My Frugal Miser - February 2022 Expenses

February was quite reasonable when you compare spending to income.

• Spending on my car was low.  There was no maintenance, and because I was out of town for work, I spent less on gas.
• I paid the annual fee for my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
• Food was also low.  In addition to being reimbursed for or provided food when we work meetings, we have started eating more "regular" food (versus low-carb), which is less expensive.

Fun

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• I received the refund for taxes and fees for the canceled New Orleans cruise.  We decided to work a meeting in Boston instead.
• Our Australian cruise was canceled, but I am still waiting for the refund.  Carnival is taking its time to process it.
• I booked and paid for an Alaskan cruise.  Alaskan cruises generally cost more than Caribbean cruises, but I was offered a decent price.  I paid $350/each for a balcony stateroom plus taxes/fees for a 7 night cruise at the end of May.  One of the days includes crossing through some glaciers, and I thought it was a no-brainer to have a balcony where we could marvel at the sites.  It worked out to under $200/day.  Not bad considering a hotel room alone would cost more than that, while a cruise includes our food, entertainment, and drinks in the casino.
• I decided to splurge on our flights to Seattle for the cruise.  I used points to book first class seats on the way, and took advantage of my annual travel credit on my Capital One Venture X card by booking first class seats back on American Airlines.  I was pleasantly surprised by how little the difference between first class and economy were and took advantage of what I thought was a mispriced ticket.  The difference between economy and first class was less than $200/ticket.  For that, checked bags, meals and alcohol are included - not to mention better seats and no one in the middle seat, because there isn't one!

February Expenses:  $3,686

$150 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$550 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$78 Clothing/ Personal Care
$2,013 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$372 Food

$143 Health and Dental

$1,214 Household/Home Repairs

$75 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($1,358) Reimbursed Job Expense (income - my provided per diems were much more than I spent)

$0 Interest Expense

$407 Miscellaneous

$82 Taxes

$39 Utilities