My 2013 Year-End Bonus: Final Breakdown

Here is the final breakdown of how I used my 2013 year-end bonus.

Category	Amount
Vet	$283.95
Entertainment	$72.31
Personal	$254.27
Savings	$7.64
House Repairs	$1,362.96
Service Charge	$4.00
Gas (for trip)	$76.36
Car Wash	$9.00
Household Supplies	$34.84
Gifts	$42.35
Escrow Shortage	$372.15
TOTAL SPENT	$2,519.83
TOTAL RECEIVED	$2,519.83
TOTAL REMAINING	$0.00

The $254.27 in the personal category includes my purchase of some sweet new Under Armour running shoes (affiliate link). Don't worry readers, I did de-clutter an old pair before I even brought my new ones home. Gotta put that 1 in 1 out rule to good use! ;)

I spent more than expected on household repairs. I estimated $1,000 but when I got to the home improvement stores, the items I had planned on buying were just not as good quality wise. It's hard to judge quality online, so once I could see them in person, I ended up going with more expensive items.

The Vet category was also a bit more expensive than I expected. I guess costs go up over time.

As far as the entertainment category and the remaining personal category, I used some of this while I was out of town. This will not be a regular occurrence during my debt payoff journey, but I still feel a little guilty at how expensive my trip was.

Overall, I am mostly happy with how I used my year-end bonus. I don't regret it and I plan on using any tax refund I get in a more productive manner, putting it toward debt, savings, and the second half of my escrow shortage.