MONEY DIARIES: October 2020

Money Dec 21, 2020

Our total expenses for October stands at AED 10,993. In addition to the regular expenses, I indulged in some shopping this month – bought work clothes, got myself a haircut and a nice pair of boots on sale (winter is coming!)

Here’s the detailed breakdown:

Fixed Expenses:

Rent AED 5000: Our biggest spend is the rent paid for our modest 1 bed apartment. We pay AED 15,000 x 4 cheques which works out to be AED 5000 per month. We are currently negotiating the lease renewal which is due in first week of December *fingers crossed*

Car loan EMI AED 2690: We took on a 3 year car loan in August 2018, we are set to finish paying this by August 2021

Postpaid mobile phone plan AED 126: I use a postpaid mobile phone plan from Du. D’s company pays for his

Home wifi/tv/telephone AED 387: We have subscribed to the elife unlimited starter which takes care of our home broadband + basic tv channels + landline

Variable Expenses:

Water & Electricity AED 825: This is our biggest variable spend. It’s lower than the previous month (I attribute this to the changing weather – we do not use the A/C as much these days)

Groceries AED 746: On average we spend around AED 800 – AED 1000 on groceries shopped from either Carrefour, Lulu or Nesto.

Food and Drinks AED 355: The month’s take-outs and me indulging my coffee/tea addiction while at work. I spent the whole month at a client location and boy they have a nice office canteen (which kind of explains the additional AED 150 on F&B this month!)

Mr. D and I checked out the creative pop up Adidas store in Dubai Design District (D3) which showcased its new ZX 2K sneaker (all covid 19 protocols followed like sanitisation booth, gloves, masks etc). The mini stations gives visitors the chance to touch and feel the material used in making these super cool shoes. It’s a gooey clunk of slime (eww? haha not for some – it can apparently send you into the ASMR zone)

Shopping AED 228: Centerpoint is my go to place for regular clothes shopping. Got some work clothes and bought myself a pair of low heel ankle boots from Shoemart

Healthcare AED 253: My insurance covers 90% of the cost while I end up paying 10% co-payment on medical and pharmacy bills. Higher than usual thanks to my ‘investment’ in some reusable masks which are not covered under insurance (I need to go in to work every day so I prefer buying a mask that’s fit for wearing for long periods of time continuously as opposed to the disposable surgical mask)

Transportation AED 294: Topped up the salik account for AED 120, rest went into petrol expenses (we get a 10% cashback on petrol using Citibank credit card)

Miscellaneous AED 116: A long overdue haircut (felt good visiting the salon after a long time!)