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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Spending

How I Spent Just $15,000 Last Year

January 6, 2020 23 Comments

It’s the time of the year for reflection, and looking back on my expenses for the year reminds me of all of the adventures I’ve had. This year I said goodbye to friends and family in Portland, Oregon and moved with Mr. Mechanic to upstate New York.  Note: some links in this article are affiliate […]

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking

Airbnbs Hosted By Clowns and Other December 2019 Expenses

December 31, 2019 3 Comments

This month was perhaps one of my favorites of the year. We Adopted a Cat In October, we started fostering a kitten. I wrote about the experience in November, and December 16th was the date we had to decide whether to keep him or let him go up for adoption. We ended up adopting MechaniCat […]

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Expense Reports, Food, Money Tracking

8 Recipes to Keep You Cozy in Winter and Other November 2019 Expenses

December 1, 2019 4 Comments

Early winter is teasing us with short bursts of snow. I was pleasantly surprised when it melted away, as I had imagined that we would have to hunker down for the rest of the season. We spent most of November trying out a lot of recipes. I’ll share our November recipes and also my expenses […]

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Spending

Craft Brew Carousing and Other October 2019 Expenses

November 4, 2019 10 Comments

I mentioned in last month’s expense report that I am determined to enjoy this season—and let me tell you, I enjoyed the hell out of it this month. We kicked off the month by taking a road trip to Burlington, Vermont. Trading driving shifts, we arrived on Thursday, very ready for a three-day weekend. The […]

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Expense Reports, Money, Money Tracking

An Enormous Trader Joe’s Haul and Other September 2019 Expenses

October 2, 2019 8 Comments

The leaves are beginning to turn—little bright flags waggling in the wind. Most people love the fall; it’s a time of just enough chill to don a jacket and sweater and get a little cozy. Not me. Winter Is Coming (But Enjoy Autumn Anyway) I have always disliked the fall because it meant winter was […]

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking

FinCon, Furniture, and other August 2019 Expenses

September 1, 2019 8 Comments

In August, we moved in. Furnishing Our New Home If you recall, I was uprooted for the last couple of months because of a housing snafu. Two months after our expected move-in date we finally got the e-mail that our place was ready. We only brought one car-load worth of stuff, which meant we had […]

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Travel

Wait, I Only Spent $255 Last Month? – July 2019 Expense Report

August 3, 2019 3 Comments

June was the month of uprooting, as we packed and hefted and drove and ended our lease—and July followed quickly after, which I now dub the month of homelessness. The Apartment Situation If you recall from last month, I was sleeping on a pad in our empty apartment, living out of my suitcase. The reason: […]

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Spending

How I Live On $1,614 a Month In Portland

July 29, 2019 4 Comments

A detailed breakdown of how I spend $1,600 a month in Portland, OR

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Spending

Moving Across the Country and Other June 2019 Expenses

July 3, 2019 4 Comments
Portland skyline on a clear day

June was the month of uprooting. Mr. Mechanic is headed across the country for his first year of residency and I am going with him. We moved most of our stuff to storage, packing what we could into our little white Rav4. Mr. Mechanic drove cross-country, arriving in New York later that week.  He has […]

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Expense Reports, Food, Money Tracking

Adventures Abroad, Birthdays, and Other May 2019 Expenses

June 5, 2019 4 Comments

The month of May heralded summer and anticipation for our next chapter. We jetted off to Colombia early in the month. For a week we had an adventure-packed trip, and then I flew home. I have to manage my vacation days given the upcoming move, but lucky Mr. Mechanic had more time off so he […]

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The Mechanic

I'm a mechanical engineer turned programmer with a pretty big DIY project: save enough money to become financially independent. Financial Mechanic is all about frugality, career climbing, and investing.

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