I love my citicard credit card–I get cash back on most purchases (I pay the card off in full every month, so this truly is “free money”), their online system is easy to navigate, and I receive an annual summary of all purchases with one simple click of the mouse.  I’m always somewhat fascinated by this report as it shows me every single item I’ve spent money on (via CC) in the past year.  Reviewing this report helps to identify areas of weakness and improvement, especially because it breaks down my spending into categories.

Here is what the 2010 report revealed:

Air Travel:  $145.85
Auto Rental:  $125.06
Cash Transactions:  $0.00
Entertainment:  $675.49
Health Care:  $441.07
Lodging:  $10.00
Merchandise:  $9,242.76
Miscellaneous:  $0.00
Organizations:  $840.65
Other Travel:  $45.80
Restaurants:  $3,566.08
Services:  $3,926.11
Vehicle Services:  $1,578.15
Total:  $20,597.02

According to Citi, the category inclusions are as follows:

Air Travel:  Tickets, baggage fees
Auto Rental:  Self-explanatory
Cash Transactions:  Self-explanatory
Entertainment:  Recreational, amusement & cultural services (concerts, movies, museums, sports clubs, events)
Health Care:  Medical services (co-pays, Rx, etc.)
Lodging:  All fees charged to room, including reservation
Merchandise:  Purchases made in any store (in-person, online, mail order, phone)
Misc:  Not sure! 
Organizations:  Charitable, political, civic, etc.
Other Travel:  Taxis, bus lines, tolls, travel agencies
Restaurants:  Self-explanatory
Services:  Shipping, financial, cable, utilities, beauty, etc.
Vehicle Services:  Purchases, servicing, fuel, parking

Another great feature of the report is a section that lists your total purchases by month.  I use this to help me “forecast” my spending/savings patterns:

Jan:  $1,471.59
Feb: $659.24
March:  $1,291.70
April:  $1,646.81
May:  $2,924.31
June:  $1,830.43
July:  $2,128.65
Aug:  $2,914.74
Sept:  $1,322.69
Nov:  $1,790.38
Dec:  $1,776.02

At first glance, my areas of needed improvement are obviously in the restaurant and merchandise realms.  While I’ve already made vast improvements in the restaurant category, I think the merchandise will take care of itself because the bulk of my 2010 purchases in this category were for my new condo (tons of Home Depot charges for renovations plus all of my furniture and decorating).  The services category includes my Internet and car insurance bills, as well as a few condo closing-related fees.  Finally, a quick look at the vehicle services category revealed a need to use the subway more!  Considering that gas is currently $3.49/gallon here, this might be the very first change I institute based on this report’s information.

All in all, not a terrible year considering how many changes occurred!  It will be interesting to see how 2011 compares, especially given my Student Loan Mission…..