March 2025
Where our money went (and the $129 we'd like to un-spend 🫣)
💰 total spent
$0😬 categories
1 over avg
Scroll for the full breakdown... 👇
🏙️ How We Stack Up vs. Los Angeles
We're DINKs, so no childcare costs skewing the numbers. Here's how we stack up against BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data for the Los Angeles metro area.
The Los Angeles metro area (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA) includes Orange County, where we live. Uses 2023-24 data because the 2024 release was delayed three times (data quality issues + appropriations lapse) and finally published Dec 19, 2025. MSA-level data uses 2-year averages for larger sample sizes.
| Category | Ours | Los Angeles Avg | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | 65% | 30% | yikes 🔥 |
| Groceries | 6% | 8% | slightly under 👍 |
| Dining Out | 4% | 6% | slightly under 👍 |
| Transportation | 6% | 16% | nailed it ✅ |
| Utilities | 2% | 7% | slightly under 👍 |
| Entertainment | 2% | 4% | slightly under 👍 |
| Shopping | 3% | 3% | ~average |
| Health | 2% | 7% | slightly under 👍 |
| Subscriptions | 1% | 3% | slightly under 👍 |
| Other | 9% | 16% | nailed it ✅ |
And now, the moment you've been waiting for...
🤦 Dumbest Purchases
Every month, we each confess our most regrettable spend. Public shame is free therapy.
His
Portable projector
“A $129 portable projector for 'outdoor movie nights.' Used it once. Inside. On a wall three feet from the TV.”
We can't even look at this. 🫠
Hers
Matching dog bandanas
“Spent $38 on matching bandanas for a dog we don't have. They're for our friend's dog. The dog ate one within an hour.”
Could've been worse... barely. 😅