I’m typing this from the lush and beautiful Ecuadorian Chautauqua! All this travel has been throwing my schedule of but better late than never I guess… I can’t wait to share everything I’ve learned this week with you! Beun dia!
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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
September was another crazy month. Long story short, my cat went missing and I spent the vast majority of the second half of the month trying to get him back. I’m over the moon I eventually succeeded! If you noticed a weird gap of no posts here on the blog, that would be why.
I also traveled for work in September which is unusual and awesome. I am not a seasoned business traveler by any means so it was a new adjustment for me. Juggling all of my responsibilities did not go so well but you live and you learn.
I still managed to spend a fair amount of money this month between working on the house (still/never ending) and prepping for upcoming travel in October.
Check out below for my total spending in September!
| Mortgage | Not including principal, which is accounted elsewhere on my spreadsheet. Actual payment is $705.43 a month! |
| Utilities | Standard electric and gas bill for my unit and the house. |
| Food | I came way under budget!!! Mostly due to being gone on business the last week 🙂 |
| Phone | Higher than my normal Project FI bill due to my home internet being out for a week. |
| Auto | Gas, new tail light, and new spark plugs. |
| Internet | The new normal internet bill. |
| Insurance | Health insurance is paid directly from my paycheck. |
| Pet | With him gone for two weeks I didn’t need food or litter 🙁 |
| Support | Monthly support for my sister. |
| Blog | Fees are a bit higher this month due to bumping my service to a new level. |
| Shopping | Lots of misc stuff and I mean a lot. New security system for the house and more! |
| Entertainment | I went to see a movie (Kingsmen 2 was dope!). |
| Travel | Second and last deposit for my FinCon AirBnB |
| Gifts | A friend of mine got married! |
| House | Payment for more stuff done on the house, locks, and about a hundred other little stupid things I needed to do. |
My spending was a bit higher than usual this month with non-house spending coming in at $4121. That’s definitely higher than I like but it was on worthwhile stuff (and some of it I will get reimbursed for!). Housing costs were “low” this month at $1560. I am really looking forward to these costs mellowing out. It can happen annnyyy day now. My total savings rate for September came in at 21% which isn’t too shabby considering all the expenses.
Income
Paychecks: $3,194.07
Rental income: $600
Total: $3,794.07
No money coming in from the vacant unit. Sad panda continues.
Savings
401k: $2,171.24
Roth IRA: ——
HSA: $220.82
Cash: $0
Total savings: $2,392.06
Still haven’t set this up. I’m really slacking.
Net Worth
According to the Lab over on Mad Fientist’s site, my FI date is now exactly 7 years away, which means I’m at September 2024!
My total net worth shot up this month to $176,328! My 401k is really starting to pick up steam in this favorable market, of which I am a huge fan!
Thanks for reading! What did your month look like? Did you stick to your budget?
Soon your house will start generating more money than you are putting into it — hang in there, Gwen. Nice job on everything else last month. Enjoy your time in Ecuador and at FinCon!!
I am jelly about your low property taxes. Mine are almost $6K a year (yikes), but of course the property is worth more so it’s not all bad.
Side note: You pay the principal on the mortgage out of principle 🙂
Did I use the wrong one??? Embarrassing! This is what I get for doing it quickly
Yay for FIRE being just 7 years away! Not too bad, eh? 🙂 OMG I am so happy you got Mew back. The second I read that he was missing, I wanted to cry. I hope he’s home and safe; poor baby must have been so scared. <3
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Speaking of traveling, are you planning on going to the MMM Camp in Virginia next April?
My buddy Matt and I just bought our tickets this past weekend and we are pumped!!!
Glad to hear you got your cat back! I remember once when I was a kid our cat jumped on the back of a delivery truck at my parents farm and took a trip. We were pretty upset until the driver called us a few days later to let us know our cat was fine, it was hanging out in their warehouse 3–4hrs away and he would bring it back the following week. Quite the adventure.
Looks like you still has a pretty healthy savings rate even with the extra expenses. Our spending has been a bit off the hook lately, at least it feels that way, I received an invitation to go to the Columbia ’employee only’ store and bought some waterproof hiking boots for biking this winter. That was $120 I didn’t plan for. But the boots retail for $230+ so it’s not all bad, plus they’ll keep my toes warm & dry when the temperature dips below zero.
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Good job on everything… but what did we learn? Favorable market isn’t necessarily good when you’re buying… it’s good once you’ve bought. HAHA
Nice job keeping your regular living expenses low. I see the work trip helped on the food front haha. The house will soon cost far less than what it brings in with all the work you’ve done on it! Can’t wait to hear about this year’s Chautauqua when you get back.
Also, very glad that you found your cat! I’d be completely distraught if one of our furbabies went missing.
And just like that Chautauqua is over :(, but now we have FinCon just days away (phew!). $1,500 on “stupid little things” for the house? Reason #382 why we rent. Miss you already!
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Keep up the great work! Happy to hear you got your kitty back. We had panic fits when ours went missing overnight years back. Also, you’re an angel for helping out your family. It’ll all come back to you down the road.
I’m glad the cat came back the very next two weeks! (Do you remember the children’s song: the cat came back the very next day?)
Thanks for sharing your expenses and income! I always love a good analysis of how the month went. Enjoy Ecuador! Sounds amazing!! It must be warm and lush!
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I’m so grateful every time I get to snuggle him now. I love that furball!
Ecuador was flippin fantastic! It was warm ish and lush ish.… depending on where we were at the time.
I think I’m missing something. If your expenses are more than $4,000 and your income is less than $4,000, how do you have a 21% savings rate?
My savings rate is based off total income, whereas the numbers I post on here are only after tax.
Do you mean that you want to express your savings rate as a percentage of your total income, instead of as a percentage of your after-tax income? That sounds reasonable, but I still don’t see how you can have a savings rate if there are no savings.
For example, if your total income is $5,000, but your after tax income is $4,000 and you spend $4,500, you haven’t saved $500.
My total monthly income was just over $7k so take that for how you will. I’m calculating things out in a consistent way each month so I’m not sure the nuts and bolts of how really matter too much.
Sorry, I finally understand what’s going on. The items in the subheading of savings $2,171.24 in your 401K and $220.82 HSA — that was deducted from your paycheck? So your paycheck was actually $3,194.07 plus those two items? No need to reply, I knew I was missing some piece of information and now I’m up to speed. Sorry for hassling you.
SO glad to hear that your kitty came home!! That has to be so awful. We actually don’t ever pay for litter — our cat is a “barn cat,” and by that, I mean he eats the rats and rabbits that plague my garden and lives in our garage 😉
Rats??? Yikes! It’s a good thing you’ve got your kitty to protect you from them!!
How did you get so much in your 401k and IRA at your age? Did you live rent free for a while? That’s almost 22k a year if you started working at 20 years old.
I put $13k in my 401k the first year, and the max every year after that. I also get a generous employer match as well. My IRA started with a bonus I received in the military and I’ve added to it since. Mostly, though, I’ve benefitted greatly from a ridiculously amazing bull market while doing all those things.