Well, I am sure you are all wondering… Did I hit the 60% savings goal? Did I hit the big mark that I set for myself last month when I was discussing why I am aiming to save 60% of my income? August had a lot of trial and tribulation, but a lot of positives came from the month. Let’s see what happened to my 60% goal for August. As you all knew, my roommate officially moved out on August 8th, and provided a $0 check for those “longest” 8 days of my life in August. This marked the first month that a nice check with my name on it wasn’t going to be received. I found out – you cannot put a price on being unhappy or being frustrated day in and day out. Further, he had his girlfriend essentially living here, so the house is back to being just me. It’s been amazing these last 3.5 weeks. I have made the following meals now that he has left: Turkey Tenderloin, Baked Eggplant, Turkey burgers, different variations of Couscous, kale chips, seasoned grilled chicken and also, my infamous, Tiramisu.
However, a bump or two happened in August. My Honda Accord had around 62-63K miles at this point in time and I was at a gas station before going to a concert. We were waiting for friends to show up, only to realize – my car battery was shot. Now I am no absolute expert when it comes to cars, but I personally felt it should have lasted longer than 5 years, only because my last car I only had to replace it once while placing well more than 80K miles on the guy over a span of 8 years… however, I know that is rare and I’m just being stubborn. That was an “unknown”/unexpected hit to my expense for the month, added to the transportation category.
Other small bumps is paying for people when I go grab coffee for my once per month local coffee shop run or going out to try new restaurant and drinks. I don’t necessary think it’s a bad thing, because I am with and do this usually for people that I care about and know that it’s more of a “family” feel to them. However, I know I need to get better at this. Further, a jersey cost more than I planned on, but still very inexpensive and I also bought a few gifts this month for people that had birthdays and/or anniversaries. I like seeing people happy and if I can do something sentimental to make them happier than – heck yah, sign me up. Further, I bought some items and paid only $63.67 for practically what feels like a new computer! I figure this is a long-term play with that.
Without further a-do here is the breakdown, to which – Sorry Bert & the audience, I am holding this only to percentages based on breakdown of income – where 100% = all of my income and then which expenses were a portion of it. I will not be including dividend or interest income in this, as it is all reinvested (would actually increase my savings as $X of dividend income = $X of saving/investing).
Income Summary
Salary – 89%
Other – 9% (US Credit Card Bonuses + Mileage reimbursement for work)
Bonus – 2% (My firm’s overnight bonus)
Expense and Outflow Summary
Household 21% (Mortgage + escrow, Utilities, lawn work, random tub faucet, light bulbs)
Transportation 13% (Auto Loan, Insurance, Gas, Car Battery)
Food 4% (Grocery Stores, coffee shops, restaurants)
Health 2% (health insurance)
Charity 2%
Entertainment 1% (Netflix, Browns Game, Bar scene)
Misc Items 1% (Includes the computer upgrade)
= SAVINGS 54% = This includes automatic savings from my pay to my online account, extra savings transfers to my account from this months income to my accounts + automat 401K contributions)
Conclusion/Results
So close! Not quite to the 60% that I wanted, but 54% is darn close. I see my transportation being higher than normal due to the car battery, the restaurant category was tame except for 2 nights that were above where I wanted and also – I had to buy a new bathtub faucet and light bulbs for the house, which are expenses I normally don’t budget for. Without these items, I know I would have been much closer to the 60% mark. I know that it was going to be hard not receiving that little bonus check from the roommate and felt the cringe when my car wouldn’t start. I knew I had the goals set when these events happened, which is why I was so upset when they occurred. However, I can sit and talk about those – but what about the positives? I saved a PHENOMENAL 54% of my income in one month alone! I am PUMPED! I know if I keep this up – this leaves a good amount of capital to be used to invest into dividend paying, dividend increasing stocks or other investments that increase in value and cash flow for my portfolio. I am so lucky to be able to celebrate this month, it’s very fulfilling and the rewards typically come on the front end. I am a very avid/strong believer in paying yourself first. That is why every pay I have a good chunk of roughly 40% of my income going already into savings. It’s a “no-matter-what” I am saving that money. Anything else is just a bonus on top of it. However, I am now pushing myself to reach that 60% mark that felt nice back in July and I am looking forward to how I can structure September to be that month! I know Bert is deciding to track his income and expenses, we are all excited to see how he is going to do with his goals. How were your savings goals this month everyone? Where do you think I could have tweaked here? Thanks all for stopping by, talk soon! Save more, Invest More but Experience More.
-Lanny