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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 combination thereof) works best for you and your needs is the best one for you, since everyone and their budgets are different.
Spending
June was an.… interesting month, to say the least. I dealt with house drama (work started on the exterior project and I gave 30 day notice to a tenant. more on that later.) and work drama (two straight weeks of busybusybusy. I’m not used to working late or doing 10 hour days anymore!).
If you noticed I was posting less than usual in May, that would be why.
I also took the time to make a trip up to Minneapolis to meet more like-minded individuals. I had a super fabulous time while there, even if it was a fair amount of driving. I only wish I was lucky enough to live there. I could see things like a giant cherry on a giant spoon all the time! (art is weird.)
And you thought I was kidding. smh
Spending was higher than I’d like due to the house project, but overall I feel like I did a pretty good job of watching my spending and not going bonkers.
Here’s how I did spending wise in June!
| Mortgage | Not including principle, which is accounted elsewhere on my spreadsheet. Actual payment is $705.43 a month! |
| Utilities | Remember that feeling I had last month? .…yeah.… |
| Food | I’m still in denial about how much food I eat. Don’t judge me too much. |
| Phone | So low. I love Project FI! |
| Auto | Gas, an oil change, and parking. |
| Internet | I still haven’t figured out what my bill amount acutally is.… |
| Insurance | Health insurance is paid directly from my paycheck. |
| Pet | The cat likes to have food everyday and clean litter. What a weirdo. |
| Support | I’m really slacking on this front. Sorry sis! It’s on my to-do list I promise. |
| Blog | Monthly fees for support and email. |
| Entertainment | Bought tickets for the week long fair concerts coming up! Hey Brett Eldredge 😉 |
| Shopping | One new softball bat and a new shirt. |
| Fees | Annual fee for my Chase Sapphire Reserve |
| Travel | Flight to Vegas for 4th of July! |
| Gifts | $30 to a friend for the Rockstar Finance #GivingCards project. |
| House | Second payment on the exterior house payment and one certified letter fee. |
All told, my spending for June totaled $2,869.00 without the house project payment, and $5,063 all told! I find it fascinating I spent almost exactly the same amount in May and June. Only $2 off! I must be getting really good at this whole trying not to spend money thing.
Income
Paychecks: $3,194.07
Rental income: $1,100
Total: $4,294.07
June’s income stayed the line this time. Nothing unusual here! (Note the paycheck is after tax).
Savings
401k: $2,171.24
Roth IRA: ——
HSA: $220.82
Cash: $0
Total savings: $2,392.06
As you can see, I’ve temporarily suspended transfers to my Roth IRA until I get it switched over to Fidelity which is taking way longer than I’d like and I’m not happy. On the other hand, I’m super glad I get to “keep” this money in my pocket for a while longer before I put it in the account.
Net Worth
According to the Lab over on Mad Fientist’s site, my FI date is now 7 years and 3 months away, which means I’m at September 2024! Last month I was at August 2024 so I actually gained two months instead of losing any time. I’m bummed, but that’s what happens when one spends so much money on fixing up a house. Hopefully I only have one more month of trashed averages.
My total net worth went up 1.18% to $158,132.22 this month! I wish it was more, but slow and steady wins the race and I have nothing to complain about!
Thanks for reading! What did your month look like? Did you stick to your budget?
Awesome update! Keep up the great work!
Thanks Lance!
It’s nice to see your net worth inch up and the mortgage inch down. Congrats! Spoonbridge & Cherry — classic Minneapolis destination. I love my city. Are the meetups around here only for blog writers? I’m starting to wonder if I should start a blog myself.
June was our first month in the red in a long time 🙁 Quarterly estimated tax payments (~$3100) & an unexpected car repair ($537). We booked tickets for our first international trip as a family with kids, and that set us back (~$2900, airfare + passport application fees for the two kids). I opened a new CC to finally start travel hacking and hit the minimum spend straight away. With any luck, the next big airfare trip with the kids will be done with miles/points instead of dollars. We took a mini-vacation this month: camping! What a great time — food was cooked on fires, tents were pitched, kids swam on beaches, kayaks were paddled and rocks were climbed. All for less than $350.
I should update my stats at the MadFientist lab. Last month, it said we were a year out from FI, but after another month of big spending, that could go up. Keep up the good work, Gwen!
Not just for blog writers! Join us in the North Stars group on Rockstar Finance! Meetups get posted and discussed there.
Booo for lots of spending. I know the feels. Good job on snagging that bonus for the big spend though!
Thanks for the info! I’ll sign up for an account there.
Oooo Vegas will be such a fun time, make sure to take a bunch of pictures 🙂 Early retirement could be sooner with some W’s at the casino… I heard the Golden Nugget has some fun slot machines!
Erik @ The Mastermind Within recently posted…My Goal to Read 75 Books – June 2017 Check-in
I’ve already hit up some slots! Won a bunch.… but then I gave it all back at blackjack 🙁 The cards just didn’t fall right :/
Pretty sure your that fee is for CSP, not CSR. Curious if you decided to keep both CSP and CSR or if not, which one you are going to product change / close.
Also, I have the same time to FI as you, but your NW is still about $1.5k ahead! Been working on catching up to you all year, but you are always just ahead of me! Just goes to show the power of compounding and the huge advantages of starting to save early.
Mitchell recently posted…Monthly Financial Snapshot: June 2017
Good catch! Yes that is for my CSP and I have plans to PC it into an Ink.
I’m surprised, myself, how much compounding has helped me out this year! Makes me feel a lot better as I’m pumping tons of money into this house.
I don’t think you can PC it to Ink as Ink is a business card and CSP is a personal card. Will likely have to PC it to Freedom or Freedom Unlimited. BTW, it’s too late for you at this point, but for anyone else reading this, you could have PC-ed before your 12 months by PC-ing to Sapphire and then PC-ing to Freedom/Unlimited the next day.
This is what I get for commenting while on vacation. I will be PC’ing my Sapphire into a Freedom.
That giant-spoon picture looks so refreshing! Sounds like a fun/busy month, hopefully July gives you a little break. I like seeing how your numbers progress from month to month, keep it up! 7 years isn’t bad at all, especially considering that you’re in your twenties. Have fun in Vegas and Happy Fourth of July!!
Matt @ Profitable Matters recently posted…Introduction to Cryptocurrency: What Is Bitcoin?
Thanks Matt! Happy 4th to you as well!
Great work!! Happy 4th! Keep it up and keep the goal in sight. It helps immensely!!!
Thanks Mr. Wow! Speaking of goals in sights.… only 3 more months until we all hang out in Ecuador!
Another solid month for the books. I want to hear all about your house drama, so stop having so much fun IRL and get on writing that down for us ok?
Mrs. BITA recently posted…On the path to financial independence: June 2017
That is true, slow and steady wins the race. And even though you want to reach FIRE sooner than later, don’t forget to enjoy the journey during the growth period. Even at only a little over 1% growth, it is actually a decently big number when compared to your overall net worth. Keep up the great work. Have fun on vacation!
Dividend Daze recently posted…Recent Buy – General Mills (GIS)
Fellow landlord, I’m sorry you are having tenant troubles! Looking forward to a happy resolution and a better tenant.
I’m so sorry about all the bug and tenant troubles! I’ve been following along on Twitter and I felt so bad about it all. :/
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is on my list of things to see. 🙂 I just love public art displays.
All in all, it sounds like it was a good month! And Brett Eldridge? I wanna go!
Nice work, Gwen! I hope you had fun up in Minneapolis — let me know the next time you come up so we can have another FIRE gathering 🙂
Cheers!