October is more than officially in the books after a quick review of the income & expense breakdown for the month. It was another fun overall month, busy with work, travel, clients and other activities. I wonder if I still am achieving the 60% savings challenge? Only one way to find out, let’s check out my income & expense summary for October!
Income & Expense Summary for october:
Below is the snapshot of what October looks like compared to the prior month. I figured this way gives you much more of what had fluctuated from the last month I reported on to the current month being reported on, with explanations of what happened.
Income Side Summary: This is fairly straight forward – my September article I received a fairly decent bonus which pushed down salary % and all other categories, except had a bolstered quarter end dividend month as well – have to love those months. Therefore, you will see a huge tick up in Salary and a decrease to Dividends, as my October Dividend Income is not even close to a quarter end. Nothing wild happening here, just wish I had made more money, of course! Bert’s making moves and crushing his investing goals thus far this year, pumped for the guy! I am hoping that my dividend income starts to sprout even further given the increases in dividends I discussed earlier this month, my previous purchase into KMI and into HCP, as well as even considering more Realty Income (O) after Bert’s detailed analysis. Over a full month left, what can I do to spark this fire some more… decisions to be made!
Expense Side Summary: This is where it gets a little dicey and hairy, eh? Entertainment, food, transportation and household ALL up…. oh boy. What happened? Well, the lady and I bought a few things for my house this month, to bring us together in the home for a way to put it. Also, had to supply new trash bags, and other odds and ends for the house that I was running low supply on. Nothing too much different here. Luckily, no large increases or bills that I have to battle like Bert does with his internet/cable.
Ah, the transportation though. Well here is some big news. My ass flew to Florida for a wedding in October! VERY short weekend (essentially 2 days…) BUT nonetheless, there was a flight charge that I had to take down. If I were to be asked to do it again – I would in a heartbeat. Florida was beautiful and I didn’t want to return, at all. No wonder people like to live there, can’t beat the state income tax at 0 as well… damn. Amazing weekend, but that was a blur without a doubt.
With the trip, led to a few increases in food while we were there, as well as trying out a few different restaurants in the area back at home. We had a few date nights in October, but all in all, not held too bad. I managed to keep food at an “OK” line given the experiences that were had. Incredible, I love food, bottomline haha. Looking above, my income & expense seems out of wack! Will I ever get back on track?!
Conclusion
Dammit. Another wild month, traveling like crazy, life events with weddings and relationships – but I do love it. I cannot wait to relax and rest this holiday season. Few more trips that were had in November and that are coming down the pipeline in December. I didn’t manage to hit the 60% savings goal, but I can’t be mad about it given the experiences that came with it all. I haven’t traveled or taken a vacation in years, the trip to Florida was a wonderful taste that I would like to have more of… that, that I just may be biting again here shortly. Here is to remaining Frugal, taking in life’s experiences and learning each step of the way as we go. Thank you for the continued motivation and looking forward to the last 2 months of income & expense posts to report! Talk soon all and thank you for coming by – love to hear what you think and any comments you may have!
-Lanny