Last year, I highlighted my total 2010 credit card spending after receiving my annual report from Citi. Doing so afforded me the opportunity to critically analyze my spending habits. It also gave me the motivation to make some changes to how I spent my money for the upcoming year. While 2011′s total number is larger than 2010′s, I indeed took steps in the correct direction in terms of cutting back my spending (these figures also include a lot of work-related expenses that I was reimbursed for). Here are the numbers side-by-side (please note that this card is paid off every single month and I simply use it for convenience and cash-back rewards!):

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

And here are my notes for the various increases seen among categories:

Air travel: Included my trips to Colorado, Greece, Mexico, and Disney World (internal links)
Auto rental: This was all 100% reimbursed by my employer
Entertainment: Somehow, my gym and wine club memberships were lumped in here?
Lodging: Included entire resort bill for Disney and other hotel stays that were reimbursed by work
Merchandise: Included all groceries, purchasing a new bike, home improvements, and registration fees for the Goofy Challenge
Organizations: Mostly PayPal transactions and random adult ed courses for photography
Other Travel: Entire package bills for Greece and this year’s trip to Ireland
Restaurants: Includes work-related expenses that were reimbursed
Vehicle Services: $1,700 timing belt replacement, $400 control arm replacement, gas for personal car and work (which was reimbursed)

Considering that the above total for 2011 included a $2,100 pre-payment for a trip I’ll be taking in 2012 plus over $3,500 in employment-related costs that were all reimbursed to me and over $2,300 in random car repairs, I’d say that I did fairly well for the year! I’m happy to see my shopping & dining out totals decreasing, and I plan to make those numbers continue to fall for 2012.

 

Do you receive an annual report from your credit card? If so, do you analyze it? Any surprises?