Income/Expenses For June 2015

writingsavingI’ve been publicly tracking my income and expenses since I initiated this blog back in early 2011. I do this for a few reasons.

First, I want to prove to the world that it’s possible to become financially independent at a relatively young age even if you don’t make a lot of money. I don’t make a six-figure income. I never have and I probably never will. But it’s not necessary. Oftentimes, people focus on income too much. Expenses are just as important, because if you make $200,000 per year, but spend $190,000 of it, you’ll never become financially independent. Conversely, bringing home $40,000, and learning to get by on half of it means you’ll likely be able to retire if you want to within 15 years or so. Making less means you have less potential income to save, but spending less means you need less passive income with which to retire off of.

The second reason I do this is because I want this to be a live look at one man’s journey. You can find countless books by financially successful people, but often it’s long after they’ve completed their trek to significant wealth that they’re then telling you how they did it. It’s easy to postulate. It’s much more difficult to actually show the whole process in action, for better or worse.

And finally, knowing that every dollar I spend is going to be published for the world to see serves as reinforcement to stay frugal. There’s been more than one occasion where I decided against a particular expense after realizing I might be a bit embarrassed to write about it.

So each month I will post my income and expenses for the previous month. I track every dollar in and out, so what you see is exactly what I earned and spent (rounded to the nearest dollar).

By the way, I use Mint and Personal Capital to track all of my income and expenses. Both are awesome (and free) services.

Income From June 2015:
Online Income$6,245
Dividend Income$845
Other Income$657
Total Income$7,745
Expenses From June 2015:
Rent & Utilities$540
Groceries$233
Student Loans$224
Health Insurance$193
Hosting$158
Fast Food/Takeout/Coffee$157
Restaurants$84
Pharmacy$70
Cable/Internet$27
Mobile Phone$25
Amusement$22
Gifts$13
Transportation$12
Everything Else*$165
Total Expenses$1,915

Income

Well, June was absolutely incredible for income. I set a record for online income in May. And what happened in June? I blew that record away. I can’t believe it.

Much of the overall online income was actually pretty similar when looking at May’s and June’s reports. I stayed really busy in regards to writing – pumping out a massive amount of content – both here at Dividend Mantra and with freelance opportunities. Traffic was once more strong here at the site, coming in at approximately 375,000 pageviews for the month. And I continue to do my best in regards to maximizing content quality.

I’ve discussed before how I generate income online, and much is the same as it was a year ago. The main differences between then and now are simply that I write a lot more (due to having more time) and the blog continues to grow. So that has combined to increase the income rather dramatically YOY. And, of course, you readers help me tremendously whenever you sign up for products and/or services that are recommended. As always, I only recommend what I personally use and/or find value in, which is why I have so few affiliate partnerships. Thank you all for your continued support!

The one major difference between May’s online income and June’s online income (and what accounted for the increase this month) was the fact that I received my first royalty payment for my book!

This royalty amounted to approximately $1,200 for sales generated in April. April is, so far, my best month in terms of sales and the amount of income generated from the book. It drops off a bit for May’s sales and then rather dramatically thereafter. As I’ve noted before, the book will likely not amount to life-changing income for me, but I’m very proud of the project because I think that the book can lead to life-changing results for those that take the time to read it. Might not radically change my life, but I think it can (and will) change others’ lives. I hope to put something together this month discussing my experience with writing a book and what I learned from the project. I owe a big thanks to anyone and everyone that picked up a copy and/or spread the word. Means a lot to me.

Dividend income was, of course, wonderful for June. The last month of every quarter tends to be a real blockbuster for me and June was no different. Landing in at almost $850, that was one of my best months ever. That’s a ton of passive income for someone who doesn’t spend a lot of money. I’m truly fortunate that the me of 2010 decided to embark on this journey. It’s been a lot of fun. And I feel the best is yet ahead.

Other income was mostly related to the sale of my car. I’m going to spread the profit out over the course of the year so as to smooth any month-to-month variances out. So this will provide a nice boost to my monthly savings rates for the rest of the year, just like it was a drag on my monthly budgets last year. In addition to that, I also collected $57 in cash rewards from one of my credit cards.

Expenses

*The everything else category includes expenses I don’t have a regular budget for. So Claudia decided it was time for another dog. We’ve just had Diego, our little Chihuahua who knows a lot about happiness, for a few years now. But we just recently added Kiwi to the mix, another young Chihuahua who was a freebie off of craigslist. Great puppy. She’s incredibly sweet. But we also had to get her checked out by the vet. Turns out it was time for Diego’s annual visit anyhow, so that worked out perfectly. I pitched in half for the vet bill, which accounts for most of the money spent this month in this category. We also needed a new frying pan after literally wearing the nonstick coating off – that coating doesn’t exactly taste good in our food.

Speaking of food, I spent a lot there. I’ve come a long way from the days of eating ramen noodles day in and out. We ate well this past month. Perhaps a little too well, looking back on the numbers. But I’m not regretful.

Although it might look like I swing through the drive-thru at local fast food joints, the truth of the matter is I don’t. First, I don’t have a car, so that’s impossible. Second, I actually don’t eat much of it. But I categorize any food that isn’t at a sit-down restaurant as “fast” food. In addition, I’m writing more and more outside the house, patronizing a couple coffee shops within walking distance of the apartment. I spent something like $80 on these trips over the course of the last month. The me of a couple years ago would have scoffed at the notion. But I’m so much more productive (not to mention happy) when I write away from home that the additional income more than makes up for the expense. So it’s an investment of sorts.

Other than food, I think everything else is in line here. I really don’t spend that much on core expenses. $25 for the cell phone. Less than $15 on transportation. Less than $550 on shelter. I’m very pleased and content with the amount of money I’m spending, overall. Especially considering that I believe I’m living a rather high quality of life. Once you realize that material goods have little impact on long-term joy, it makes it easy to reallocate resources toward the things that do bring about lasting happiness; I’ve certainly found more happiness working from home than anything any store sells.

Savings

I managed to save 75.3% of my net income this month. I’m ecstatic! It’s been a long road back to the high savings rates I used to achieve with ease, but controlling expenses while simultaneously working hard to opportunistically increase income has turned out incredibly well. This is my highest monthly net savings rate since January 2013, so I feel like I’m getting back to the old me. I’m still very excited and very aggressive when it comes to saving money, investing, and fighting for financial independence. Haven’t lost my hunger at all.

One of my goals this year is to save 50% of my net income throughout 2015, averaged monthly. So far, I’ve hit rates of:

MonthlyNetSavingsRate

I’m now at an average of 50.1% for the year. Boom! Back above water. Took an insane June to get there, but I’ll take whatever I can get. Now that I’m back at the baseline I look to maintain, it’ll be slightly easier to keep at that level for the rest of the year. No more playing catch-up, which feels great.

I expect to have a fairly strong summer and fall for savings, save for the potential of some dental expenses. That should provide for a really nice margin of safety heading into the holiday season later this year. I think, from what I can see, the odds are very high that I’ll exceed my savings goal this year. Stay tuned to find out!

Did you save as much as you wanted in June? Hit your savings goals? On track for your goals this year? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: bplanet/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Note: Affiliate link included.

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132 Comments

  1. Congratulations from Finland! Awesome online income and savings rate. I enjoy following your blog, so keep up the good work.

  2. Awesome work DM!! Glad self-employment has worked out so well for you. You’ve worked hard to get to where you are these days; enjoy it.

    All the best,
    The Stoic

  3. When you started could you ever imagine to quit working your job and be blogging AND save almost 6k in a single month? Man you are doing great! Must feel good 🙂

  4. Hi Janson,

    That is a very strong Month, well done! Furthermore, the 75% Monthly saving rate is great! Keep up the good work!

    Cheers from France,

    Independent Bunny

  5. Hi DM,

    Wow, what a month. 10 stock purchases, 75.3 savings rate and a new pet. What’s not to like. Keep pushing that snowball! My savings rate was a tad under 50% but I did pay property taxes this month, so considering this I’m happy.

    Cheers,
    G

  6. What great month on the income side. It must be satisfying to see that the plan actually works. And you are able to combine this with living below your means. Yet, enjoying life with working in a coffee shop… I do understand that you feel better not working from home.

  7. Mantra,

    My jaw is still on the floor. I think we might need a forklift to get it off of it! This is astounding and inspirational. Records on all fronts. Incredible results from your book and your dividend income to boot. The 75% savings rate is a milestone I haven’t seen before, and I could potentially reach somewhere around there possibly in August, as much of my expenses I’ve had thus far this year are going to decrease.

    Hands down – a great month for you Mantra. I hope your royalty check from May on your book is even better, pumped for that to follow! Cheers and congrats to you DM, you are working your butt off in all facets and they are paying you “dividends”.

    -Lanny

  8. That is an insane savings rate. I don’t think I come even close to that. On top of that, you’ve had a great month in terms of income – you’re killing it!

  9. Solid numbers all around. All it took was a strong month to get you back to your 50% average savings rate. That’s the beauty of the Internet. Keep pumping great content and your reach “magically” grows which turns into more traffic, more ads, more freelance, etc. In other words… the harder you work the luckier you are. Thanks for sharing.

  10. Good lord, the online income is staggering! Well done! I would love to find a way to make a little extra on the side but I doubt blogging about dividend investing would work because I’m simply not at the right time in my life where I can bang away enough money to make it exciting to report. But I do track expenses and other stuff. None the less, you have a true gift for writing, I hope you don’t get bored and give it up!!

  11. Excellent progress, Jason! Living proof and documentation along the way that financial independence can be achieved with diligent work and perseverance.

  12. Congrats on a solid month. It must be so fulfilling/reassuring to see the book sales come in. Hope next month is even better.

  13. Dividend Mantra,

    Congrats on the the high savings rate. Quite a busy month.

    I am curious. When you go the the coffee shops and write. Can you claim what you eat or drink there as business expenses?

    My savings rate is not as high as I would of like, which is due to cut back in hours at work. I will have to address that somehow in the future.

  14. If you keep up this months income rate and savings rate, you’ll earn 90k and save 65-70 K. You are catching up to me. You will be very rich in 5-10 years.

  15. I am curious as well, as I often have difficulties allocating taxes to income.

    Since the income is noticeably higher than prior months, would this not bump you into higher marginal tax brackets?

    Great month…75% savings is fantastic. Very inspirational.

    Cheers.

  16. Great job Jason! 75% savings rate is absolutely phenomenal. Plus that online income is amazing! I’m so excited that you’re getting to do what you love instead of slaving away for someone else. It’s been a great journey to watch as you’ve continued to progress on your journey to FI. Even though you’re technically not FI yet I don’t think anyone would argue that you aren’t there. You get to do what you love every single day. That’s what FI is all about!

  17. June was a great month for me I actually received my very first passive income, which led me to strive to get more passive income. Though i’m no wheres near where you are right now i’ve mad about $35 in additional income for the month of June than I was expecting.

  18. DI,

    Thanks so much for dropping by from Finland. Really appreciate the readership. 🙂

    It was a solid month. I’m super fortunate to have a great readership, including yourself.

    Stay in touch. Lots more to come!

    Take care.

  19. The Stoic,

    Hey, bud. Hope all is well! 🙂

    Yeah, it’s been a great ride. I was confident about the leap from the job to working online, but I didn’t quite think it’d be this successful. I’m so fortunate and so grateful to be in this position.

    I’m sure you’re experiencing similar levels of success with self-employment.

    Best regards!

  20. FS,

    I definitely never thought I’d be in this position. I was absolutely positive about reaching financial independence by 40 years old, but I figured I’d be working at the car dealership for most of that time. To be away from that toxic environment much earlier than planned is a true blessing.

    Thanks for the support! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  21. DF,

    Thanks!

    It was a really crazy month. Definitely set the bar for all future months to be compared to. 🙂

    Hope you had a great month for your budget as well!

    Cheers.

  22. IB,

    Thanks for stopping in from France. 🙂

    I’m really happy with the savings rate. It’s pretty tough to save more than 70% of your net income. That’s a mark I used to hit with some frequency, but it’s just as tough now as it was back then. Additional expenses like health insurance and blog hosting means I have to make that much more to hit the numbers. But 2015 is turning out to be great. I’m truly fortunate.

    Hope you had a great June, too!

    Take care.

  23. Geblin,

    Ha! Yeah, it was a fantastic month from top to bottom. Set a few records, some of which will likely stand for some time.

    I’d say a 50%+ net savings rate after paying property taxes is pretty phenomenal. I had to send in a hefty check for income taxes earlier this year, which set me back a bit. But I’m back on track now.

    Keep up the great work!

    Cheers.

  24. ambertreeleaves,

    Yeah, I’m so, so fortunate. I feel great to see things working out so well. I feel… vindicated. 🙂

    Hope your June was killer!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care.

  25. D4S,

    Thanks!

    It was definitely tough. Don’t hit that 70% mark too often. I hope to hit at least once more this year. 🙂

    Hope you had a great June as well.

    Best regards.

  26. Lanny,

    Thanks so much, brother. It was a really phenomenal month. I used to hit that 70% mark somewhat frequently, but it’s been really tough since leaving the day job. Glad to be able to say that I hit it once more even without the traditional day job paycheck.

    The royalty check for May’s sales will be lower because there weren’t as many sales, and then it drops off quite a bit thereafter. Nonetheless, I’m happy just to have it out there and, hopefully, inspiring others. Feels great to know that I’m somehow positively impacting other people’s lives. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. Keep up the great work over there!

    Best wishes.

  27. Tony,

    Thanks so much. Appreciate the support! 🙂

    I’m very fortunate to be in this spot. I just continue to work really hard and make sure I earn all of the success.

    Thanks for stopping in!

    Take care.

  28. DH,

    The internet is indeed really wonderful. Makes it not only so much easier for us to invest and seek financial freedom, but it also opens up new avenues for income generation. I’m lucky to have been born in this age – the Golden Age. 🙂

    I’m going to keep working hard, and I think I’ll continue getting lucky.

    Thanks for adding that!

    Cheers.

  29. Stephen,

    I’m so fortunate and grateful, but it’s been a long journey to this spot. For years, I barely made any money at all. So, just like with investing, it takes incredible persistence, patience, perseverance, and consistency.

    Blogging can be a lot of hard work and it’s not for everyone, but it is uniquely rewarding in so many ways. I’m just lucky that I enjoy it so much. Makes it a lot easier and a lot less “work”. 🙂

    Thanks for the support!

    Best regards.

  30. FV,

    Yeah, I’m very, very happy with the book sales. Some internet marketers will have you believe that you can just write an e-book and sell 10,000 or 20,000 copies very easily, but it’s not quite like that at all. Nonetheless, I’m super glad just to have the product out there helping others. It’s not all about the money. 🙂

    Cheers!

  31. gawilley,

    Thanks! 🙂

    That’s truly my aim – to show a real-life journey in real-time. And I hope it inspires people along the way. Financial independence isn’t just for the aristocratic, that’s for sure. It’s out there waiting for all of us!

    Best wishes.

  32. Dylan,

    Yeah, it’s really fulfilling to see the book sell well. Not just from the standpoint of earning money from it, but really more in the sense that I think it can really help people. And the more people that read it the more people it can possibly help. So far, the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. So I’m excited about that.

    Hope you had a great June over there as well!

    Cheers.

  33. IP,

    It was definitely a busy month. Sometimes I’m too busy. I’ve decided to cut back on the coaching services because of that. I can be so excited about something that I overwhelm myself. But I’m also interested in helping/teaching others. Unfortunately, there’s just only so many hours in the day. Gotta be aware of your limitations.

    Yeah, I could probably save all those receipts and deduct those visits at the end of the year, but some deductions can kind of land in a gray area due to the amount of time you spend doing something business related and the amount of time you spend doing something personal. I deduct a lot of the easy stuff that doesn’t leave any doubts – hosting, etc. – but I don’t really worry about coffee shop visits. Just not worth it, in my opinion.

    I can imagine less hours at work is leading to some challenges there regarding your savings rate. But you get more personal time, so it’s not all bad. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  34. DD,

    That would be really insane. I certainly hope it stays at this level, or pretty close to it. I’ve noticed online income tends to be exponential, much like dividend income. So it’s certainly possible that it doesn’t fall off much from here. We’ll see, though. It oscillates pretty heavily.

    As long as I get to where I want to be by 40, I’ll be very happy. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  35. Ben,

    I pay quarterly estimated taxes. The best I can do is estimate my income and send in a check, which is reflected in these reports. If you’re short, then you’ll simply owe money the following year. As long as you don’t owe any interest/penalties, then it’s an interest-free loan. Could be worse. 🙂

    Cheers!

  36. JC,

    Yeah, it’s been really amazing and incredible. I would agree with you that I’m basically financially independent already. Although my dividend income doesn’t cover my expenses, I’m living life much as I would be if the situation were different. The only thing I might do differently (if dividend income covered my expenses fully) is maybe take on a partner or something to help with the blog. Running the site can sometimes be overwhelming, so it’d be nice to have some help sometimes. Other than that, I’m living a real dream.

    Thanks for all the support. It’s been a lot of fun seeing so many people in the community grow over the last few years. We’ve got people that have grown their dividend income rather significantly over the last three or four years, and that’s incredible. Makes the journey that much more fun when you know there are others right alongside you plugging away as well. 🙂

    Let’s keep it rolling!

    Best regards.

  37. Congrats Jason! Great income from the book and for the month. Awesome job getting back over the 50% savings rate! Looks like the next few months will help boost it even more.

  38. Tyler,

    Congrats on your first month of passive income. It’s addicting, my friend. You’ll want more and more of it. And you’ll get more and more of it, provided you stick with it and keep rolling that snowball. Nice work! 🙂

    The best is yet ahead.

    Best wishes.

  39. Thank you for sharing Jason. What an amazing ride bud. I’m happy for you and wish you continued success and health bud. Just living the dream! 🙂 Doing what you love, helping people along the way and making a great income. That’s the Amercian Dream bud. You deserve every second of this because you continue to hustle hard every day.
    Keep it up and Let’s continue to rip it up! Thank you my friend.

  40. RTR,

    Thanks!

    Sure feels good to get back to this level. And I also suspect that the next few months should give the annual savings rate a pretty solid boost, leading to a nice margin of safety toward the end of the year (and holiday season). 🙂

    Looks like you’re having a great 2015 over there as well. Let’s keep it up!

    Cheers.

  41. Tyler,

    Thanks for all the support, man. I’m super grateful to be a part of this incredible community. We’re all mutually inspiring each other toward our individual aspirations, and it’s great to see.

    Let’s indeed continue to rip it up, man! 🙂

    Best regards.

  42. Wow, your online income blew away the income from the job you held prior to quitting. Do you put the “withhold tax” in a saving account or you also invest it, just calculate the amount for next April?

  43. WOW! Back to back super impressive months. I know June was a ridiculous month deploying capital, but I feel like July may have some weight behind it as well. Nice job!

  44. Vivianne,

    It’s definitely really incredible these days. But it’s been a long road here. Hard work and consistency pays off in most endeavors, though. 🙂

    The taxes are paid every three months as quarterly estimated taxes. I just pay electronically. I don’t invest that cash, however. That would be far too risky.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  45. DD,

    Feels good to get back to the old me once more. Wasn’t sure I’d ever see those 70% months ever again, but here I am. I’m really fortunate. I just continue to work hard and keep moving forward. 🙂

    Thanks for the support. Hope the summer is treating you just as well as it’s treating me!

    Best wishes.

  46. Well technically lets say $5k came from ads/ mo, you could go flip this site on Flippa or another auction site and earn say 24 times earnings which would give you another $120k to invest tomorrow.

  47. Amazing savings rate, Jason! Congratulations! As you point out, the incredible savings rate is mostly due to the magnitude of your income, but that’s alright! Earning more is a good thing, isn’t it? Especially if it comes from passive income…

    Take care!
    FerdiS

  48. dzogen,

    It’s funny you mention that. I was actually approached by a publicly traded company not all that long ago. They were interested in potentially buying the site. That didn’t really go anywhere, though.

    But even if I wanted to sell the site, it might not go for that much. That’s more than the blog makes from advertising. And third-party brokers take a commission fee. In addition, taxes must be considered.

    Cheers!

  49. FerdiS,

    Absolutely. Saving more is more effective and efficient than earning more, dollar for dollar. But if you’ve got your expenses down and your lifestyle kind of already “locked in”, then it makes sense at that point to put more energy into earning more money. If you can do that while simultaneously keeping the expenses low (avoiding lifestyle inflation), then you’re going to rocket right into outer space. 🙂

    Thanks for the support!

    Best regards.

  50. Massive congratulations all around Jason!

    Great news on the income front, on all avenues – Dividend income, Blog, freelance, and book sales. It’s great to see your saving rate back to the levels it was when you worked at the dealership. Truly inspiring stuff!

    I will be reducing my hours to part time in August (3 days a week), then down to 2 days a week in September, and finally going it alone in October!

    I have my online income to a level that supports my expenses. I’ll have 2 extra days a week to expand on that and do what I love to do, and I can’t tell you how excited I am, although you have a pretty good idea going through the whole thing yourself.

    Excitement aside, I have various hurdles to get over now. I want to cover my expenses over a consistent period for online income. I then want to get my income up to a level that matches my previous employment. I would then like it to reach new levels that I would never have reached had I stayed at my job (much like you’ve experienced this month!).

    You’ve played a significant part in me taking my decision, as I’ve watched your journey for the last 18 months or so. Seeing the success you’re experiencing is helping me back myself more. I want to thank you for that!

    Keep up the great work, and I look forward to seeing you’re monthly income top the $10,000 in the not too distant future! 🙂

    Best wishes
    Huw

  51. Huw,

    Congratulations! You’re on the cusp of a whole new beginning. Very, very exciting. With your online income supporting your expenses and your dividend income growing, the risks are very few. The odds of failing at this point are very low. The only major risk at that point becomes regret.

    Appreciate the kind words. Glad my journey and some of my experiences have inspired you. I’ve blazed some new trails, and I’m really happy that I’m in the position to share what I’ve found. It’s an exciting world out there once you’re no longer chained to the desk. Best of luck!!

    Cheers.

  52. hi Jason,

    Just a question it has been on my head since yesterday when I read this article. When you publish your “Monthly Budgets” articles, why don’t you detail the stocks investment as well as you do with income and expenses?

    You say you have saved 75.3% of your net income this month, maybe it is interesting yo know how much of it went to stocks investment.

    Regards from Spain

  53. Hey Jason,

    Congratulations on the banner month all around! That’s freakin’ phenomenal!

    When you estimate your future income for your quarterlies, do you include your estimated dividend income in that as well?

  54. Hi Jason,

    This is Venkatesh from India.I have been following your blog for the past 2 months .Your posts have had a great impact on my overall view towards investment.Earlier I used to think trading would be enough for achieving F.I but your blog really made me realize the importance of dividend income.
    What you have done here is created a model which we just have to follow and reach our goal.
    Really appreciate your work.keep up the good work.And yeah congratulations on achieving 70% savings.

    Regards,
    Venkatesh

  55. Hi Jason,

    I have been following your blog for couple years now and have to say congrats. This is amazing increase for income and savings rate of 75%! I’ve been tracking our income/expenses since January of 2015 (inspired by you and retireby40) and my finance and I have similar savings rates from 60-75% each month, but 75% on one single income is incredible achievement.

    I am currently trying to build up my dividend passive income and hopefully retire by 40 as well. Thanks for the inspiration and great content.

  56. Great to keep track of expenses. How do you get by on $25 per month for cell phone?
    Greetings from Maryland

  57. Looking good! We did pretty well in June in terms of income because that’s when all of our funds and ETFs pay quarterly dividends. Expenses remained pretty low in spite of being in Mexico on vacation almost the entire month (it’s cheap down here!).

    Your online income is very impressive!

  58. Good day Jason
    what a great month for you. your online income was so awesome at over 6K. your savings rate for the month was just so in creditable. Its great that you can blog and make money on it. live so frugally, dividend invest so you one day dividends will pay your way. no doubt you are living your dream. Congrats on your hard work and your dream. It shows that we too, can live our dreams also. Well done Jason. Cheers.

  59. Kiwi and Diego 🙂 any chance you can post up a pic? Grats on the new pup!

    I hear ya on the coffee shop routine (panera, starbucks, even mcdonalds wifi). Sometimes being productive outside of the home environment is healthy, IMO. $80 is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things I’d say.
    Nice savings rate too, knocking it out of the park last month!
    -Rich

  60. Great job, killing it on the income and expense side! June was pretty good for me on the expense side as I traveled a decent amount for work which cuts back on take-out/grocery costs. Summer months tend to be more expensive for me, but once the weather gets colder in the northeast, my expenses seem to go down with the temperatures.

  61. Congratulations to the online income! Your hard work – and consistency – made it possible.

  62. jj,

    Thanks for the question!

    I’ve discussed this quite a few times now. I keep a few thousand or so in cash for emergencies, but I’m otherwise pretty much 100% invested. So what I save gets invested. May oscillate a bit from month to month because of taxes and what not, but that which I save goes toward stocks. I don’t have $10,000 or $20,000 out in some secret bank account or anything.

    But you can easily do the math yourself. I share what I earn, spend, save, and invest. 🙂

    Cheers!

  63. Josh,

    Thanks so much. It was really incredible. A banner month for sure. I think the next month or two also looks strong, but it’s very difficult to say beyond that.

    When I estimate my income for the year, I include everything. So my estimated dividend income for the year ($7,200) is in there as well. But I’m earning more than what I thought I would, which is a wonderful problem to have. I’ll either have to crank up the quarterly payments this year or owe next year. Either way, Uncle Sam will get his money. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  64. Venkatesh,

    Thanks for sharing that! 🙂

    Glad you’ve switched up the strategies and found something more robust. I’m sure there are some people out there that can make money trading stocks, but it’s not something I’d want to try. Your odds of being really successful at something like that are just so low, it’s just crazy to risk something as wonderful as financial independence/early retirement on it. That’s especially so when you consider that there is this great framework that is highly robust and repeatable, and will very, very likely lead to the promised land.

    A lot of roads lead to Rome. But this the best I’ve come across.

    Thanks for stopping by from India!

    Take care.

  65. Claudio,

    Very, very kind of you. Really appreciate that. I’m incredibly fortunate to have such a great readership. Having readers/fans from all over the world is just amazing to me. It’s almost unbelievable.

    I hope all is well in Italy and you’re slowly making your dreams come true. 🙂

    Cheers!

  66. The Pharmacist,

    Appreciate you following along!

    Congrats on the excellent savings rate over there. Achieving 60% or 70% isn’t easy. I know that firsthand. It’s very, very difficult. But what’s great about it is that there’s this instant gratification. You’ve got the cash right then and there, and it’s yours forever (assuming you don’t waste it). Even better, it’ll likely only grow and grow over time if you put it to work. It all stems from the savings rate, though. If you’re able to save 60% or so of your net income, you pretty much can’t fail. Even if one of my stocks were to go to zero tomorrow, it’s not something I couldn’t make up for in a month or two of savings. When you have that kind of savings power on your side, you’re almost unstoppable. 🙂

    Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  67. Justin,

    That’s fantastic. Those big quarterly dividends sure feel nice when they roll in! 🙂

    I’ve occasionally thought about the idea of retiring early/becoming FI and then living abroad. There are a lot of cheap places out there – SE Asia and Latin America come to mind pretty quickly. But there are trade-offs to consider as well. Just depends on what you value in life. The adventure alone is probably worth the price of admission, but I’d also like to see quite a few places here in the US.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  68. Michael,

    Thank you so much. Appreciate the support. Doing all I can to earn my keep. 🙂

    Dreams aren’t meant just to keep us entertained while we sleep. They’re meant to be lived. And I can say for sure that I’m living out mine right now. But I couldn’t do it without readers like you, so I appreciate the readership immensely.

    Lots more to come. Stay in touch!

    Best regards.

  69. DGI,

    Thanks!

    It’s been a wild, wild ride up to this point. But it’s been fun. And the rewards are absolutely worth the work. I wouldn’t suggest anyone blog for income, because it’s a very poor way to go about it. However, I’m really fortunate in that I just so happen to have a passion for it and I’ve been able to monetize that. If you have a real passion for something, I think the money will come as long as you add value somehow.

    Cheers!

  70. Rich,

    Ahh! I should put up a picture. I think I’ll get one up on the Facebook account at some point in the near future. 🙂

    Yeah, the money I spend on coffee (which is really just money spent on getting out of the house and really working) is something that the me of, say, four years ago would admonish the me of today about. But it’s just a different situation now. And I know for sure that the money spent allows me to put out more content, which means I’m earning more than I’m spending there. But it goes beyond that. It’s really just a happiness thing. One has to make sure they’re not being so frugal that they’re being cheap and avoiding spending money at all costs, even if the money is spent on something that would truly make them happy. I’ve never advocated being a miser. But the key (and difficult part) is deciphering between what really brings about joy and what just triggers a temporary response to spending money. In that regard, experiences (and the lasting memories they provide) tend to be far better than most material things.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  71. FF,

    Yeah, I remember those days. Traveling for work was always something I looked forward to due to the reduced expenses, but also something I hated because I was away from home. Pros and cons.

    Great job saving the cash over there. I hear you on the seasons affecting your savings. It’s good to get out when the weather allows, and then you can scale back once winter hits.

    Cheers!

  72. Sensim,

    Thank you. Hard work goes a long, long way. I can say that for sure. If you believe in something, work incredibly hard, and add value, you almost can’t miss. You have to be patient as well, though. It wasn’t until somewhat recently that I was earning this kind of income from my online ventures. I made very little money for years. But I never did it for the money. I did it because I have a passion for it. 🙂

    Hope you had a great month as well!

    Best wishes.

  73. Ya I’m a big fan of chihuahuas – small and to the point but lots of personality. They are the frugal version of a dog lol – did you guys opt for long hair or short?
    Rich

  74. Nice work Jason! I wish I could save this much but expenses are just too high from schooling and loans but I am watching that little bit of extra I have so hopefully I can start using that responsibly and saving/reinvesting it.

  75. IE,

    Appreciate it!

    Yeah, there’s definitely a lot of discipline involved. But when you know what awaits you, it makes it a lot easier. 🙂

    Have a great week over there.

    Best regards.

  76. Brantley,

    We’re all at different points in our lives, so it’s probably not helpful to really compare yourself. As long as you’re doing the best you can possibly do right now, that’s what really matters. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  77. That’s amazing! Congratulation! That’s the type of success that come from hard work and dedication. Your articles are great and I’m really glad to see you’re seeing the benefit. You’re probably making more money self employed now. Great job! Your saving rate is fantastic too.

  78. Joe,

    Thanks so much, man. Really appreciate it. We’ve basically followed the same model. Get your passive income up to a pretty solid level, then make the leap. If you can make some active income along the way doing something you really love while allowing the investments to continue growing, you really can’t miss. But you first have to realize that the bottom dollar isn’t the be-all and end-all. In the end, the whole reason for all of this is to maximize happiness. And if you can do that while at the same time seeking complete freedom, you’re in a great spot.

    Best regards!

  79. Congrats Jason,

    Truly inspiring stuff!

    I’m taking bets that your comment below will editing over the next couple of years 🙂

    Jason Fieber – “I don’t make a six-figure income. I never have and I probably never will.”

  80. Your online income is something to behold. And that’s your net income, right? Not gross. Any month a person can say that they earned over $5,000 (or $6,000 in your case) and didn’t have to show up at a job in the morning is definitely a good month.

    Not making that much and trying to boost my own savings rate, I’ve decided to put myself on “spending fasts” that last one to two weeks at a time. I pretty much don’t spend a penny on anything that isn’t a necessity or obligation under any circumstances. It can be rough at lunch when your coworker has honey glazed chicken and mixed vegetables and rice while you’re eating a peanut butter sandwich, but saving that $200/month on lunch will be worth it in the end. I’m trying to take the bus home less and walk on certain days, but an hour and a half walk in 80 degree weather while wearing a suit and tie isn’t going to work.

    And now I really want honey glazed chicken.

    Sincerely,
    ARB–Angry Retail Banker

  81. Jason,
    You gotta be loving it. The internet income exceeding your bills by 200% is just amazing. Doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, with whomever you want to do it with is the prize. We are there!
    Best wishes,
    Keith

  82. Congrats Jason! I’ve been motivated by your blog and have been slowly trying to increase my savings rate for the past 6 months. I do blog to keep me accountable which will help me emulate your success.
    With regards to your income, how do you account for taxes? Are the income you report after taxes or pre-tax? I did remember you mention in one of your posts/comments about FL and not having to pay state taxes. I can’t wait to move out of MD where I get taxed about 6.5-7% in income taxes!
    As always, congrats on your ever increasing savings rate! You are an inspiration!

  83. TDE,

    Ha! I wouldn’t mind doing the editing work at all. We’ll see about that. It’s certainly very possible at this rate. Putting in maximum effort over here, I promise you that. 🙂

    Thanks for the support. Hope you had a great June as well!

    Cheers.

  84. ARB,

    It was definitely a great month. If I can even just hold the income at this level for the next five or so years, I’d be more than pleased. I don’t even need to grow it from here. I’m really just hoping it doesn’t move in the opposite direction.

    I know how you feel over there, though. I remember people making fun of me when I was eating ramen noodles every day. I used to joke and pretend it was something new every day. People would laugh and ask what I was having for lunch that day (knowing it was ramen), and I’d say, “Oh, it’s chicken Parmesan.” It was just a way for me to laugh it off, knowing deep down inside who was going to get the last laugh. 🙂

    Like Dave Ramsey says, you live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later. You’ll be where you want to be before you know it.

    Best regards!

  85. Keith,

    Absolutely. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Sometimes I think I should pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. 🙂

    Buffett has said a few times that he considers it the best gift of all to work when he wants, on what he wants, and only with who we wants. I’d say that’s spot on.

    Appreciate the support. Hope you’re enjoying being in an even better spot over there!

    Cheers.

  86. R2R,

    It was a crazy month. They’re not all like this, but I’ll gladly take it when I can get it. 🙂

    Best of luck over there on your race. Make sure you enjoy the ride!

    Take care.

  87. Cents,

    Thanks so much!

    I think you’ll find that writing about it really keeps you accountable and motivates you to do even better. Blogging isn’t necessarily a great way to make money, but there are a lot of intangible benefits like that.

    As far as the taxes go, I include only my net income. I pay quarterly estimated taxes:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/03/the-joys-of-quarterly-estimated-taxes/

    You’re generally in a pretty good spot if you’re paying quarterly estimated taxes. First world problems. 🙂

    Best of luck making the move over there. I consider my move to Florida one of the best things I ever did. People say there’s no free lunch when it comes to taxes, but I disagree. Depends on your individual situation, however. But those living frugally and doing some of the things we’re doing will surely benefit from living in a place with no income tax and low overall taxation. Not only do I get to benefit from no state income tax, but the overall cost of living in this area of Florida isn’t bad. We’re not taxed on groceries, which is really one of the things you’re going to be “consuming” the most of. So the sales tax is really not much of a burden at all, either. And property taxes here are comparable to Michigan, which is where I’m originally from.

    Appreciate the support!

    Best wishes.

  88. Incredible results Jason! Am absolutely thrilled to see your bigger commitment to online work paying off for you! Stock investments aren’t the only things that snowball it would appear!

  89. Hi Jason,

    Congratulations from India.Everyday I got frustrated by doing 9-7 job, But at the end of day i keep motivating myself by reading your posts.
    So from past 1 month my view about investment got changed and I realised the importance of FI for me. I considered myself lucky that i got your website its like ready-made proven path to achieve FI, i just need to follow it properly.

    Thanks for sharing motivational stuff.

    Regards,
    Sushant P

  90. 75% savings rate for the month! That’s a great achievement, considering that most of it comes from online income. Of course, the dividends later will save the day. Congrats.

  91. Jason, thanks for the article and great work this past month.

    The point that really sticks out to me that you acknowledge that staying consistent and writing more grows the blog dramatically year over year. As a new blogger, I am impressed and excited reading that. I need to keep producing interesting content and value for my readers.

    Thanks again and have a good day,
    Erik

  92. Congratulations on your month! i noticed that you mentioned selling your car which I agree is a big drain. However, most folks including me absolutely need a car due to location, etc. Have you ever contemplated an article on the best used cars, and/or tips in general to keep car expenses low. On a slow news day this would be great due to your knowledge of the car industry. Thanks in advance.

  93. Jason,

    Thank you very much! 🙂

    I’ve definitely noticed that exponential growth isn’t limited to stocks – online income can work the same way, provided everything works out just right. And I’m really fortunate in that regard. I’ve put a lot of hard work into everything I’ve been doing over the last few years and it’s panning out. I’ve worked hard, but I’ve also gotten lucky here and there.

    Hope you had an excellent June over there as well. Let’s keep climbing.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  94. Sushant,

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing that!

    I know how you feel over there. I used to share that frustration. It was something that provided me the drive to do the things I’ve done. So I suggest that you use that frustration to your advantage – use it as your mantra. Focus on all the things you’d rather be doing with your time and keep socking away those dollars. 🙂

    Stay in touch. Best of luck!

    Cheers.

  95. Mr. E,

    I’m incredibly proud to be in this spot. Saving 70% of net income isn’t an easy task. And doing it fairly often for years on end is even more difficult. But I’m lucky in that I have a great and supportive readership. Couldn’t do it without you guys! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Best regards.

  96. Erik,

    Absolutely. I get emails all the time asking about achieving success online. Sure, there is advice I can give specific to a writer or a blog, but the general answer is to focus on the content. And then you wait. I’ve been writing consistently for more than four years now, but it wasn’t until the last year or so that I’ve started to see real success with it. I’ve probably written more than 1,000 articles over that time, much of which I feel is fairly high quality. So it’s just like anything else. You work really hard, hope to get lucky, and wait for a while. 🙂

    Best of luck!

    Take care.

  97. wtd7576,

    That’s a good idea. I should put something together on that. I’ve certainly picked up a few tips and tricks over the years working in the industry. My short answer would be to get a gently used (low mileage and still young) Corolla or Civic and do as much work yourself as you can.

    I’ll see if I can think of something here pretty soon. 🙂

    Cheers!

  98. Thank you Jason. You’ve played a big part in current circumstances, and I won’t forget that.

    Man I’m excited. I can’t wait to be in charge of my time, earnings, and future. I’ll keep you posted and I’ll be keeping an eye on your progress as always.

    Cheers
    Huw

  99. Jason

    it is a joy seeing you leaping towards your goals while in the process spreading enthusiasm and inspiration at an increasing rate!

    I have a question related to watch lists, and I am posting this here as it looks like the watch list for July is not coming:

    Are the any tools or techniques that you use for maintaining a watch list (updating the relevant data, adding/removing stocks to/from the watch list)?

    I recon maintaining a good watch list is useful to take good aim with that BB gun, although I suppose one can always shoot at the usual targets.

    I read that some people craft their own Google Spreadsheets, use Excel plugins and some such. What is your best practice?

    Thanks!

    Philipp

  100. Hi Jason,
    Wow another great month. I am sure next time when I am on my holidays in FL you will have your own TV show, telling those snowbirds where to invest their money.
    I would watch it.

  101. Saving rate of 75% is unreal as well as your ever growing online income. Wow, huge congrats to you in achieving that success. Keep up the great work.

    Your big fan, BeSmartRich

  102. Philipp,

    That’s a good question. Perhaps I’ll write a post on it at some point, although I don’t really have any proprietary technique to share. And I’m not sure I can add a lot of value there.

    First off, one’s watch list (as in those stocks you don’t already own or aren’t interested in buying necessarily quickly) will depend a lot on how large their portfolio is or is going to eventually be. If you’re only going to own 20 stocks, then your “watch list” isn’t really going to be much of anything at all. You’re just going to slowly buy those 20 stocks and that’s it.

    I prefer to hedge my bets and spread my capital out across many different high-quality businesses. But I think there are 40 or 50 stocks that you’re going to be interested in right away. Stocks like KO, PEP, PG, XOM, etc. The rest are just stocks I come across through various screens or articles that pop up on my radar. Nothing scientific about it.

    As far as maintaining the actual watch list, Scottrade has a neat little tool for that. I just add a stock in there and that’s it. It’s now permanently on my radar. I have something like 50 or so stocks there that aren’t already in my portfolio. So that’s my “universe” of stocks – around 120 or so. It may grow or shrink over time, but that’s kind of where I like to be. From there, I just keep a loose eye on all of them. To think that you’re going to know exactly where all of these stocks are at every minute isn’t only crazy, but it’s completely unnecessary. But I have a rough idea where every stock in my portfolio is in terms of price and valuation, and then I have a rougher idea about those stocks on my watch list. When scrolling through, something might pop up and then I go further from there.

    I’ll try to address this in a lengthier post at some point, but, again, I don’t use any proprietary system. It’s really quite simple. Nothing needs to be complicated.

    Best regards!

  103. Killepitsch,

    Ha! Wouldn’t that be something?

    I doubt that’ll ever come to fruition. However, I have long wanted to put together a weekly or even monthly video series on some of this stuff. Maybe my own YouTube channel or something. It’s just so tough to find the time for something like that. I’m pretty much maxed out as it stands. But I’d love to get something out there like that. Just another way to deliver the message. And some people prefer video as a means to consume content.

    Appreciate the support. Hope you had a great month over there!

    Cheers.

  104. BSR,

    Thank you so much. I’m so incredibly fortunate to be in this position. There’s a lot of hard work (and a little luck) going on behind the scenes, but I’m just very grateful that the hard work is being rewarded like this. From here, it’s just turning that income into equity – gotta keep that money working hard for me. 🙂

    Appreciate the support and readership very much. Lots more to come!

    Best wishes.

  105. Mike,

    Much appreciated. I know you’ve done really well over the years in regards to online income, so your comment means I’m on the right track. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  106. I really think a youtube Channel would be great. I like reading the blogs but the younger folks who would have the most time for compounding like youtube more I think. You would definetly reach a new audience.

  107. Well-deserved success! Although I started dividend investing recently in part of my portfolio, my way to build wealth in stock market is different than yours, but there are many ways to succeed.

    The reason I am so impressed is that you are very methodical, thorough, persistent, and hard working. I realized over the years successful people utilize and maximize the system to the full extent whatever system they have. Hope you continue to work hard toward your goal. It’s just breath of fresh air to read your website when I am so tired of people surrounding me with no purpose and lazy but want all the goods and time they want.

  108. shamonne,

    Thanks so much!

    You’re absolutely correct there. There are a lot of ways to build wealth. But if you work hard, live below your means, invest intelligently, don’t panic, and stay persistent/consistent/patient, you’ll succeed. You really can’t avoid succeeding at that point. The system tilts too far in your favor. 🙂

    The internet is so wonderful in that it gives us this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals. It’s really hard to find people in our real lives that have any interest in this stuff, which makes blogs and websites all that much more valuable from a community standpoint. So keep reading and stay in touch. You’ll see the support.

    Best wishes!

  109. Awesome savings rate and online income. That is a good chunk of money that you can now invest. Great work.

  110. Hey Sushant!
    I’m glad you are making the move towards FI and Jason’s an wonderful example of hardwork and dedication. Btw, are you aware of “Safal Niveshak” ? Google these words, and that is an India centric value investing and FI website which addresses various tax issues that you might face in India.

    How do I know about this? I am currently working on a blog post to summarize various value investors and DG investors with similar values as Jason.

    Best,
    Mr. Liberte

  111. John,

    Thank you! I wish every month could be so wonderful. But I’d be happy if this happened just once a year. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. Hope you guys are crushing it over there as well.

    Cheers!

  112. It looks to me like you’re already living the dream!

    Best of luck with your goal of 50% savings rate this year. Something to which I aspire… eventually!

  113. Diane,

    I truly am. I’m very, very fortunate. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. Best of luck over there getting to the 50% savings rate you aspire to!

    Take care.

  114. Steve,

    Ha!

    If I had the time, I’d be interested in discussing online income generation strategies using another site. But it’s just really impossible as things sit now. And I have far more interest in what I’m already doing. 🙂

    Thanks for the support.

    Best wishes!

  115. You are calculating your average savings rate for the year wrong. Don’t take the mean of the percentages of the months, but sum up all the monthly income sums and all the monthly expenses and then calculate your savings rate.
    As of June, this would give you a correct savings rate for 2015 YTD of 55.2 instead of the 50.1% you state here.

  116. Stefan,

    I’m only calculating it wrong if my goal were to add all the months together and calculate total yearly income against total yearly expenses. If I were reporting my income and expenses just once per year, that’s how I’d do it. But reporting it every month makes it easier just to average out the numbers.

    I long ago decided to just average out the monthly figures. Back when I was working at my day job and my income didn’t oscillate quite as heavily, the numbers weren’t that far off. But the online income has been all over the place over the last year. I think it’ll even out somewhat over a 12-year period of tracking it, but we’ll see.

    In the end, my goal is to achieve a 50% savings rate, averaged out monthly (as I stated). In that regard, I’m doing pretty well.

    Take care!

  117. I am super excited to have found your blog and I look forward to reading more, both past and current articles. You’re a wealth of financial insight, and probably blogging insight as well.

    It’s wonderful that you’re leading the charge by setting an example.

    Love the site.

    Laura Beth

  118. Laura,

    Thank you so much. Very, very kind of you!

    I’m also glad you found the blog. I’m here to inspire and help wherever I can. 🙂

    Stay in touch. A lot more content to come.

    Hope your journey is proving to be incredibly successful thus far!

    Best regards.

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