Income/Expenses For November 2014

budgetI’ve been tracking my income and expenses online 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 to save, but spending less means you need less 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).

Income From November 2014:
Online Income$4,449
Dividend Income$353
Total Income$4,800
Expenses From November 2014:
Rent & Utilities$537
Auto$300
Student Loans$224
Health Insurance$216
Engagement Ring$200
Hosting$153
Groceries$121
Fast Food/Takeout$116
Amusement$105
Restaurants$104
Auto Insurance$65
Pharmacy$63
Fuel$30
Cable/Internet$27
Email Services$20
Gifts$10
Everything Else*$42
Total Expenses$2,327

Income

Five months into writing for a living, and I can gratefully say that the transition has been a raging success thus far. My tenure so far is a long way from the eight years I spent working in service departments of various auto dealerships, but every month is a blissful addition to the new career. This was by far the most I’ve ever made from online endeavors, mainly boosted by a record output in regards to the number of articles I published throughout November. I could write even more, but I’m insistent on maintaining what I feel is a high degree of quality. Plus, I have to be careful not to turn all of this into “work” that isn’t enjoyable. But I honestly can’t see that happening, as I truly enjoy writing, researching, conversing with you readers through the comments and emails, and everything else that goes along with this. November was also a record month in terms of traffic here to the blog, with just under 280,000 pageviews for the month. As always, thank all of you out there for your continued support.

The dividend income certainly helped as well. Though not my biggest month of the year by a long shot, this source of income not only covered a good chunk of my personal expenses, but did so passively. I love writing, but it requires action on my part. Dividends require practically nothing once they start rolling in.

Expenses

*The Everything Else category includes expenses I don’t have a regular budget for. I purchased a Christmas tree for $39 plus tax from our local Walmart. It’s a bit over six feet tall, white, and pre-lit. Great tree. We really love it. There were a couple of cheaper options closer to $25, but they just weren’t really what we wanted. All in all, I think we got a good deal here.

Most of the other expenses were pretty much in line for the most part. I didn’t do much driving, as usual. So just one tank of gas. Most of my driving is actually related to errands for Claudia and her son, which I perform to help out. Other than that, I spend most of my time at home writing. I’m actually thinking about taking a day every week to get out of the apartment and write down at a McDonald’s or something. There would be a cost associated with that, but it might be fun to get out and about here and there. Then again, things are working pretty well as is. And I’m not really interested in spending more money.

Food was a tad high. Nothing really abnormal, however. We had neighbors over one Saturday night and I kicked in for a few pizzas. We also visited the Sarasota Medieval Fair and the food there was pretty expensive. We’ve never been to it in all the years we’ve lived here, but it was a great time. Nothing but good things to say about that.

Amusement was much higher than normal, mostly related to the aforementioned fair. We also checked out a local institution for live music last Saturday. $10 for three hours of great entertainment. Money well spent, in my opinion.

I long for the days when I was able to get by for $1,100 or $1,200 per month. But I think the recurring expenses will come down substantially next year. The amortization of my Toyota Corolla will be over after December. It also looks like my healthcare will be going down, as I’ve noticed some cheaper bronze plans on the exchange for 2015. I’ll also be done accounting for the engagement ring in the spring, so I think the budget will improve dramatically toward the back half of 2015 and beyond. Of course, dividend income will be simultaneously rising. Things are looking up for me!

Savings

I managed to save 51.5% of my net income this month. That’s fairly solid considering that I’m still working through some temporary expenses and I’m working for myself now. That’s really not that far off from some of my historical results when I was pulling down the 50-hour workweeks at the crummy dealership. I can’t say I’m disappointed at all, and I also think there’s possible room for improvement next year. This number, however, is a bit inflated right now because of the fact that my quarterly estimated income taxes are not enough to cover my tax liability due to setting up lighter payments earlier in the year before I was making as much income online. That will adjust itself next year when I do my taxes and I’ll obviously set up a much larger payment schedule next year now that I’m making more income online. All in all, however, I’m very happy with this result.

One of my goals is to save 50% of my net income throughout 2014, averaged monthly. So far, I’ve hit rates of:

[show-rjqc id=”16″]

I’m now at an average of 46.5% for the year. That’s below my goal, which I’m not real pleased with. But considering that I set that goal up at the beginning of the year before I embarked on this journey to pursue my passion of writing as a career, even coming that close is a success. A solid finish in December means I’ll come within just a few percentage points of my goal, which was a rather aggressive goal in the first place with hindsight on my side.

December will no doubt be expensive. I’ve already booked our tickets to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK) shareholder meeting, so that’ll be one less expense for 2015. But tack that on to some gift spending, and I already know December is going to be rough. Nonetheless, I’m excited for the holiday season!

Full Disclosure: Long MCD and WMT.

Did you save as much as you wanted to for November? On track to meet your savings goals for the year? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Edit: Corrected disclosure.

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111 Comments

  1. Amazing that you had a few expenses that are ‘higher than normal’ but still manage to save nearly 50% of your income. And even more exciting when you know some of your expenses are coming to an end soon! Your average for the year is fantastic, even though it falls slightly short of your goal. Whilst its great to set goals to stretch yourself, you’ve got to be pretty happy with what you’ve achieved!

    Your on-line income is awesome, and well beyond my own on-line income ‘dream’ level! Is this mostly from other paid articles you write, and some advertising on this site?

  2. Mantra,

    Great month! 51% is amazing, esepcially considering the higher than usual expenses and the additional expenses you are amortizing. Even though you were above your goal, you still were above your average for the year. Very nice job for this month, I can’t wait to see what happens when some of the amortizing expenses fall of of your monthly article next year (I’m sure you are as well). You know how jealous I am that your car will be fully amortized!

    I think it is a great idea to change your scenery once a week. Sometimes it is nice to just get out of the house or office (for those of us who are stil chained to their job). It can help clear your mind and possibly get inspired by the new environment if you witness some event (random act of kindness, family discussions, etc.). It is well worth the incremental cost you will incur to write at the venue. I also think it won’t be as expensive if you think as there are many coffee shops that offer free or very discounted refills if you by their coffee on site. You could always pack a lunch and spend a few dollars drinking coffee for the day. I’m sure your city has some cool/unique local coffee shops. Right now I am kind of talking myself into that!

    Congrats on the great month for your blog as well. 280k page views, amazing! We love reading our work and following your progress.

    Best Regards,

    Bert

  3. You missed disclosing that you’re also long on WalMart. I’m glad you enjoy writing, as I enjoy reading your stuff. There’s been blogs that I’ve followed, just to see the updates stop. You don’t have to reply to this post, but I also like the fact that you take the time to reply to most posts from people.

    Joel

  4. Hi DM,

    Another month, another record! You’re online income continues to surprise me each month. The total is huge! It’s significantly more than my salary. Your online income fascinates more than anything else you produce – partly due to the fact I don’t quite understand how you’ve been able to get it to this stage, and partly because it is so significant. I did a quick conversion into pounds, and you’re just short of £35k a year from online income alone. I’m on £30k!
    Your dividend income is still strong, but I see that as much more attainable. I’ve earned £124 in dividend income in one month. This is from doing DGI for one month. The most I’ve earned from online income is £12.98. I can imagine increasing my dividends to your level. I know what path to take, it’s just going to take time. Your online income however, literally blows my mind!

    I know you wrote a post on how you earn money online and breaking it down. I would love to see you write a similar article again, and any advice on how fellow bloggers could become more successful with earning money online like yourself.

    Jason, you continue to inspire me to work on DGI and make a life for myself online. I thoroughly enjoy your blog, please keep up the good work!

    Huw

  5. Dividend Mantra,

    You made more money in online income this month then I average at my job per month!!! Congrats on another solid month and slow down on those articles I find it hard to keep up reading them all !! All kidding aside, look forward to reading more of your articles this month.

  6. Incredible DM! As others have said, I’m equally impressed with your online income. To see where you were when you first started your blog to where you are today is an amazing transformation. Is it possible to be proud of a stranger? Yes, Yes I believe it is! 😉

  7. Another great month – your online income is just fantastic 🙂 and the blog page views is pretty good too! Cannot wait to see where you end up at the end of the year, and your goals for 2015 for that matter 🙂

    Hope you have had a good weekend!

  8. Incredible in many areas, from the blog traffic, the income associated with your online endeavors, and your continued savings rate in the face of rising expenses. Each month that goes by is another “free” month for retirement at that savings rate. As Stoic said, pretty awesome to be proud of someone else in the community who has experienced a tremendous amount of success. Glad I’ve been along for the ride.

  9. Hi DM,

    Congrats on a great month and being above the 50% line! Your online income is awesome too but well deserved since your writing is always worth reading. How close is your online income to your former job at the dealership – has it exceeded it yet?

    Best wishes,
    -DL

  10. You’re already living the dream, Jason. In reality, you’re already retired since you’d probably be writing even if you didn’t need any money! I’m sure you could make even more online income if you did more to promote yourself, but I don’t think that’s your style.

    What percentage of your online income this past month was from advertisements on this website? How much do you still owe on your student loans?

  11. Absolutely awesome online income! Its really starting to roll in, and better yet you enjoy it 🙂 Going to MCD’s to get away/change of scenery or just to help boost their div growth for yourself 😛 Congrats on keeping over half your income for the month as well! My November wasnt so great, but not bad considering. And I know December will be a tough one as well.

  12. Sounds like you’re remaining steadfast in your drive towards financial independence. And a special congratulations on all the online income. As usual, well done!

  13. Hey DM,

    Nice savings rate this month. Even though you’re not hitting your goal, you you’re not that far, in my book a savings rate so close to 50% is a success. Also, your trip to Berkshire’s annual meeting is incredibly exciting! Please make sure to write a detailed blog post with many pictures. It would be really interesting to hear from your experience there. If you get to exchange a word with Warren Buffet make sure to give him some thanks from all of us who follow his advice and knowledge.

    Best wishes and congratulations on what has already been a great year!
    Dividend Venture

  14. Jason,

    Thanks. It’s been a tough year for the savings rate, but a fantastic year professionally. And that’s a trade-off I’ll make 10 times out of 10 opportunities. 🙂

    The income is mostly derived from freelance writing. The blog generates some significant income by itself, but the vast majority is from freelancing.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  15. Jason, that’s an incredible amount of online income!

    Don’t be too hard on yourself with the savings rate. I think I speak for the majority of your readers when I say that in our eyes, savings rate achieved or no, you’ve had one heck of a financially successful year!

  16. Bert,

    Thanks, bud. It was a really solid month, overall. I honestly can’t complain when I’m saving half of my income while being able to work at home. It’s a dream come true.

    I’m very excited for some of the larger expenses to come off next year. December will be the last month for the car and then the engagement ring expense will vanish in the spring. It’ll be all gravy from there. 🙂

    Yeah, there’s a MCD right up the road from me. Maybe two or three miles away. I went up there this past Friday and spent about four hours there. Ended up completing two articles and spent $3. Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon. Plus, I contributed to MCD’s and KO’s bottom lines!

    Appreciate the support. You and Lanny both had excellent months as well for savings. We’re all pushing each other and we’re all better off for it.

    Keep up the great work!

    Best wishes.

  17. Joel,

    Nice catch! I didn’t even think about it. I edited the post. 🙂

    I hope to keep writing for many years to come. You never know what’ll happen in the future, but my plan is to show the journey to FI from close to the beginning all the way until the end. And then I want to keep writing after that to show what life looks like after the fact. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out.

    Appreciate the support and readership.

    Cheers!

  18. Huw,

    The online income is truly wonderful. It also blows my mind at times. To be honest, most of it is just hard work and consistent writing. It’s just like anything else in life in that respect. The blog produces about 1/3 of that total, whereas the rest is freelance writing. But it was a long journey. I barely made any money at all from writing for the first couple of years. So there really has to be a passion for it, in my opinion.

    I wouldn’t mind at all revisiting the online income/blogging subject again at some point. I don’t have a lot of new information right now, however, as all that’s really changed is that the totals have increased. But I’ll see if I can put something together that’s perhaps a bit more useful as a type of road map or something along those lines.

    You’re doing great over there with the dividend income. I’m glad that aspect of it seems more approachable, as I believe that’s where one’s salvation truly lies. I’m blessed to be able to work from home and make money from a passion, but it’s not even close to passive. Dividend income is passive, though. Allows you to pursue whatever, whenever later in life.

    Appreciate the support. Keep up the great work!!

    Best wishes.

  19. IP,

    I’m incredibly fortunate. I think I’m probably topping out here, as I’m pretty much at my absolute capacity for writing. It would be pretty tough for me to crank out a lot more content. I might be able to do a little more here and there, but I don’t want to overwhelm myself.

    I was actually hoping to publish one article per day here at the blog. That was kind of a goal of mine when I left my job. But that would be pretty much impossible with all of the freelance stuff I do. It’s a nice mix, though. And I’m focusing on quality over quantity anyway. 🙂

    Appreciate the support!

    Cheers.

  20. Is the online income and dividend net of taxes? I was just wondering if you ammortize the tax bill each month or will have a large lump sum expense in April?

    50% savings rate is great–keep it up!

  21. Stoic,

    Thanks. Very, very kind of you. I’m proud of you as well. You did some amazing work with that house over there. I know for sure I couldn’t do any of that stuff. You’ve put yourself in a great spot to where you don’t really have to earn much money for the rest of your life. That limits your stress to a significant degree. 🙂

    Yeah, the blog has grown leaps and bounds. As has the income I’ve been able to generate online. Some people might stop by the blog for the first time and think it was always like this. But my earlier budget reports will show that couldn’t be further from the truth. I used to stay up until midnight writing away for practically nothing. But I did it because I loved it and I wanted to inspire others to change their lives. The fact that I’m now being monetarily rewarded for that hard work is a dream come true for me. I’m blessed!

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is well over there.

    Best regards.

  22. Nicola,

    Thank you!

    It was a great month. And I’m finishing off 2014 really strong. I honestly have no complaints whatsoever. It’s always tough not to strive for more, but I’m extremely content right now. That said, I’m excited to also put together some really great goals for 2015.

    I hope you’re able to finish off the year just as strong, which will put you in a great spot for next year!

    Best wishes.

  23. PIM,

    Haha. I almost never drink, but I am swigging on an ice cold Coca-Cola right now. That’s celebration enough for me. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Take care!

  24. W2R,

    Thanks so much. We’ve had a few conversations where you were more confident in my ability to earn an income online than I was. Appreciate that earlier support, which is just one reason I’m so glad to be part of this community. We’re all mutually inspiring each other to reach our individual aspirations. And we make each other better and stronger individuals. It’s a great asset.

    Thanks again! 🙂

    Best regards.

  25. DL,

    Thank you. That’s a very kind compliment. I try to produce quality stuff that remains interesting, unique, informative, and inspirational. I could rehash a bunch of stuff over and over again, but I try to tackle new subjects whenever possible, or put a new spin on an old idea.

    The online income hasn’t yet exceeded the money I made from the dealership. Certainly much more enjoyable, but it’s a bit short. If we were factoring in as much as I should be paying in quarterly estimated taxes, I’m probably about 80% of the way there. But a 20% pay cut is more than worth the exchange in work. 🙂

    Cheers!

  26. EWB,

    You’re right. I really am living like I’m already financially independent. I’m obviously not FI yet because I still need to “work” to generate income, but I’d likely be writing all the same even if the dividend income covered my lifestyle. It’s a wonderful situation to be in. I can only hope it continues. 🙂

    Promotion is definitely not my style. I know for absolute sure that blogs much smaller than mine make a lot more money. But there’s a lot more affiliate selling going on, which just isn’t what I’m into. I very passively promote a few products that I use and believe in (Scottrade and Liquid Web), but that’s about it. And I don’t even do a great job at that.

    The blog generated about $1,500 this past month. I owe a bit over $17,000 on my student loans. The loans will be paid off by the time I’m 40, which means that’s another expense that will drop off. So I’m still targeting $1,500 per month for my dividend income goal, which I think is accurate and realistic if you factor out blog expenses, student loan payments, and temporary expenses.

    Thanks for the support!

    Cheers.

  27. DW,

    Exactly! I don’t mind contributing to the bottom line of those companies I’m invested in. And MCD offers me a change to contribute to their bottom line and KO’s. So I’m helping myself out a bit there as well. 🙂

    Seriously though, it is nice to get out of the house a few times per month. I’m an introvert and all, but I enjoy a new setting here and there.

    You had a pretty solid month over there as well. You have a huge advantage in that your expenses are pretty low. Doesn’t take much dividend income to free you, which is fantastic!

    Best wishes.

  28. Steve,

    My middle name is steadfast. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. It’s a long journey, but it seems to get better and easier every single day. I’m sure you’ll find the same.

    Hope all is well! Thanks for stopping by.

    Best regards!

  29. Good stuff… Remember you still have one life to live so enjoy it along the way. Sure, get out and write at MCD. It’s a minimal cost to bear but further inspiration can come. Enjoy the pizza and the Medieval Fair or whatever “indulgence” comes your way. It is commendable to see how you are living you life, just don’t forget to enjoy it every now and then.

    The trip to Omaha will be a memorable one. Live it, experience it. Who cares about the expense or cost of the trip. You are well ahead of many who earn way more than you so be proud of that fact. Be proud of your blog. Be proud of the inspiration you provide others. Be proud of finding love. Be proud of your portfolio.

    As I have mentioned many times, I own my ’09 Honda Civic, live in an apt., wear very plain clothes (no designer anything) but I do spend on my travel. Creating memories and life experiences far outweighs the cost of buying “stuff” and I am happy that by my 30s I have already visited more of the world than most people do in a lifetime (my country list is on my ‘about’ page.

    Keep on your journey and keep on inspiring.

  30. DV,

    Oh, I can’t wait for the Omaha trip. I’m extremely excited. I just hope I can come close to Buffett. Being able to shake his hand or take a picture with him would be an absolute dream. But I’d be happy with just being close enough to get a good look at him and maybe hear him talk. 🙂

    I’ll definitely bring my camera and take some pictures. Then I’ll do a nice post on it. I don’t have a fancy camera, which is why the pics I post on the blog aren’t all that great. But what would you expect from a frugalist like myself. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by! Hope all remains well for you over there.

    Cheers!

  31. Seraph,

    Thanks. I appreciate that. I sometimes beat myself up and expect to move mountains, but I’m very, very happy with the way 2014 turned out. I could be back at the dealership and miserable, but with a 60% savings rate. But I wouldn’t trade that option for this one for anything in the world. I’m truly happy, which is ultimately what this journey is all about. 🙂

    Appreciate the ongoing support. You’re doing great over there as well!

    Cheers.

  32. DivHut,

    I hear you there. I’m definitely enjoying life. And the move away from the dealership toward writing for a living has been the ultimate expression of that. I could have been spending much more all of those years, but I might not be where I’m at now. Once you realize that spending most of your money leads to no greater happiness, saving is pretty easy. But I have lightened up a bit in regards to spending over the last year or so, and I’ll probably continue that trend slowly as time goes on. That’s because financial independence is all but a forgone conclusion. 🙂

    That’s an interesting thought there on travel. When I was younger I thought it would be so great to travel and see the world. I’m actually interested less and less in travel as time goes on. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not. But I am very excited to be in the same room as Buffett. That’s one of those bucket list things I have to do before it’s too late. Not sure how many more chances I’ll get.

    But you have a great lifestyle over there. We live much the same. I drive an even older Corolla and live in a very plain apartment. But a nicer car and a bigger space wouldn’t do anything for me like freedom does, and I can now say that with even more confidence than before now that I’ve actually tasted a bit of freedom.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  33. You have a good online income. I am proud of you as a virtual friend.

    So far I have $25K coming from dividend and $20K coming from 4 rental property.

    I made a mistake by investing in rental property because its tax, maintenance fee and insurance keep going up every year from last six years but rent is almost flat. So income is kind of decreasing while in dividend stocks my average income goes up by 8% a year.

    I don’t find rental property that attractive form personal experience and like dividend stock investing better.

  34. DM,

    I would say the the $1.50/article expense will generate a very nice return for you! Well worrth it in my books. Thanks for the kind words as well. I love this community becasue we all push each other. You mentioned this at the beginning of your article, and I couldn’t agree with your first point more. Savings rate kind of levels the playing field for all of us, as a person who earns $40k and spends $20k has the same ratio of someone who earns $200k and $100k. Now, if you are forced to compete with someone who earns a lot and lives frugally, I would say you are in serious trouble haha

    I want to disclaim that calculating your savings rate is signaficantly more important than my life comparison I am about to make. Comparing savings rates with people of all different income levels reminds me a lot of how my friends and I would compete against each other when we golfed. Since I was a terrible golfer, the winner would be determined based on who had the fewest putts that day. It didn’t matter than my friends could drive the ball 150 yards father than me or that they would reach the green in two shots when it would take me at lesat five. All that mattered was which person could putt the ball the fewest times. Shockingly, this really leveled the playing field and I was able to win many of our matches. Another instance of how people of different skill/income levels can find ways to compete and feel a sense of accomplishment with their results.

    Thanks again for supporting our MCD stock!

    Bert

  35. Its easy said and done. I have rental in place. Property prices are flat since I bought them during 2009 to 2012.

    The condominiums have 50% individual owner and 50% people who buy and rent so loan is hard to get for a new buyer.

    I was so stupid. I had JNJ and PEP in front of me which I bought. JNJ for $7K and PEP for 26K and they both up 50% and 30% with good Yield on Cost. But my rental property are flat while S&P are up almost 100%.

    Remember stocks are liquid asset and real estates are not liquid.

    My personal and honest opinion is to stay away from rental property. It is not worth. Don’t get trap into all online and books opinion. I have done it and not worth at least in East. And this is after bubble burst.

  36. Consistently in the 50% saving rate range is commendable. It will be nice once you pay off the student loans. Then you just have to make sure you don’t create a replacement payment. 🙂 I paid off my student loans in 2003 and just as I was making the last payment, my 30 year old wife decided she needed braces for the second time in her life. All I can say is she has one damn pretty grill on her now!

    MDP

  37. Two Thumbs Up!

    Good Job Mr. Mantra. Keep up the great work.

    Much love to you and the Dividend Growth community.

  38. That’s awesome that you get that kind of income coming in from freelance writing. I have my blog over at blogspot, and I’m still waiting for adsense to kick in. Would there be any recommendations that you would suggest? I’m trying to find any ways possible for my wife to be able to stay at home, or at least drop to part time so that she can take care of the little one more, as he is becoming more mobile, it’s beginning to take it’s toll on the mother in law.

    That’s amazing that you are able to save that much of your income. I was surprised that I was able to save the $275 every 2 weeks for investments, at first I thought “This might be pushing it” but now it’s like a set routine every payday.

    In regards to your work being posted on other sites, if your site lists the copyright protection (which I see it does) then they must ask you in regards to using your material, or at least give proper recognition where it’s deserved and link to your site. I constantly refer to your site on my blog along with other bloggers that I come across. Hopefully it’s not a big issue. Take care

    Steve

  39. AJ,

    Sounds like you’re doing fantastic over there. It’ll be many years before I catch up to you. $45k in passive income is phenomenal!

    The rental properties may be be less attractive from a cash flow perspective today than they were six year ago, but at least you still have tenants paying off the properties for you. So your equity continues to go up. That said, I’ve never been a fan of the rental property angle. I know it could be very lucrative, but it’s just not for me at all. I’m okay with leaving some cash on the table there.

    Either way, you should be very proud of yourself. You’re in a very small club. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  40. Bert,

    Right. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I know there are a lot of people out there that make way more money than me, so I take advantage of frugality. That definitely levels the playing field. 🙂

    There are many different types of advantages out there. Just have to make the most of the ones you have access to.

    Best regards.

  41. Dan,

    It’s a new record. I have a feeling this might be near the point of topping out, but I’d be very pleased if I can maintain this type of income for the long term.

    Wish I had a secret. Just hard work and consistency. I’ve been at this for almost four years now and it’s just somewhat recently that I’ve been able to generate fairly significant income from my online endeavors. But I’m lucky in that this community is really supportive. We’re all in it together! 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Cheers.

  42. Just a heads up: I saw one of your posts on yahoo finance. The link given within the body was to gurufocus with no mention of your or your site. That’s pretty lame. I hope you’re getting compensated for your work.

  43. MDP,

    Ha. I hear you on that one. I don’t celebrate many milestones or feats, and I didn’t even do anything very memorable or big the day I quit my job. I went down to MCD and ate a Big Mac because they were $2 that day. That was pretty much it. However, I think I will celebrate sending in that last student loan check. That’s a monkey that I’ll be happy to have off of my back. And it will represent the end of the old me, when I was irresponsible with money. 🙂

    Braces are expensive, but at least the results are tangible!

    Cheers.

  44. Jon,

    Yeah, I’ve seen that once before. I should look into that. I’m not sure how that works or why that happens. And I’m not even sure how to go about rectifying it. But that kinda sucks. No big deal that I’m losing the traffic, but I would like to be credited for my work. Thanks for letting me know about that. 🙂

    Cheers!

  45. I just discovered your blog and really love it! I like seeing your monthly budget. I spend so much on food and going to Starbucks. I need to cut back.
    Great blog!

  46. Nice job on the online income and also the savings rate! I promise to click those adds everytime you publish a new article :).

    Have you ever thought about tracking how much of your expenses go to companies you own?

    -Ville

  47. Jason
    What is the amount of hours with this blog and writing online are you putting in right now. It seems from a per hour basis you’re doing much better than when you were working at the dealership.
    Nice work here, I’m hoping you become one of those bloggers that sport 10000 per month income down the road.

  48. Killing it with your online income, Jason! Job well done!

    I see quite a bit of one-off expenses in your list, so I’m sure you’ll be able to increase your savings rate over the course of the next few months.

    Here’s to december not being too rough on all of us!
    Cheers,
    NMW

  49. Hi DM

    280K pageviews per month is awesomeness. Good that readers are able to read more of your quality posts at the same time.

    Going to Omaha attending the BHK meeting is a dream for everyone. I wish I could be there someday. It’s a long flight from here but maybe I’ll do that one day and see the actual meeting they are preceding.

    Best of everything there and cheers.

  50. I just notice your McDonald’s disclosure.. haha!

    I also like to go to McDonald’s to read/take care of stuff. They have free Wi-Fi and very cheap food. It’s a frugalist dream.

  51. Congrats on achieving record online income! Somehow, I get the feeling that you’ll be continually breaking this record! 🙂

    An excellent monthly savings rate too, although it’s unfortunate that you will miss your 50% average target.

    I’m in a similar situation – December is going to be a high spending month so I too will miss my 50% average goal but I have high hopes of getting there in 2015.

  52. Thank you DM. I’ve always believed you have underestimated your ability to rehab a home. Like anything it takes research, desire and patience; the technicalities can be learned.

    My stress has certainly been decreased over the years and you’re right, it’s largely due to how I’ve set things up in my economic life. I’m free to pursue the things that make my heart joyful all while having to work very little. That’s why I chose to start working for myself. It’s not the absolute freedom one gets from financial independence, but it’s a close second. I still thing that FI will eventually happen, not out of idealistic hope, but from the realization that if you do produce a surplus from your work, in time it will eventually add up to enough to cover the modest expenses that living generates. FI for me is a goal, just not the goal.

    Happy Monday!!

  53. Congrats on a great month! Your online income is looking awesome–way to go! And, it’s fabulous that you’re so close to your overall savings rate goal, especially given how many transitions you’ve gone through this year.

  54. Hi Jason,

    Since my ex. has moved back to living in the first World (UK) your expenses are much more relevant to me, I covert your costs in to pounds and they are very similar to what she is having to pay out each month in England. Previously I viewed you and others who post their expenses on as living a “Rock star” life styles but I now understand your really not, because I’ve been FI and living in various third World country’s for 12 years I’ve become totally disconnected from first World cost of living.

    Why dont you have a frugality competition on your blog (I wont enter because I would win the “Dividend Mantra” T–shirt prize every month Ha Ha) or I might enter once just to get the T-shirt, but yeah the poor girl has found it a shock going back, everything like water,electricity,house taxes etc. has doubled or tripled since I left but wages haven’t moved up much for ordinary people in that time.

    Cheers,

    Dave…

  55. Man your online income is AWESOME. I have been reading your blog since last December and the transformation even over the last year is incredible. I also believe your skills as a writer have continued to improve (not that they were bad before). This blog is a great way to detail your journey, and i believe that you will undoubtedly be writing a book once you reach FI. I continue to visit this blog for motivation and inspiration. My friends all see me as the “crazy frugal guy” which i take as a compliment. It is nice to visit your site and see that you are even more extreme than i am, in a good way.

  56. I think just missing the 50% goal for the year is an okay trade-off for making such a huge change to focusing on the blog full-time. I would trade a 2-3% savings amount each month in order to work for myself! You are already in a form of early retirement by working full-time on a financial independence/early retirement blog.

  57. Steve,

    Sounds like you’re on the right path over there. I was on the Blogspot platform for many years, changing to WordPress just earlier this year. My earnings didn’t really change much from one platform to the other, rather only changed with traffic.

    I’m sure you’ll be able to increase that $275 over time. If you consistently save a high rate of your net income and continue to invest, the dividends themselves start to add up. Before you know it, you’re working with a lot more capital than you ever planned on. Keep it up and you might surprise yourself. 🙂

    Best regards.

  58. Audrey,

    Glad you stumbled upon the blog. Hope you stick around. 🙂

    Food isn’t very expensive if we’re talking about basic sustenance. But we all desire a lot more than that, and that’s where it gets expensive. I could cut back on food fairly significantly myself, but I quite enjoy the food I eat and there’s room in the budget. If you’re able to strike a balance and save a good portion of your net income then you should be fine. If you’re spending $150/month on coffee, however, then that’s a problem.

    Take care!

  59. Ville,

    Ha. Thank you very much! 🙂

    That’s an interesting idea there. I haven’t really thought about doing that. I suspect it would be time consuming. For instance, my Mint account automatically sorts my expenses fairly accurately. For me to start tracing receipts down to the individual companies would probably be not only time consuming, but also not very worthwhile. Might be fun for a week or two. But I bet I already spend a good portion of money on products and/or services the companies I own provide. I shop almost exclusively at WMT, I stop at MCD when I want to grab lunch and write, and I generally buy KO or PEP products for soda or snack products.

    Best wishes!

  60. NMW,

    Yeah, I think 2015 will be a lot easier. The amortization of the Corolla will fall off the budget after December and then some other expenses will fall off not too far after that. We’ll see how it goes.

    I don’t think I’ll be catching up to you anytime soon, but I’ll try to get back over my usual 50% rate. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  61. Charles,

    You’re probably right there. I don’t track the hours I write because I don’t have a set schedule, but I know for sure I don’t spend 10 hours per day at it. Plus, I don’t have a commute or anything. So factoring that in, I probably do make more per hour. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to that kind of level, but I do hope the blog increases its reach over time. There’s a lot of good stuff behind what I write about with this strategy. It’s not like I’m selling anything but hope and inspiration.

    Best regards.

  62. B,

    Thanks!

    Yeah, I’m very excited to meet Buffett. I don’t know how long he’ll be alive, but I’m obviously hoping for many years still. Either way, I definitely want to go before it’s too late.

    I can imagine that would be a grueling flight from Singapore. Perhaps one day, though. You never know. 🙂

    Cheers!

  63. Weenie,

    I hope you’re right. I’d be more than happy if this is where it plateaus, but I certainly won’t pass up the opportunity for more. 🙂

    Looks like we’ll just miss 50% together. But we have to remember that it’s an admirable goal and saving anywhere close to that number is still putting us that much closer to our goals and dreams. Plus, it’s like 10 times the average. We’ll get there!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best regards.

  64. Mrs. FW,

    Thanks. It’s definitely been an eventful year, for better and for worse. Overall, though, I’m in a much better position near the end of 2014 than I was at the beginning. And that’s what we’re all after. We hope to grow and change in meaningful ways so as to improve our lives. And 2014 has been a massive success in that regard. 🙂

    I know you guys continue to kill it over there as well. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  65. Dave,

    Ha. Believe me, I’m not living like a rock star at all. My lifestyle has inflated a bit from a few years ago due to changes like, for instance, now owning a car. Though, a beige Toyota with burn holes in the seats (the previous owner was a hardcore smoker) certainly isn’t going to win me a spot with any major rock group or love from the groupies. 🙂

    I wish I could get my expenses down to your level, but it would literally be impossible. I think with the right changes I might be able to get expenses under $1,000/month and still live somewhat comfortably, but that would probably be after the student loans are paid off and once we’re able to live in a smaller place (when Claudia’s son moves out). It probably won’t happen, but I think it’s definitely possible. Though, my aim isn’t really to spend the least amount of money, but rather to attain the most amount of happiness on the least amount of resources. I know that money doesn’t buy happiness, but this is true past a certain threshold. I certainly would be less happy homeless.

    But I do long for the days when I was spending much less. I think my expenses will undergo some kind of arc where they peak and then drift back downward again. We’ll see.

    Best wishes!

  66. Josh,

    Haha. I think it’s definitely a compliment to be known as that guy. I was always known as that guy at work. People used to laugh at me when I’d eat my ramen noodles in the break room. But who’s laughing now? 🙂

    Appreciate the kind words there. I aim to improve all the time, and I’ve certainly benefited from more time. I was always forced to rush my ideas and writing before, as I simply lacked the time to really expound as much as I wanted to. I’m much freer now, which has helped immensely.

    I hope you continue to be known as the crazy frugal guy. You’ll get the last laugh. I promise!

    Cheers.

  67. Vawt,

    Absolutely. I have no regrets. I’d even take a bigger spread between the two savings rates if it meant never going back to a dealership again. 🙂

    We’ll see how it goes. I’m hopeful to get back to 50% in 2015, but even falling short again would still be a victory if I’m able to continue doing what I love. Financial independence is ultimately about being happy and owning your time. And I’m pretty much there right now. Life is very good!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best regards.

  68. Hey there!

    Good job DM, it’s really nice that you can do something you love (writing) and make so much money with it!

    On another note: what do you think of the decrease of BBL in recent days? Even today it’s down 2.3%. Do you see yourself buying even more, considering you already bought a lot? It seems the market is going crazy.

  69. Glad to see that your expenses are under control. Yes, you’ve got some expenses that are still amortizing, but those will be off your books at some point. A 50+% savings rate is fantasitc given the circumstances.

    Btw, congrats on buying DIS. That’s a great company that didn’t get a lot of love a few years back. They seem to be firing on all cylinders and everyone is in love with the company again. Lots of growth ahead!

  70. Hello Dividend Mantra,

    I found your website already some time ago, but I post my first comment only now.Thank you for another inspiring article. Your journey of getting financially independent is a very interesting one. You are one of the authors which inspired me to take this challenge as well. For couple of months I am already tasting the frugal life (not that I was living a high class life as a student before :D).

    Wish you a lot of success in both your writing and finance areas.

    Lenka 🙂

  71. Willie,

    I’m really fortunate. Every day is a gift right now and I’m just trying to soak it all in. 🙂

    As far as BBL goes, I don’t plan on buying any more. I love the value, but I also never intended for it to become a core position. At 90 shares, that’s probably enough for a long time. I feel pretty good about the price I paid looking out over the long term.

    The market isn’t really going crazy. Energy is volatile, but it’s always that way. We’re still at all-time highs here, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see a 10% or 20% drop across the broader market. If you’re not ready for something like that, you shouldn’t be in stocks.

    Cheers!

  72. Spoonman,

    Thanks! I’m pretty content with the rate as it is. I’m obviously disappointed in not reaching 50% for the first time in a few years, but the trade-off was well worth it. 🙂

    Yeah, I regret not buying DIS a while ago. Just can’t buy them all, however. Limited capital with which to buy stocks is a first world problem, but it is a problem nonetheless. But I’m happy to be on the train here. It won’t provide meaningful income right away, but I’d be willing to bet it will right around the time I actually need it. We’ll see how it goes!

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is well.

    Best wishes!

  73. Lenka,

    Thank you for the kind words. I’m really glad you’ve found some inspiration here in what I’m doing and what I write about. That’s exactly why I share. 🙂

    The future you will be very thankful the you of today is taking these steps. You might be young and full of energy right now, but there will be a day when you’d rather do anything other than slog off to the office for another workweek. And the options and flexibility you’ll have in the future will be priceless.

    Best wishes!

  74. DM,
    There are some Thursdays that I am off and I bring my wife to her school while I spend my time online in the nearest MCD with a cup of coffee or two and I love it. Free wifi and nobody bugs me 🙂
    Congrats on hitting an all time high page views this November, I think 10% of those views were me hahaha!
    And more importantly congrats on the savings rate, although you may not meet your target goal it still is very impressive without a full time regular job.
    Keep it up!
    FFF

  75. DM:

    I commend you on your decision not to put out a lot of articles just to boost the revenue. The alternative reminds me of a CEO who is making a bunch of acquisitions just to build his empire. Oh, he always has a wonderful justification to make the acquisition; unfortunately that strategy seldom, if ever, works out for the benefit of the shareholders. I suspect that there might be a similar temptation for a struggling blogger who has his first taste of success. “Gee, if I double my articles, I’ll double my income!”

    You have built a very fine blog by putting out a quality product and guess what? The word has gotten around. From a purely selfish point, I wouldn’t mind you writing more because I thoroughly enjoy the articles you write. But I enjoy them because they are uniformly excellent; I fear that might not be the case if you went for quantity rather than quality.

    Just keep doing what you have been doing; the word will continue to go forth. I am amazed at all the places from which you receive comments. You obviously are getting out there. Continue to contribute to Seeking Alpha (simply ignore the occasional snarky comment); continue to contribute to Daily Trade Alert (you might tell them that I would be more inclined to visit their site more frequently if they would replace their ‘sensational’ headlines with more informative ones); in short, keep on keeping on. You have a message that people need (and in many cases want) to hear. That in itself is a formula for success. May you have a boxcar full of it in the years ahead.

  76. FFF,

    Appreciate the pageviews very much. Also appreciate the money spent at MCD. 🙂

    I actually like going to MCD to write. The seats are a bit uncomfortable, however. And they also have signs to not stay more than 30 minutes past eating, but I’ve never actually had anyone bother me about that. But I know I can spend $2 or $3 and get some serious work done while also getting out of the house. Nothing wrong with that.

    Thanks for the support.

    Best regards!

  77. DC,

    Thanks so much. Glad you appreciate my position. I could probably pump out content just to put it out there, but that’s really not how I operate. I write only what I’d personally like to read. To be honest, I write to inspire myself just as much as I try to inspire others, so if I think the content is crap, I won’t publish it. And a portion of my content is also very personal, and so I share only when I think there’s value there.

    Appreciate the kind words. I’m glad the blog has grown in popularity. I get emails all the time from people who are completely changing their life around. And I’m so glad they’ve taken my words to heart like that. One person even quit their job and finally retired after reading my “OMYS” article a while back. It’s amazing to me that my words have that kind of reach and impact. I’m blessed and grateful to be in that position. Financial independence isn’t for everyone, but I do hope those that are ready to embrace it continue to stop by and share their results.

    I hope your journey is proving to be just as fruitful as my own. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  78. Congratulation on another great month! You’re killing it with the online income. That’s fantastic. I like working at McDonald too. It’s the cheapest place to work with the $1 coffee. 🙂

  79. DM:

    Stumbling upon your blog was the best thing that happened to me this year! I had no idea that there’s a whole virtual community on internet sharing a passion for frugal living and saving as much as possible. It is truly an amazing experience. I will definitely follow your blog and watch your portfolio growing. I already started purchasing some stocks- MCD, Pepsi, PG. I cannot wait now to get my paycheck every 2 weeks, so I can put money into my brokerage account. I don’t desire any more fancy cars, clothes, iphones etc. you name it, because I just want to retire early!

  80. Joe,

    As a shareholder, I appreciate the money spent at MCD. 🙂

    But I agree. It’s a great, cheap place to get some work done outside of the house.

    Thanks for dropping by. You’re doing great over there as well!

    Cheers.

  81. Jollie,

    I hear you. Your enthusiasm is welcome here, as I proudly share it! 🙂

    I like to say that there’s nothing in this world worth owning more than my own time. And I’ve made some drastic moves to get to where I’m at today. But I don’t regret anything.

    Keep up the great work over there. It takes a little while to get the snowball rolling, but once it starts to move along…look out. Keep saving and investing and you will see progress.

    Best regards.

  82. Mr.
    David
    Hello
    The day yesterday I read your article and its recommendation on PNR.
    ” Undervalued Dividend Growth Stock of the Week ”
    Hoy lei este articulo:
    Pentair plc. Ordinary Share Cut to “Neutral” at Northland Securities (PNR) in WatchListNews
    I would like to hear your opnion.
    Thank you for taking your valuable time to our concerns
    Juan

  83. Juan,

    Well, PNR wasn’t specifically a recommendation. I was simply pointing out the valuation from a quantitative point of view.

    That said, I don’t worry about analyst upgrades/downgrades. If I worried about them, I’d be constantly buying and selling stocks. They change fairly routinely.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  84. WOW! your online income is massive every month covers 2x your monthly expenses, others of us can only dream about that! you are in an incredible position! You can spend your time how you want to, write when you want to and therefor do what you really want to do, whenever you want to. You live in a state without income tax and lot’s of sunshine (what would you want more?) this massive savingsrate makes sure you can keep investing while your dividend income keeps growing and last but not least you are getting married soon! keep it up, hopefully there is even more sunshine for us all in 2015!

  85. Hey DM:

    Nice job on both the income and savings! You are well on your way to FI.

    As for me, my after-tax savings rate for November was 88.87%, and I am on track to meet my savings goal of 90% for the year. You are my inspiration for starting my blog; please check out all the details there.

    Take care!
    JTF

  86. DDI,

    Thanks for the support!

    Life is indeed very good. I don’t have anything to complain about. There’s been a lot of hard work to get to where I’m at, but there’s also been a lot of luck. I’m blessed.

    Florida is beautiful. You’re more than welcome to visit sometime! 🙂

    It looks like you’re doing great over there as well. Congrats on over $50 in dividend income for November. Keep the snowball rolling.

    Best regards.

  87. Zol,

    That’s net income, so after tax. I only include net income in these reports, which I mention in the posts. However:

    “This number, however, is a bit inflated right now because of the fact that my quarterly estimated income taxes are not enough to cover my tax liability due to setting up lighter payments earlier in the year before I was making as much income online. That will adjust itself next year when I do my taxes and I’ll obviously set up a much larger payment schedule next year now that I’m making more income online.”

    Cheers!

  88. JTF,

    Congrats on the very impressive savings rate! That’s fantastic. Looks like you have an extremely high income over there. Your situation reminds me of MMM, who also earned a fairly high income as an engineer before he retired and moved on to other things. That should propel you to FI very fast – maybe just a few years. Keep it up!

    Best regards.

  89. After finding your site a couple of months ago, I’ve been reading ever since. It’s an inspiration to see how you’ve built your capital base and continue to make great progress bettering your passive income and quality of life. The income/expenses posts are especially interesting because your active income is not so different from mine, yet you manage to do so much with it.

    I’ve never spent much or earned much but just started actively managing my savings this year after deciding I want off the “hired/work for 2 years/layoff/rehired at entry level” merry-go-round ride. Employer conflict-of-interest rules restrict me mostly to microcaps and small caps, so I thought I had to forego dividend-payers entirely. The Armanino analysis was an eye-opener that there are opportunities for dividend growth investing even in the land of teensycaps, and your experiences and transparency with numbers have helped me figure out some realistic goals and a path for achieving them.

    Thank you for showing every day how possible the impossible dream really is with work and planning, and may the new year bring you more good news and success.

  90. Jana,

    Thank you for the kind words!

    I’m glad you found the blog and found some value within the pages. I’m certainly not the smartest guy around, nor have I ever made a lot of money. And that just goes to show that anyone can do this.

    The more well-known large caps aren’t the only game in town. That’s for sure. A little bit of digging around goes a long way, and there are quite a few stocks like AMNF out there. Perhaps not as high quality, easy to understand, or small, but you’ll find similar types of dividend growth stocks out there.

    I definitely hope you stick around. And I wish you the best of luck as you start down your own journey! 🙂

    Cheers.

  91. Hi,

    So every month, that dividend income…are you having that directly deposited into your local checking account, and using it each month, or are you using a DRIP account and reinvesting the dividends?

  92. DM,

    Congrats on a strong month. It looks like you’ve made a successful transition from your dealership job to complete income replacement from your writing activities, which phenomenal. Btw, my wife happened to swing by your income and expenses for this month and noted that you picked up a xmas tree at walmart that was prelit. She said to me if its good enough for DM, then it should be good enough for us, so we went with your recommendation! She expresses her gratitude. As do I….you saved me a few hours of shelping around. Best wishes for the holiday season!

  93. Integrator,

    Haha. Glad the Christmas tree worked out for you guys! 🙂

    Yeah, we love our tree. Costs aside, it’s just a really nice tree. A bit over six feet tall, white, soft lighting. I think it’s worth far more than we paid. Super easy too put together and take back down as well.

    Thanks for the support. The transition has been more successful than I anticipated, which is obviously fantastic. I’m blessed in many ways. There was a lot of hard work there to get things just right, but I also had some luck along the way. Life is good!

    Thanks for dropping by. Looks like you guys are going to have a great 2015 with plenty of passive income. Enjoy!

    Best regards.

  94. Your online income really is incredible, I’m super impressed by that. It looks like you are making more with that than you used to make as a mechanic.

  95. Max,

    Thanks! It’s a dream come true for me. No doubt about that. I was never a mechanic, but I am getting fairly close to replacing my old salary.

    Appreciate the support. Hope you find some value in the blog! 🙂

    Cheers.

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