December 2025
Where our money went (and the $78 we'd like to un-spend 🫣)
💰 total spent
$0😬 categories
2 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 | 55% | 30% | yikes 🔥 |
| Groceries | 6% | 8% | slightly under 👍 |
| Dining Out | 4% | 6% | slightly under 👍 |
| Transportation | 6% | 16% | nailed it ✅ |
| Utilities | 2% | 7% | slightly under 👍 |
| Entertainment | 3% | 4% | ~average |
| Shopping | 10% | 3% | yikes 🔥 |
| Health | 2% | 7% | slightly under 👍 |
| Subscriptions | 1% | 3% | slightly under 👍 |
| Other | 11% | 16% | slightly under 👍 |
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
Matching holiday pajamas
“Spent $78 on matching holiday pajamas for us and our friend's dog (yes, the one who ate the bandana in March). Wore them for one photo. The dog's pajamas lasted 4 minutes.”
That's a lot of damage. 💸
Hers
Personalized ornaments
“Ordered $65 worth of personalized ornaments that arrived on December 28th. Three days late. They're already packed away. Merry Christmas to future us.”
That's a lot of damage. 💸