Monthly Comparison, April to May 2020

Ah, early May… how little I knew then. All I worried about was a pandemic – securing toilet paper and groceries, masks and soap.

This update is later than I’d intended because writing about personal finance from the perspective of a white middle-class woman seemed so tone deaf over the past couple weeks. Not only did I miss by May goal by half; the splurge that bumped me down to only a 5% improvement over April spending was a wine fridge. The words are hiding shamefully in the background. While I have no problem justifying the purchase, I can’t justify waxing poetic about my wine collection right now. Maybe when we see a big shift in the direction of equality.

My goal for June is another 5% decrease in spending, with 10% of total spending donated to various equality- and justice-focused organizations. As of this post, I am over budget by just less than the amount I have donated so far – meaning I still have to make some adjustments to meet the spending goal.

With travel off the table for awhile and birthdays accounted for through August, I have a decent degree of confidence in success. My county has not yet entered Phase 1 of re-opening, so the lure of restaurants and (fee-based) recreation is not yet distracting me. I’m pretty sure we have tortilla chips and paper towels to last the rest of the year… just stocked up on face soap/lotion. Produce is already paid for through July, thanks to the CSA. Major car maintenance happened in March, just as things were starting to close down, and I’ve driven maybe 100 miles since then (mostly talking with friends and family via bluetooth while taking in nature from a “social distance”).

In July I plan to look at my recurring bills – specifically cell phone and car insurance – to see if I can lower those costs in the long run. Right now my insurance is still discounting my policy because of the pandemic, but my policy cycle renews in July and I don’t know yet how long the discount will last. Got some interesting news at work, basically encouraging employees to ditch the personal cell for increased autonomy over the work-provided phone… but for all the pros of saving about $100/month, I can think of several cons that may not make it worthwhile.