More 2016 Numbers & Analysis

Are you ready to get anal?
 
That’s what you might call my penchant for details, my collection of useless information.
 
I’d like to share some of that info with you today, mainly for shits and giggles.
 
You see, ever since 2004 I’ve kept a spreadsheet budget of daily income and expenses.
 
I like to do this as it gives me a way to track where my money is going.
 
Because of this I can see that:
 

• I spent $382 eating out in 2016. That’s not a whole lot, especially considering that most Americans are spending $1,043 a year just eating out for lunch.

 

• I spent about $67 on books/magazines this year. I get most of my books from the library for free. In 2015 Americans were spending about $43 a year on books.

 

• I spent $43 on clothes this past year. The average American family spends $1,700 on clothes each year.

 

• I spent nearly $1,900 on my car this year, mostly for basic maintenance and car insurance and gas. The average a family usually spends on car repairs each year is $817.

 

• I spent $777 on household items in 2016, which is a kind of catch-all category for small furniture items, appliances, cleaning products, knickknacks and other things like that.

 

• I spent $296 last year on medical insurance and medical care. Most Americans spend about $10,000 a year on care and about $1,100 for single care insurance.

 

• I paid $197 to use my phone last year, mostly with $10 to $20 a month. Most people seem to be paying about $73 a month, at least according to a 2014 report.

 

• I spent $8,625 on rent this year. So that’s nearly $9,000 that’s gone to me, nothing to show for it, no equity built up. Most Americans are paying $1,381 a month in rent for a new apartment.

 

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So that’s a look at some of my spending.
 
Besides those numbers I have a few more.
 
I read 53 books in 2016 and together they had 9,607 pages. Most Americans are reading 12 books a year.
 
I watched 145 movies in 2016, most of them checked-out free from the library.
 
I saw 17 of those movies at the theatre. Most Americans go to the movies 5 times a year.
 
Overall since I began keeping a movie watch list back in 2004, I’ve watched 2,261 movies.
 
The most money I had in my bank account at one time this year was $1,893 around the end of October.
 
The least amount I had was 15 cents back in late-June.
 
And besides that…I think I’m out of numbers.
 
I could add in a few more, but I don’t think they’d interest you that much.
 
Heck, I don’t know if what I put up interested you much at all!
 
I dunno, maybe it’ll have you keeping track this year.
 
Books is an easy one to track, and a rewarding one. I began my reading list a few months before I graduated college in 2008.
 
Now I have 415 books on there.
 
Perhaps you want to do something similar.
 
Mostly, it’s about becoming a better person.
 
When you have a clear idea on what you spend your time and money on, you can figure out if you want to continue in that regard or make changes.
 
Now’s the time of year to do that, now’s the time of year to become a better person.