The change that matters this month
Leisure went from ₩29,100 to ₩205,500. That is ₩176,400 more, and effectively the whole of this month's increase came from that single line. Add up the movement in everything else and it very nearly cancels out.
The detail is two charges: Yanolja ₩178,600 and CGV ₩26,900. One hotel booking is what this month's change actually is. By its shape this is one large purchase, not something that repeats.
There is nothing to conclude yet. If August also lands in the ₩200,000 range, then it has become a habit, and that is the moment to look again.
Against last month and against normal
July spending was ₩2,969,000 — ₩70,800 more than June's ₩2,898,200, up 2%.
| June | July | |
|---|---|---|
| Actual spending | ₩2,898,200 | ₩2,969,000 |
| Fixed costs | ₩1,985,300 | ₩1,978,300 |
| Variable | ₩912,900 | ₩990,700 |
Fixed costs actually fell by ₩7,000. What rose was the variable side, and most of that is leisure.
Your twelve-month average is ₩3,034,083. So July was ₩65,083 below your own average. Up against last month, down against normal — you need both readings to see it.
It all sat inside income of ₩3,335,500, and the ₩500,000 of savings went out as usual. A 2% rise is inside normal seasonal movement, and there is no overspending signal this month.
What moved, category by category
| Category | June | July | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure & travel | ₩29,100 | ₩205,500 | +₩176,400 |
| Eating out | ₩59,900 | ₩87,800 | +₩27,900 |
| Subscriptions | ₩59,900 | ₩63,400 | +₩3,500 |
| Housing | ₩973,000 | ₩970,000 | -₩3,000 |
| Utilities | ₩101,400 | ₩93,900 | -₩7,500 |
| Groceries & convenience | ₩156,100 | ₩144,000 | -₩12,100 |
| Transport | ₩132,500 | ₩111,200 | -₩21,300 |
| Education | ₩206,500 | ₩180,000 | -₩26,500 |
| Shopping | ₩130,500 | ₩70,500 | -₩60,000 |
Finance costs ₩620,000, insurance ₩140,000, telecom ₩91,000 and family care ₩120,000 are exactly the same as last month. Those four are the lines you cannot touch, and together they are a large share of the total.
What changed, and why
Eating out went from ₩59,900 to ₩87,800, up 47%. Hongkong Banjeom at ₩32,600 and a gukbap place at ₩27,400 are the big pieces. Small in absolute terms, but pointed upward. Two months is not enough to separate a seasonal effect from a change in habit, so August will have to tell you.
Shopping fell from ₩130,500 to ₩70,500 — ₩60,000 less. That drop absorbed about a third of the leisure increase. It reads as a June bulk purchase that did not repeat in July.
Education fell from ₩206,500 to ₩180,000. June carried a book purchase alongside the tutoring fee; July was tutoring only.
Fixed costs — where the money actually went
Here is what makes up this month's ₩1,978,300 of fixed costs.
- Housing ₩970,000 — rent ₩850,000 and building management ₩120,000
- Finance costs ₩620,000 — one home loan payment
- Insurance ₩140,000 — Samsung Fire ₩92,000 and Hyundai Marine ₩48,000
- Transport ₩111,200 — fuel ₩59,500 and public transport ₩51,700
- Telecom ₩91,000 — SKT ₩58,000 and KT internet ₩33,000
- Utilities ₩93,900 — mostly electricity ₩49,000 and city gas ₩28,000
Insurance and telecom together are ₩231,000. Both have been identical for twelve months, and they are two of the very few fixed costs with room left in them.
What changed in subscriptions
Subscriptions came to ₩63,400, and three things moved at once this month.
- Netflix ₩17,000 → ₩19,500 (a 15% increase). If you were not told about the increase, it is worth checking now. Worth seeing at the same time whether a lower tier would do.
- YouTube Premium ₩14,900 started.
- Spotify ₩13,900 cancelled.
You dropped music streaming and started a video subscription. YouTube Premium includes YouTube Music, so you do not need to re-subscribe to anything else for music.
That said, with Netflix and YouTube Premium both running you have two video subscriptions, ₩34,400 between them. If you genuinely watch both, it is not duplication. Think back over last month — if one of them rarely gets opened, that is the one to drop. The remaining ₩29,000 is ChatGPT.
The rhythm of the month
You paid 35 different places in July, and 34 of them were charged exactly once. The only place you went more than once was a Starbucks — ₩11,200 across 2 charges.
By week, the fixed costs cluster early. Rent, tutoring and childcare land in week 1; the loan and building management in week 2. Most of the month's fixed costs leave in the first two weeks.
Week 4, where the leisure spending sits, also carried Yanolja ₩178,600, CGV ₩26,900, Homeplus ₩59,500 and Hyundai Marine ₩48,000. This was a month that loaded up at the end.
What you did well
- Cafés ₩15,700, delivery ₩43,500. Both down from last month (₩17,700 → ₩15,700 and ₩47,100 → ₩43,500). Cutting further here costs more in daily friction than it returns. Leave it as it is.
- You took ₩7,000 off your fixed costs. It looks small, but fixed costs repeat every month, so over a year it is not.
- You kept the ₩500,000 of savings again this month — in a month when leisure spending jumped.
- Medical ₩12,500. One trip to the pharmacy.
Three things for next month
- Check the Netflix increase. See whether a lower tier works for you.
- Turn one video subscription off for August only. If you don't miss it, leave it off; if you do, turn it back on. Half of that ₩34,400 is riding on the answer.
- Just watch leisure. Only check whether August lands in the ₩200,000 range again. This is not the moment to decide anything.
Do those three and August should land somewhere around ₩2,920,000.
This analysis is built from aggregated figures derived from your statements. It is not for investment, lending, credit, tax or legal decisions.