As everything else will pass.
So has January.
Read about the challenge here.
And it is time to reveal if I have accomplished my challenge to live below 1000 $ for one month.
And you know what?
I failed.
I didn’t accomplish to spent less than 1000 $. I managed to spent WAY more than a 1000 $ to be honest.
My Spending
I’m sad that I didn’t manage to complete the challenge. But what I spent my money on was worth it.
My mom turned 60 years old this month. And because of that we made her a surprise party lasting almost a whole day. We started out with surprising her at home, where we maked a potluck brunch, I broad super delicious (but expensive) bread from a baker called Meyers. From my mom’s apartment, we all biked to my rowing club where we had champagne in the sauna, and went swimming in the harbour. My mom and her boyfriend has this tradition where they invite each other out on a traditional danish lunch (smørrebrød). So this time the whole family went out for lunch. From there we visited my cousins old workplace (she is a pastry chef). Bought some cake, and went home for cake coffee and rum. All in all, it was a LOVELY day. I wish my 60 year old birthday will be similar to hers.
But I managed to spent a pretty sum of money on that event.
- 170 DKK (28 $) on bread for the brunch.
- 430 DKK (70 $) on the lunch
- 600 DKK (90 $) on a gift for my mom
1200 DKK (200 $) in total.
I was a lot of money. But it didn’t bother me to spent it. It was a really great day. And it is not to often I spoil my dear mom. She deserved every single spending on that day.
Father+Son Weekend
One day my dad invited me to go Statens Museum for Kunst. I can’t remember the name of the artist. But she had a made three pears out of bricks.
We walked out of there super disappointed. And agreed to visit Fjordenhus in Vejle a couple of weeks afterwards. It is a super awesome building designed Olaf Eliasson. A danish-icelandic artist. Magnificent building. He is bending the laws of how a brick house should look like.
My dad picked me up at the European Indoor Championships. Where I was a part of the four person relay team, and we ended up with a silver medal. I really love that rowing club. It is like a second family to me.
Directly from podium and out in the car we drove away. I didn’t have time to change, because we had to reach a ferry from Odden to Århus. And it was the very last one. So no time to miss it.
We had a sleepover at my highly loved aunt in Brabrand. Where I always get spoiled. And so did my dad all along that weekend. And I couldn’t stand the thought just to get spoiled all weekend, without spoiling them. Sunday we went out for a lunch, at a lovely place in the woods. That ended up costing me 835 DKK (130 $) for us three.
But the money was well spent. The food was lovely (Stjerneskud). And the vibes were even better.
Summing It Up
- 1200 DKK (200 $) at my moms birthday
- 835 DKK (130$) Father/Son weekend
- 767 DKK (120$) Food and eating out
- 128 DKK (20$) Cinema with my ex
- 50 DKK (8 $) New sheet for my bed (Woke up with a huge hole in it)
In total: 2852 DKK (450 $)
And if we look at the last update. I had 640 DKK (100 $) left for this month.
640 DKK – 2852 DKK = – 2212 DKK (380 $)
So I managed to spent 1380 $ this month.
Which is like 40 % above my target of 1000 $.
What ended up like an average month for me, could have been a really bad one (according to my savings rate) if I have been more sluggish about my spending. I have learned that I can live 20 days on way less that I normal would without sacrificing my happiness. But I would have loved to start this new year spending less, because then I would be closer to have 20 times annual spending saved up.
But if we subtract my mom’s birthday and the weekend with my dad, I would be quiet close to the 1000 $ goal. I do not think it will be a difficult goal for me in the future.
I will proceed to try to live on way less than I do now.