2021 in review! Just how much did we spend???

2021 was an eventful year and proved to be full of changes and variety. We choose to leave Melbourne, Victoria after the crazy year of 2020 and drive north. We drove to Queensland where we thought we would explore the warmer weather, see family/friends, and be away from the "city life".

Most of the year was spent on Fraser Island, read more here, and I'm not sure how much more we could have been removed from the city. Fraser is the largest sand island in the world and it was a fair effort just to do a grocery shop. Getting everything for one month in one trip was tricky at the start. If you forgot something, it's not like there is a store down the road or a place for you to get Uber eats. It was fun, challenging, rewarding and so much growth on my part!

Aside from that amazing part.....how did 2021 turn out financially?

Well, we spent a total of $21,000!

Yup, that's right. We spent $21,000 for the two of us for an amazing life. This included leaving and moving from Melbourne, driving to Queensland, buying a 4-wheel drive for the island, food, fuel, fun clothes, EVERYTHING.

We bought and sold the 4-wheel drive, so the net cost for us was around $5,000 after the depreciation, insurance, etc. A large part of our total $8,065 in transportation costs.

Our food for the year was $7,893 which included groceries and going out to eat.

Our accommodation was only $1,395 for the year! Thanks to housesitting and not paying rent on Fraser.

Accommodation, food, and transportation are typically the biggest expenses for anyone's budget for any given year. For us, the total for all three of these categories was $17,353.

The rest of what we spent was categorized into entertainment or "other". Other for us included things like clothes, post office expenses, the dentist, and our phone bill.

FYI: our phone plan only costs us $60/month for two phones. A huge saving compared to many plans out there.

So, how much did you spend this year?

Do you even know? If not, that's okay. I didn't always know myself.

If you are interested in knowing for next year, just how much you spent, be sure to sign up for my 15-Minute Budget online course. Part of going through this course is tracking your income and expenses. Therefore you will know just how much you spent for the year, next year!