.
Outside of the taxes and furnishing costs I also spent much more than usual on clothing and jewelry. I’ve been noticing for a while now that I’m upgrading bits and bobs of my wardrobe. Am I pleased with the results? Yes. Is it spending that is purposeful? Mostly. Still grappling with balancing this aspect, particularly because I buy fewer pieces now but the quality of each is higher than before and comes with a corresponding price tag.
Forecasting ahead, April and May are also going to be high spends because of these big items:
- Canadian taxes ($400-2000 based on past years). Not avoidable, reporting taxes enables me to have interest-free investment accounts.
- Braces ($1320). Also unavoidable because I like having teeth.
- Buying summer flight tickets ($4000). I have this crazy plan to go to 4 new countries this summer break sooooo yup. I’m gonna stay in cheap hotels and eat cheaply to keep costs low hopefully. To save up money for this trip I kept all other holidays within China this school year.
- Short holiday trips ($400). Two holidays are coming up so I’ll organize a few day trips to nearby places. The beautiful weather here for April and May is also driving the urge to get outside.
- Drawing lessons ($600). Something I’ve been wanting to get back into since high school and I finally have the time for it! I can delay this one but frankly, I’ve been delaying it from high school until now and I feel frustrated despite achieving other goals this one keeps on being juuust out of reach. I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes.
- Laser hair removal ($700). Obviously an aesthetic cost, not something practical however it’s an aesthetic cost I want to spend on. For anyone interested, the $700 is for lower legs and underarms for a year with the cool light system? Sorry the machine names are in Chinese and I’m not invested enough to translate.
- New chairs (???). The ones the landlord provided are much too old and the cushion ain’t cushioning y’all. I’m in discussion with them about if they can buy a new set for me or if we need to split the cost.
Writing these out makes me feel a little bummed about my savings for the next couple of months 🙁
Net Worth Update: up like the pollen count
Wow, the markets are having a great month.
I’m still following the same old boring plan of investing in an index fund and otherwise living my life 🙂
Enjoy the warm weather friends, and happy Spring!