Each month I will post my income/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).
Income from April 2011:
$4,084–Regular Paycheck
$66–Dividends
$95–Bonus and Spiffs
Total Income: $4,245
Expenses from April 2011:
$638–Rent
$287–Car Payment
$180–Student Loan
$105–Restaraunts
$79–Auto Insurance
$60–Groceries
$52–Fuel
$66–Pharmacy
$54–Fast Food and Pizza
$35–Internet
$19–Entertainment
$9–Mobile Phone
$34–Everything Else*
Total Expenses: $1,623
*-The Everything Else category includes things I don’t have a regular budget for. In this case it was ($34) spent on gifts, as my girlfriend and her child both had birthdays in April. The Entertainment category this month comprised of a ($19) visit to the movie theater as my girlfriend wanted to see “Fast Five” for her birthday.
I managed to save 61.8% of my net income this month, which was a huge victory after last month’s dip. This is my highest percentage of net income saved since I’ve started tracking this figure. I am really proud to have hit this kind of savings for the month. I don’t really have a lot I would have changed for the month. My overall food costs ($219) were high, but mostly because I splurged a little after last month’s lack of spending in this category. It was also my girlfriend’s birthday in late April, and we went to a really nice dinner at a waterfront restaurant. We had a great time and it was worth every penny. One expense I did a great job of keeping down was fuel ($52). I watched my gas pedal at every green light and really took it easy on the car.
My expenses were slightly high, but the greatest thing about this month was that I broke another record in net income. This was the highest amount of monthly net income I’ve ever posted in my life. I had a few pretty big sales at work, which was great. This amount of money is pretty unusual for me to earn in one month, and I suspect my net income will downtrend the rest of the summer as our “busy season” here in Southwest Florida has wound down. Things will ramp back up in the Fall.
Overall, I’m very happy with this budget. If I could post numbers like this every month my finances would be on auto-pilot. Unfortunately, life makes me work a little for it.
My goal is to average a 50% savings rate of my net income, monthly. So far I’ve hit rates of:
52.5%-January
54.4%-February
39.9%-March
61.8%-April
I am now at an average of 52.2% for the year and on track for my goal. Wish me luck.
Thanks for reading.
Mantra,
You are crazy brother…only $1.6k in expenses! You would laugh if you heard my monthly expenses.
I think we have somewhat different mindsets though as I don’t live nearly as frugal. What kind of car do you drive to get that on gas? I know my Supercrew F150 doesn’t get that in one fill up! 🙂
Take care,
DP
Partisan,
Well, I have to keep the expenses down because I don’t make a lot of money. If I want to even come close to retiring by 40 years old I’ve gotta sock away most of my cash. You invest more than I do, and since you spend more than I do, it would seem you make more money than me. I’m not against someone spending more of their income if they make a lot. If I received a $10,000 raise tomorrow I’d be inclined to spend some of it, because I’m still increasing my net savings, even if I decrease my net percentage.
On the car, it’s a 2006 G6. Not the best on mileage, but I only live 7 miles from work! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. Take care brother.
Mantra,
Thanks for the reply! I hope you didn’t think I was suggesting anything negative in my comment. These are my favorite posts because you motivate me to follow your lead, and your numbers are definitely impressive. Keep up the great work,
Partisan,
Oh, definitely not brother. I was simply saying that you shouldn’t feel bad for spending more than I do because you probably make more than I do. I was just agreeing with you…that if I made more I would probably spend more. The last few months have actually been on the high side for me income-wise.
I’m glad I’m motivating you on the spending side, and I’ll try to follow your lead on the investing side 🙂
Take care and keep up your great work as well!
Dividend Mantra,
Is that income before or after tax? I think that this makes a difference.
Other than that good luck in building your dividend income stream.
Blogging Banks,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
That income is after tax, my net income.
Thanks for the well wishes, and the same to you.
Take care.
Blogging Banks,
That is post-tax income…net income. I only include that, because I feel that gross income, or before-tax income, is not as realistic.
Thanks for stopping by!