March 2017 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $10348.73
Dividends/Interest ---  $967.30

Total net income --- $11316.03

Expenses --- $4693.00 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $6623.03 --- Rate  58.52%

Another really good month of savings is in the books! Day job income is up, dividend income is up, and expenses remains subdued for the second month in a row. There is nothing to complain about here.

While it is important to keep expenses low, you don't get rich by clipping coupons!! I wholeheartedly believe that you have to go on offense to create wealth. I simply am always on the lookout for ways to increase business and income. This includes investing in yourself and your business!!

Like I mentioned last month, my girlfriend is new to the insurance business, but is a strong closer and is no stranger to sales. Prospecting in the digital age is something that we have deficiencies in. I just spent $3,000 on a training program to help her become a fucking insurance beast!! I believe in training and surrounding yourself with strong business minds and building networks. This is the path to success combined with hard work!! Most people won't do shit unless it's paid for by the company. That does not advance you.....PERIOD!!

So while my expenses my be FUBARed for April, I view training as an investment in our future. The same way I view working evenings and weekends.

By any means necessary!

February 2017 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $9633.76
Dividends/Interest ---  $170.01

Total net income --- $9803.77

Expenses --- $3994 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $ --- Rate  59.26%

THAT is more like it!!! I went from a -59% savings rate in January to a 59% in February!!

How did I do that?? I spent less...

In all seriousness, I took a piece of paper and wrote the number $4,000 on the top and then numbers 1-28 below. Each day I listed each and every single expense throughout the month and told my girlfriend that when the total reaches $4,000 be prepared to eat whatever is in the pantry.....This is NO FUCKING joke.

I'm not going to say things went super smoothly, but I noticed when pizza was desired we found take out specials for $6.99 not high dollar gourmet shit totalling $50. The crock pot was dusted off and used exhaustively. When we hit the pub, we to Molly's and took advantage of Big Beer Thursdays. $3 for a big ass mug of draft beer. That was a bitch on my end cause I love bottled beer! Like I said, this was a sacrifice for all parties involved including me!!

March is starting off a little rocky as we have a birthday party seemingly every Saturday and Sunday this month! No problem. We are going to regroup and tighten things up at the halfway mark!!

Also my girl's insurance career is starting to take off so I'm really excited about that for her. Empire building is in progress!!

By any means necessary!

January 2017 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $9633.76
Dividends/Interest ---  $249.57

Total net income --- $9883.33

Expenses --- $15773 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  ($5890) --- Rate  (59.60%)

Well that really sucks. I honestly can't remember having a negative savings rate in the last 10 years or so. Oh wait......how could I forget the divorce at the end of 2015!!! HUGE negative.

Here is what happened in January.

1. I had to replace my 19 year old roof and paid for it out of pocket.
2. I renewed both my home owners and auto insurance. (1 year coverage)
3. My knee surgery bills are still coming in like clockwork.
4. Spent too much money while on a cruise!

I know some people might say that the insurance and the roof could be expensed over time, but I like the cash accounting method better. I simply take what goes in and subtract what comes out. Nice and simple.

Right now I'm sitting at about $3500 in expenses for February. I am in RED ALERT mode after last month!! The good news is that thanks to the market, my net worth is quite a bit higher than it was at the end of 2016.

December 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $12079.84
Dividends/Interest ---  $757.09

Total net income --- $12836.93

Expenses --- $8338 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $4498 --- Rate  35.05%


Well another month is in the books and December proved to be equally difficult from a business and expense standpoint. I did grind it out though!!

I have almost thrown in the towel with the runaway expenses. Knee surgery bills, physical therapy bills, and oh yeah.....Christmas stuff!!

Anyway I feel fortunate to make it through this year as the economy in Houston has been damn tough. But like my boss has told me over the years "live in hope and die in despair"

The economy will only get bet better as I get better.!!

I'm looking forward to a great 2017 and will work damn hard to make it happen. I have a neighbor who owned a business that he sold approximately one year ago. He is still relatively young (early 50s). Almost every morning as I drive to work, he can be found in his yard working on some sort of project. He takes care of his own yard, builds tree houses, fiddles around with old cars, etc.

He looks very happy and most definitely relaxed. I will be that guy in a few short years!

November 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $11020.03
Dividends/Interest ---  $174.60

Total net income --- $11194

Expenses --- $8415 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $2779.63 --- Rate  24.83%

November was a fairly uneventful month from a business view. The election was certainly exciting and I think business spiked a bit on the promise of a brighter future. The stock market definitely spiked as did my net worth.

This post is a cash flow document and as you can see I spent too much money and am glad the bulk of the Christmas expenses are behind me!

December has been unusually slow so far, which is highly unusual. Hopefully the next two weeks pick up and we can end the year on a high note. Also, I have had quite a few doctor's bills hit this month as well and the expenses will once again be elevated.

Even though the year is not quite over, I am already trying to come up with new strategies for expense control/reduction. I know, I know, I know.....a pair of scissors to the credit card is a pretty effective plan. Hell that may be my single best strategy!


DEFY MEDIOCRITY

October 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $13692.23
Dividends/Interest ---  $162.59

Total net income --- $13854.82

Expenses --- $7143 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $6711.82 --- Rate  48.44%

October was a challenging business month. The start was very slow, but eventually things picked up and it turned out to my best income month of the year. That was somewhat surprising considering all the national election buzz. My savings amount total was within in $1 of last month which is a strange coincidence. The net result is that my savings rate checked in again just below the 50% mark.

Even though my expenses were up a bit, some of that can be attributed to early knee surgery bills. There are thousands more on the horizon as the amounts from the various professionals and rehab facilities are tallied. Strangely enough none have been billed to me yet. They are coming though, no doubt about it!!

November is humming along both on the job front and the expense front. Christmas is going to break the bank, but at least we have most of the presents purchased.....I hope.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

September 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $12907.95
Dividends/Interest ---  $535.72

Total net income --- $13443.67

Expenses --- $6733 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $6710.67 --- Rate  49.94%

After hitting a record low savings rating in August, I bounced backed nicely saving 50% of my income for the month. Expenses were still on the high side, but my income was my highest amount so far for 2016.

Considering I prepaid a 4 day cruise last month, I feel really good about last month and will continue to work on my daily living expenses, I have noticed a trend this year that "one-time" anomalies are becoming monthly occurrences so I better tighten things up.

My day job income was outstanding last month which was surprising considering the election is so close. October will not be as kind as we are tracking for our worst month of the year. Make hay while the sun shines I guess.

It also feels good seeing some real progress from the passive income front. I probably should start reporting my interest income from Lending Club as well. I might hit the $100 mark in October.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

August 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $11890
Dividends/Interest ---  $185

Total net income --- $12075

Expenses --- $10806 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $1269 --- Rate  10.51%  (DOUBLE OUCH!!)


What in the hell happened?? What didn't is the better question!

First the good news! I had my best income month of the year and even better I hit the payroll tax limit in July so I got to keep an extra 6% or so which helped increase my take home pay. Business is also booming in September, so hopefully most of Houston's woes are behind us.

Now for the expenses....The biggest expense can be seen in the picture above. While it is true that I prepaid all the hotel and theme park related expenses a few months ago, that as many know was just the beginning.

Since we took a road trip, additional hotel, gas, and food expenses were incurred. On the way back to Houston, we hit the Baton Rouge floods and had to take shelter which added another few hundred to the expense totals.

Those were the small expenses. If you think you are going to take a trip to Disney World with two kids and get out cheap, you really need to pull your head out of your ass!! Mickey and his crew are very well trained at extracting every penny they can out of your pockets. LOL  I have been to theme parks before, but nothing compares to DW. Literally every major ride ends inside a gift shop! I spent so much money on photo packages, Mickey ears, t-shirts, backpacks, and a ton of other cool shit.

On top of the onslaught of merchandise, the payment method was always a quick easy scan of my DW bracelet which might as well be a portal which connects my bank account to their cash registers.

All in all, it was a fantastic month and the memories will last a lifetime! The whole experience is another reason I recently started to accumulate Disney stock. They have one of the best run companies I have ever seen and create an insane experience for everyone who visits!!

Other notable expenses included a new refrigerator ($1800), yearly homeowners insurance, 6 month auto insurance, and back to school expenses. The month was a perfect storm of expenses, unfortunately I've hit several of these storms already this year. Oh well, life is about the living and I have had some of the best adventures this year.

I can't wait to go back in a few years...

There is a big world out there and I want to see as much of it as possible!

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

July 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $11028.94
Dividends/Interest --- 0

Total net income --- $11028.94

Expenses --- $5298 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $ --- Rate  $51.96%


There we go!! I finally got back over the 50% savings rate threshold. While my expenses were still fairly high, I finally broke the 2 month $7000 a month streak. That's a bad streak to be stuck on. I can live with $5,000 a month and still having a strong savings rate

I was glancing over the expenses and really didn't see much in the way of outliers.  During the previous two months I had a couple of big vacations including prepaying for a trip to Disney World. It appears that I had a lot of $75 to $150 expenses which included several dinners out throughout the month and a couple of doctors visits. Also the utilities were a bit higher as the Houston weather really heated up. Also my girlfriend's daughter has been staying with us during the summer so that probably is good for and extra $500 to $700 a month. 

Higher expenses are not freaking me out as much as they used to. Extreme expense control used to be something I really really really tried to get under control. I think that I am probably spending more money mainly because I have sacrificed so much over the past couple of decades that I am giving myself some treats. Don't get me wrong if my income starts to plummet, I can easily eliminate all cable channels, expensive meals, and other frivolous luxuries. In the mean time, I am going to continue enjoying life responsibly and not live like a hermit. 

There is a big world out there and I want to see as much of it as possible!

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

June 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $11754.60
Dividends/Interest --- $272.27

Total net income --- $12026.87

Expenses --- $7298.00 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $4728.87 --- Rate  $39.31%

Expenses continue to stay elevated and I feel like I am losing the battle. I won't quit trying though!! However, summer vacations and a seemingly endless gauntlet of birthdays are overpowering me.

I feel pretty confident that I can hold the line at $5000 in expenses this month, but I have plans for an August Disney World trip which should be pretty expensive next month. The good news is that I have already paid for and included the 5-day hotel, park tickets, and food expenses in the previous month's report.

I'm sure by taking my girlfriend, her daughter, and her little sister that the budget will go to hell. Getting 3 girls to avoid shopping while on vacation is futile. LOL Anyway, the great experiences will far outweigh any annoying expenses that pop up.

On a positive note, I had the biggest income month of the year and July is looking pretty strong as well. Houston is by no means out of the woods. Things are beginning to stabilize a bit so we'll see how the back half of the year goes.

Regardless of what happens with the economy, I will continue busting my ass and investing in dividends paying stocks. Just give me a big pullback and I'll be happy!

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

May 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $9981
Dividends/Interest --- $115

Total net income --- $10096

Expenses --- $7843 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $2252 --- Rate  $22.31%


Damn, I have got to start getting the spending back under control. It seems like there is always some kind of justifiable excuse for high spending each month recently. In May, the "excuses" were my birthday and my girlfriend's birthday.

Between the two, we spent over $2500! Enjoying four days on the ocean in a beach house was really awesome though! While I hate the expenses incurred, the experiences are definitely worth it. Hopefully I can continue to enjoy new experiences. I plan to visit Disney World for the first time ever in a few month and am really looking forward to it.

Anyway, I don't wan't to be in a wheel chair 35 years from now with $5,000,000 in the bank and no "experience deposits" to show for it. If it means working a few more years, so be it. I want a good balance of money and life experiences. It's a work in progress, but progress is being made!

As far as June goes, expenses are still a bit elevated, but income should be stronger as well.


DEFY MEDIOCRITY

April 2016 Income & Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $9390 
Dividends/Interest --- $0 

Total net income --- $9390

Expenses --- $7158 (Taken from Mint)

Savings  $2232 --- Rate  $23.77%


This is my first income update in a quite some time. While am still making really good money, this year has been night and day vs the first half of last year. My day job take home pay is down about $4000 vs last year and my dividend income is down over $1000 as well. Overall I am down about $5000 from last April.

The drop in pay would have been more pronounced if most of my pay wasn't guaranteed. Last year the company I work for made over $300,000 in net income for April and this year it lost money. It's great that I have such a large percentage of my income guaranteed, but it is also a bit nerve racking making a lot of money while the company swings into a loss. Spotlights definitely start shining when you have a big base salary and the company is performing poorly.  Still, things appear ok and it looks like May is picking up steam around here. Obviously falling energy prices continue to have a serious impact around Houston, but it looks like things are stabilizing a bit.

While income was down unfortunately expenses were a bit high this month. About $3500 of the expenses were because of a fantastic road trip I took that included stops in Charleston, SC, the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, TN, and Nashville, TN. Those were some amazing stops and I had the time of my life!

May Outlook

I have really shut things down on the expense side so far this month. I hope to keep overall expenses below $3500. The only major expense so far has been a tax preparation fee of $825.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

June 2015 Income and Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $15027.40
Dividends/interest --- $1855.27
Closed options income --- $140.26

Total net income --- $17022.93

Expenses --- $3239.46

Savings --- $13783.47  Rate --- 80.97%


So what happened during the month of June? Well first of all, it was by far my highest income total of the year and was also the most money I have ever earned in any month at my job. To be fair, $1935 was actually a bonus that I had earned back in April, but I received the payment in June. Like I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I just add up the monthly debits and credits in my checking account regardless of when the money was technically earned. Even without the $1935, this was still my best income month for 2015.

On the passive income front, I was just a tad shy of $2,000 including my earned option premiums. Nonetheless, I am ecstatic over the results and will continue to invest heavily (unless I change my mind yet again). I keep saying that I would like to work on building up cash so we'll see how things play out.

Expenses were subdued this month much like the "quiet before the storm" and I was able to reach the very difficult 80% saving level for the second time this year. During July and August, I will have a couple of annual and semi-annual expenses to deal with...namely my yearly home owner's insurance premium, my semi-annual auto insurance premium, and finally a lot of vet bills that were incurred here recently. Sadly at sixteen years old, my dachschund passed away. He will be missed terribly by my wife and I. We would gladly take 0% savings rates for months on end if the little rascal could still be with us for a while longer. This is a sobering reminder that in the end, money is just dirty paper and numbers on an account statement. Relationships are the most important things in our lives.

In any event, I hope each of you continues fighting hard for financial independence knowing there are no silver bullets or lotto tickets involved in the journey. Fierce determination combined with relentless effort is what it takes.


Here are my savings rates for 2015.

January --- 46.72%
February --- 67.78%
March --- 80.00%
April --- 35.97%
May --- 71.72%
June --- 80.97%

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

May 2015 Income and Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $12,889.45
Dividends/interest --- $1,110.96
AdSense (deposit) --- $114.25

Total net income --- $14,114.66

Expenses --- $3,991.24

Savings --- $10,123.42  Rate --- 71.72%


Sometimes you just have to expect the unexpected. As many know, Houston as well as much of Texas was inundated with rain last month. I can't honestly remember a month where I saw so much rain day after day. Here it is June 4th and I have yet to water my yard this year. For those who live in the south, you know that never happens. Usually the sprinklers fire up in late April and stay on through November.

In spite of the rain, I actually had my second best paycheck total this year and I only trailed March's total by around $20. I feel very fortunate to live in a state like Texas and more specifically a city like Houston. We may not have the great tourist attractions that many cities can boast about, but we are designed to do business and those who have dreams of making their fortunes and building empires should put Houston at the top of their list.

Anyway enough of the Houston Chamber of Commerce informercial. Despite spending a bit extra on a road trip/vacation, I am happy to report that I was able to keep the expense total under $4,000. The only real outlier expense was the $400 I spent on my tax preparation. Any of you accountants working for a large company, do yourself a favor and start your own practice ASAP!!!!  I can't believe what a gold mine tax preparation is.

I would like to keep my expenses a bit lower than they are so I can reach FI sooner, however how low can they reasonably go? Since I spent $4,000, if I had zero bills (impossible with taxes, utililites and food) the most I could drop is $4.000. On the other hand, income, in theory, has no upper limit. So between the two choices, I must focus on making more money right now. It's like a football team with an offense (income production) and a defense (expense reduction). It's nice to have a great defense and most likely the defense will keep you in the game, but ultimately it's the offense that determines the team's success. Trying to keep a team scoreless each time out is very difficult. I don't know where that analogy came from, however you get the point....hopefully.

So there you have it. A pretty solid month overall and with a few tweaks here and there, I think I can continue to improve my savings rate going forward.


Here are my savings rates for 2015.

January --- 46.72%
February --- 67.78%
March --- 80.00%
April --- 35.97%
May --- 71.72%

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

April 2015 Income and Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $12238.93
Dividends/Interest --- $885.04
Options income --- $181.10

Total net income --- $13305.07

Expenses --- $8519.89

Savings $4785.18 --- Rate  35.97%


My day job income drifted down once again on a month over month basis. I think some of my income is being impacted with the lower energy prices. While Houston is much more economically diversified now than say in 1980, lower oil prices still make people a little nervous around here.

Once again, dividends were very solid in April and I also received my first ever option income from a GE call that I opened and closed within two weeks. I don't plan on day trading with options going forward. In fact what few options I sell will be out of the money calls. I don't anticipate making more that $400-$600 a year with this strategy. My real intentions are to accumulate income producing assets, not day trade.

Expenses were a bit high this month. I don't like making excuses for large one time items, but in this case I had to write a $6150.00 check to the IRS. Actually "real expenses" would have been only $2369.89. This marks the second month in a row that my living expenses for the month were less than $3000.00.  Also this is the first month that my expenses would have been less than $2500.00.  Again, the cash that actually flowed out of my account was $8519.89. Still seeing my living expenses below $3000.00 is very encouraging.

May Outlook

It is a good thing that I managed to keep things under check for the last two months because I will be hit with a few higher expenditures this month. Mother's day for two mothers, graduation presents, and a vacation will on my agenda for May. Is there a month that doesn't involve some kind of holiday, birthday, or graduation?? Oh well such is life.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

March 2015 Income and Expenses

The amounts below are cash amounts and are net of taxes, insurance, 401k contributions, HSA, etc. In other words, the amounts are what get deposited and withdrawn from my accounts.

Day job (take home pay) --- $12911.59
Dividends/Interest --- $2024.95

Total net income --- $14936.54

Expenses --- $2986.81

Savings $11949.73 --- Rate  80.00%    Savings/day job income --- 92.55%


Historically March is a better month than February, but this month I made less income from my day job. The good news is my passive income came in really strong. Expenses were better than expected and came in under $3,000 for the first time this year. This allowed my overall savings rate to reach a new high for the year at 80%. Not much to complain about here.

My passive income covered 67.8% of my total expenses. Needless to say this was really cool. I truly believe if I did not have my day job, I could have covered 100% of my expenses with just passive income. It is amazing how much money is spent for the privilege of going to work each day.

March was also one of the few months I can remember in which I truly had no outlier expenses. Food was normal, we dined out a few times, auto expenses were minimal, and work related lunches came in under $200 so I am certainly pleased with the results.

For the first time in my life after constant nagging ongoing encouragement from my wife to get a lawn service, I capitulated. While I cringe at the thought of paying someone $100 a month to do something so easy, I must admit I love coming home looking at a nicely manicured lawn and not having to worry about finding time to do it myself. I will really appreciate having this service during the July-Sept months, which are nothing short of brutal here in Houston. Now if I could just get her to hire a weekly maid service, everything would be perfect. :-)

Going forward, I think 65% will probably be the norm as I have several home improvement projects on the horizon. I also plan on at least one vacation that could be a budget buster. We'll see.


April Outlook

Looking ahead to this month's expenses, the elephant in the room will be taxes. I have already sent a $6,200 check the U S Treasury which is more than double all of March's expenses. Technically this is a 2014 tax expense, but it affects my bank account right now. Hopefully the rest of the month is as calm and uneventful as March.

I also look forward to receiving my first ever Adsense deposit. I am sitting on about $95 earned for the year so I should hit the $100 mark and I believe this will trigger a deposit for next month.

YTD Savings Rates

Jan --- 46.72%
Feb --- 67.78%
Mar --- 80.00%

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

February 2015 Income and Expenses

February is a short month, but historically is better income-wise than January. This proved to be the case again this year. I don't know if the warmer weather last month helped, but I'll take it. There have been early indications of layoffs in some of the smaller oil service companies around Houston. While it is good to be aware of potential economic storms brewing, everything seems to be chugging along nicely for us. Fortunately Houston is a much more economically diversified city than it was 30 years ago so I still feel good about the rest of the year going forward.

Anyway, here is the basic summary from last month.

Day job (take home pay) --- $13170.83
Dividends/interest --- $903.12

Total net income --- $14073.95

Expenses --- $4533.98

Savings --- $9539.97   Rate --- 67.78%


Overall I like the looks of my savings rate this month. My goal is still to get normal expenses closer to $3,200 while working. Then once I leave the working world they should drop closer to $2500.

The bulk of my expenses came from two areas.

• Walmart & HEB --- As best I can tell my wife spends more on Keurig cups than actual food
• Academy --- Replacement treadmill and a new exercise bike

The so called grocery expenses totalled $1200 and the exercise equipment came in at $900. It seems like every month $500-$1000 in unusual expenses pop up. I always, in my mind, plan for stuff like this. There is always going to be landscaping in the spring, taxes, medical emergencies, random vet bills, hot water heaters that break, leaky roofs, car problems and maintenance, eyeglass, birthdays, etc.

Trying to plan a budget without accounting for $750 in the "other expenses" column is wishful thinking in my book. What I can do is work on the regular recurring expenses that tend to drift up and up over time. I just noticed that my Direct TV bill came in at $170 this month. I wanted to cancel the premium channels, but my wife reminded me a new season of Game of Thrones begins next month. Now that's an emergency if I have ever seen one.  I actually like watching the series and it gives us extra time to spend together. This is a perfect example of an area I can cut back on in a couple of months.

When the season is over I am cancelling the premium channels right away and saving about $50 a month. Next year I will resubscribe to HBO. There are many holes in my budget that if I focus on them I could squeeze a few hundred in savings here and there.

Guilty pleasures that won't go away are keeping the AC at 68 in the summer, eating at Saltgrass and Benihana quite often, and keeping some Crown Reserve at the house.

Life is too short to avoid some of the finer things and if I want the AC at 68 so I can get a good night's sleep on a hot Houston evening in July, so be it.

Anyway looking ahead to March I hope to receive enough passive income to cover almost all of our bills. I have never had a month in which I saved 100% of my day job take home pay. This could be that month.

Stay tuned.

DEFY MEDIOCRITY

January 2015 Income and Expenses

Here is the summary of my income and expenses for January 2015.

Day job (take home pay) --- $11,896.95
Dividends/interest --- $786.40

Total net income --- $12,683.35

Expenses --- $6757.12  (ouch!!!)

Savings --- $5926.23   Rate --- 46.72%


January usually is one of the slowest months at work, but we increased sales by 7% and net profit by over 20%. So while my income was lower than most months, it was higher than last January. Dividend income was good and continues to move in my favorite direction up.

At first glance my expenses were way out of whack! I hate explaining away certain outlier expenses because there are always seemingly special circumstances each and every month. With that said, included in my expenses are my property taxes for the entire year, my auto insurance paid through June, and finally $500 I paid back to my savings account for a fence I had installed last summer.

Removing these three irregular yet necessary payments would lower my January total down to $3554.12. Obviously these expenses are real and therefore I listed them above, but the next several months should be (hopefully) more normal. Oh, except during April when I have to pay income taxes....see what I mean, there are always expenses that can be explained away but are real nonetheless. One more thing, our Christmas expenses (presents, dinners, etc) charged in December were paid on Jaunuary's credit card statemtent and is also included in the above expense total.

Also, when calculating my take home pay, it is net of my health insurance, HSA, and my 401k contributions. I could probably filter all these different deductions, but I'm not going to hassle with it as I like to keep things relatively simple.

My wife also works and has her own checking and savings accounts (so she claims). She has a pretty good and simple strategy for keeping her expenses down. She simple lets me pay for all the household, food, car, medical, animal, insurance, and other life expenses we incur. :-) Like I mentioned her plan is pretty solid and seems to work well for her.

So I don't appear totally p*ssy whipped subservient, when we were younger and had income amounts closer together we would pool our incomes and share expenses. However as my income increased over time, this was not a strategy that we could or should continue as it would not be fair to her. Plus I don't like sleeping on the couch.

Anyway since our house and cars are paid off, our (my) expenses right now should stay around $3,200 a month. In time I hope to drop these expenses to around $2500.

It is amazing how many job related expenses occur each month. Between work lunches, dress clothes and shoes, frequent hair cuts, dry cleaning, gas, and auto maintenence I know that I could eliminate around $300.00 a month at least.

In addition to these work related expenses, it seems like there is always a cause (employees fundraising for kids, random solicitors, high school coupon book, food drives, etc.) that sucks $20-$50 a month from me. I have to admit I usually fall prey to these types of things. Last month I think I contributed $50 to a fundraiser for the local animal shelter. While these are worthwhile donations that I don't mind helping out with, it is unlikely that I would spend money on these things outside my workplace....or at least less frequently.

Anyway, my plan is to continue posting these results in a general, non itemized form each month and hopefully this will increase my focus on making improvements in both income and expenses. I had no idea that I spent this much money last month until I went down my bank statement just before making this post. It certainly is an eye-opening experience.