Disclaimer: some links may be affiliate links. They help offset the cost of keeping this blog running!
It’s baa-aackk! Now that I can stand facing my finances again, I can compile everything into a status report again. I got many emails, messages, comments and paper airplane notes asking me to bring back the status reports. I heard you.… and here they are!
Why do I do a monthly status report?
I find it best to do a monthly status report for a few reasons.
- It helps me evaluate how I did the previous month. Did I hit a target reduction in spending or did I go way over budget for a particular category? Did I earn more? What was my overall savings rate?
- It helps keep me accountable. How can I make an extra purchase knowing I’ll have to explain myself to all of you? Talk about awkward when the blogger can’t walk the walk and talk the talk.
- I want to prove this crazy thing called financial independence works!
- It provides an example of real-world budgeting and expenses. Some of the people I talk to haven’t ever seen a proper budget or seen one put into action and part of the purpose of this blog is to lead by example!
I use Mint to help me track my spending and keep an eye on my accounts. I also use a really awesome and super in-depth spreadsheet. So many formulas….. Some people use Personal Capital and others use You Need a Budget (YNAB). Whatever tool (or a combination thereof) works best for you and your needs is the best one for you, since everyone and their budgets are different.
Spending
January 2019 felt like it was never going to end! The weather in DC, while much more temperate than I’m used to, was still on the dark and cold side. I am being mindful of the fact my finances are still in rebuilding mode, so I behaved myself.
I did allow myself one splurge though, and that was buying a Nintendo Switch with my first paycheck. I have gotten countless hours of entertainment out of it on the Metro and at home! I consider it money well spent as I am less tempted to go out and spend money on entertainment when I have Mario Odysessy to conquer.
I have more things to say about living in a big metropolitan area, but I’ll save that for another post as I have far too much to say here. Suffice to say for now that I love living here and am very happy with my decision to move here!
Check out below for my total spending in January 2019.
Housing | Zero line item, thanks to the generosity of a wonderful couple! |
Utilities | Also zero |
Food | All of my meal prep supplies are in a box, so this is mostly eating out for lunches at work. |
Phone | Thanks to Project FI opening up their referral program again, I had credits to offset my bill. |
Auto | One tank of gas and a month of Metro fare for my commute. |
Internet | Also zero. |
Insurance | Health insurance is paid directly from my paycheck. |
Pet | None needed in January after stocking up in December. |
Health | One trip to therapy and other misc expenses. |
Blog | Blog and podcasting expenses |
Entertainment | Aforementioned Nintendo Switch 🙂 |
Fees | Start-up costs for HSA/401k/etc |
Travel | Rideshare expenses for New Years |
Gifts | Belated Christmas presents |
I am grateful I have a place to stay to get a grip on my finances and figure out what expenses look like in this HCOL area. One thing is for sure, I won’t be able to find the same level of housing I had back in the Midwest. A good deal around here is 1 bedroom with roommates in walking distance to a Metro station for $1k/month. I’ve got a place lined up that fits that general profile and will be moving in March 1st if everything goes to plan.
These low expenses are letting me pay off my credit cards and shore up my savings a little. Had I had to pay for expenses like rent, utilities and internet, the process would’ve taken a lot longer. Still doable just not so quick. January’s total spending was $2,185.77 which seems in line with other people’s expenses around here.
Income
Paychecks: $6,153.94
Other income: $5.10
Total: $6,159.04
I am amazed at how nice it feels to get paychecks again. I really like the security consistent paychecks provide! Especially considering how little I made as a freelancer. Every other week, I get money in my account! It’s like magic! The bulk of the non-work income was a pattern on Etsy, which means I’ve now sold 3 patterns. Woo…
Savings
401k: $153.85
HSA: $169.22
Roth: $0
Cash: $3,650.20
Total savings: $3,973.27
Most of the unallocated cash went straight towards paying off my credit card before I get hit with fees. There “isn’t much” on it — just a few thousand dollars but I want it gone as quick as I can. I do not like debt!!
Net Worth
According to this, my total net worth is $203,295. That seems a little high, given that I haven’t been earning very much. I’m wondering if I should take my car out of the net worth calculation as I highly doubt I could sell it for $4,500. According to Kelley Blue Book value I could get $2500–3000 which seems more in line with my expecations. Levi is a good car but he’s been around awhile and has a lot of miles.
I’m interested to see my overall net worth hasn’t fallen too much since I last calculated it. This last month of putting money away and paying off my credit cards has been more helpful than I thought!
Thanks for reading! What did your month look like? Did you stick to your budget?
I don’t include my car in my networth calculations because I view it as a tool, not an asset. Just like I don’t include my laptop. But that is my personal preference!
My partner’s kid got a Switch for Christmas and now I want one so bad!
That’s fair, regarding the car. And yes, the Switch has blown me away. I love it!
I’m glad to see that you are back on your metaphorical feet and are returning to financial stability. Hopefully in a few weeks you’ll be able to settle into your new digs without any issues and start banking more of your earnings again.
I bought myself a Switch for my birthday last year and while I haven’t been playing it as much as I thought I would, it’s still a pretty great little device and especially good for travel. Maybe I’ll play you online one of these days.
Mitchell recently posted…Monthly Financial Snapshot: January 2018
Hit me up in a DM and I’ll give you my Nintendo ID. I’ve been playing Smash, NES games, and Mario Odyssey. Can’t wait to bring it with me this weekend!
I still include my car because I paid less for it than I could sell it for… And as Jordann from MyAlternateLife says, she needs a car but not “this” car, so if things got tight, she could sell the nicer car and buy a beater for cash and pocket the difference.
Josh recently posted…Ingredients vs. Recipe
I like this philosophy! I’ll have to check her out. She seems great!
Haha sorry, but my car is very generously worth MAYBE $2k so your $4.5k number is highly suspect
Hooray for paychecks and low expense months! Hooray also for awesome future roommates 😉
Erin | Reaching for FI recently posted…The year in money goals: 2018
This would be why I’m thinking about lowering the amount in my net worth lol
Maybe I’ll look for a different place to live now!!
Gwen, glad you are loving DC so far! Have you given any thought to selling your car now that you live in DC? I went car-free in 2014 and haven’t missed it. Finding parking (unless you have a dedicated off-street spot) was more trouble than having a car was convenient. Plus, I redirected costs spent on gas and insurance to my ride share budget. I rent a car whenever I need one from Getaround, and that has worked out well. Of course, I would probably wait until after you move to your new place to think about going car-free, as having a car is super clutch for hauling boxes and stuff you need to set up a new place.
I’ve thought about it, but for now I still use the car on a semi-regular basis as I live in the burbs of NoVa. Perhaps after I move to my next place in Capitol Hill I’ll consider getting rid of the car. After all, I’ll have to get DC plates, parking sticker, and title for the car (plus who knows what insurance will cost there.…) It would be an ideal lifestyle though!
Oh yeah, having a car in the suburbs is still usually important. Most of my friends have gone car free after a year or so in the city, but some folks definitely hold on, especially if they have parents they regularly visit in the suburbs. I’ve been very happy with public transit here.
Thanks for the update. Good work on keeping your expenses low, even in a high cost of living area. You always manage to land on your feed and I really respect that.
If you do move into the city proper, it’s worth looking into Zipcar or other car subscription/rental services as a replacement for owning. Kristy and Bryce did that when they were working and have a post about it on their blog. Granted, it may not be quite as cheap as owning a Vibe, but still a good idea to see what’s on offer.
I only include my car now since I have a small loan associated with it, but I will take it out once the loan is paid off by the end of this year. I never included the value of my previous car before that because the KBB value was low, and I didn’t even end up getting the KBB value when I sold it. If you really want to include it, drop it to $2K so it assumes you get something for your car without skewing your net worth a ton.
I like this! Thanks for the suggestion Colleen!
Nice Gwen! Great to see the report is back and you’re still killing the game! DC sure is an expensive place, but in and around the city there are so many fun frugal activities to stay entertained at least!
Young FIRE Knight recently posted…Net Worth Update: January 2019
I don’t include my car, but it’s less than 1% of our net worth now, so that seems fine. Glad you’re pushing yourself to look at your finances again! Is your debt all gone since I see no liabilities on the net worth snapshot? If so, yay!
Everyboddddy… Gwen’s monthly status report is back… ALRIGHT!!!! And now I have that song stuck in my head. Thanks Gwen! Glad everything is heading in the right direction. Good luck on the interview.
Mrs.Wow recently posted…Conquering the Clutter: 31 Day Minimalism Challenge with 1500 Days
This is motivating for me to start tracking ours! Incredible numbers Gwen! I think I have a general idea, but haven’t actually put it down in writing! Something to think about!
Nice , Gwen’s monthly status report is back ,
thanks for your great help… Good luck on the interview.
Masum Billah recently posted…Turbulence – Air Pockets: What to know when you fly
Would you consider adding website stats like views to your monthly status posts? I love seeing how different people are doing and blog growing strategies in general. Either way here’s to things stabilizing for you, it’s been quite the ride!
Tag recently posted…The Crop-Lien System: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
That would require me to track the stats! I try my hardest to not look at the stats as I’m not into the monetization of the blog. I’ve found that only leads to comparison with others, so I don’t track. If I did, I’d consider putting them out there!
That’s fair. Blogging can be very cathartic and it seems like the non-monetization camp is much larger than than the monetization camp, probably for the same/similar reasons as you’re expressing here. Thanks for the response though!
Tag recently posted…The Crop-Lien System: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
You’re in great shape despite the bump you experienced in the past several months! I played over 100 hours of Breath of the Wild when it first released. What a beautiful game. I can’t remember the last time I was so engrossed in a game. Unfortunately I went back home one weekend and found my brother sold the Switch. There went all my progress 🙁 I still have my Wii boxed up and thinking of selling it and putting it towards a Switch hehe.
Ouch on the rent! I live in a LCOL area (Phoenix) so that hurts my soul to see.
My month didn’t go too badly. I put away far more money than it felt like I saved. I guess because it went toward the mortgage and into the IRA and savings accounts other than the main savings. So it feels like I didn’t save anything, but I actually did pretty well. Woot!
Abigail @ipickuppennies recently posted…Savings coups: Clothing edition
Your expenses are so low! That’s awesome!
I have our cars in my net worth but have decided to remove them once we get far enough past the $100k mark to stay above it without the cars. I think it’s fine to include anything that you can sell in your net worth though as long as you know what the true market value is.
Nice car name btw! That’s my middle name 🙂
Millionaire Dojo recently posted…Financial Independence on Easy Mode