January Income – $3443.02

Here is a breakdown of my income for January.

Interest$193.76
Dividends$20.27
Job$3768.27
Other Selling$12.47
Cashback$56.76
Ebay($64.66)
Capital Loss($548)
Amazon Merch $4.15
Total$3443.02

January was a good income month. Although I had some negative income, that was offset by having five paychecks during the month.

Dividend income came in at $20.27.

Interest income was $193.76.

I had a loss of $64.66 from selling on eBay. This was an item that I bought a couple of years ago on speculation that it would go up in value. That didn’t happen and I was happy to finally unload it for not too bad of a loss.

I made $12.47 from other selling. This was stuff that wouldn’t be worth my time to resale except that buying them helps me meet a credit card signup bonus.

I made $56.76 from cash back.

I made $3768.27 from job income. When adding this up I realized that I forgot to include my health insurance premiums deducted from my paycheck in this month’s expenses. I will remember to add them for this month.

I made $4.15 from Amazon Merch.

Finally, I had a capital loss of $548 from selling some stocks. I decided to reduce the number of stocks I own in taxable accounts and sold off all of my losers.

This month will probably be a little lower since it is a shorter month and I’ll be off four workdays at the end of the month to go to Thailand.

How was your month?

January Expenses – $2922.30

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for January.

Household$64.90
Mortgage/Apt$0
Utilities$188.34
Entertainment$11.27
Transportation$61.12
Food$339.35
Visa$0
Health$711.15
Travel$1531.17
Phone$15
Total$2922.30

January’s expenses were quite high. This month’s expenses will also be high.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Amazon Prime, one month Hulu, and one month of Max.

My transportation expense consisted of $61.12 for gas. I saved some money in this category by using a free $20 Buc-ee’s gift card I got when buying a $100 card as part of a Christmas promotion they had.

My food expense was $339.35. That is divided between $244.35 for groceries and $95 for restaurants. This total is about the same every month so I guess I should just accept this as the new normal. Since we’ll be traveling at the end of the month this total might be a little higher this month.

Travel expense was the big expense at $1531.17. The total includes $85.35 for a hotel near LAX, $325 for an Amex gold card annual fee, and $1120.82 for airfare. The airfare includes taxes and fees on flights for 2 from Springfield, MO-LAX and from LAX-Singapore, two cash tickets from Bangkok to LAX, two cash tickets from Singapore to Bangkok, and two cash tickets from LAX to Springfield. That is a lot of flying for the money spent. Also, I will eventually get 100,00 Membership Rewards from Amex as a signup bonus which I should be able to redeem for more than $1000 worth of travel, so this month’s expense isn’t as bad as it first looks.

Utilities came in at $188.34 This was for electric and internet.

Household expense came in at $64.90 which was for basic household stuff such as detergent, cleaning supplies, batteries, shampoo, etc.

I spent $15 for one month of phone service for my wife.

The $ spent on health consisted of $61.46 for an insurance premium, $249.88 for medicine, and $399.81 for doctor visits. About $300 of the expense was for a Semaglutide prescription. I’m on my second week of using it so the jury is still out on whether it will work for me. This expense will again be high this month since I had to pay a large bill for an E/R visit.

This month’s expenses will probably be about the same due to medical bills and travel. How was your month?

December Income $3226.18

Here is a breakdown of my income for December.

Interest$201.6
Dividends$19.62
Job$2880.36
Other Selling$61.69
Cashback$21.30
Ebay$12.10
Credit Card Bonus$25
Amazon Merch $4.51
Total$3226.18

December was a decent income month.

Dividend income came in at $19.62.

Interest income was $201.6.

I made $12.10 from eBay and $61.69 from other selling. I currently don’t spend much time on this since it is more profitable to spend that time working at my job.

I made $21.30 from cash back.

I made $2880.36 from job income.

I had a credit card bonus of $25. That bonus was for adding an authorized user to my account. I don’t usually bother with such low bonuses, but this one was easy to do.

This month should be a little higher since I will have five paydays.

How was your month?

December Expenses $1725.31

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household$792.08
Mortgage/Apt$0
Utilities$292.92
Entertainment$45.27
Transportation$135.90
Food$322.62
Visa$0
Health$21.52
Travel$95
Phone$20
Total$1725.31

December’s expenses were a little high. This month’s expenses will probably be about the same.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Amazon Prime, one month Hulu, one month of Netflix, and dinner out for my wife’s birthday.

My transportation expense consisted of $133.04 for gas and $2.86 for tire valve caps.

My food expense was $322.62. That is divided between $276.65 for groceries and $45.97 for restaurants. That is almost exactly the same as last month. I hope to get this under $300 for this month.

Travel expense was $95. That was the annual fee for my Chase Sapphire card. I should get at least $95 in value out of the card this year.

Utilities came in at $292.92 This was for electric, internet, and trash. This month will be a little lower since I won’t have a trash bill.

Household expense came in at $792.08 which is much higher than usual. A big chunk of this was the $418.45 I spend on the Missouri Bar annual fee. I’d rather not pay that fee, but I’ve got to stay an actively licensed attorney to keep my job. The rest was spent on Christmas presents and household stuff.

I spent $20 for one month of phone service and add-on data for my wife.

The $92.57 spent on health consisted of $61.46 for an insurance premium and $22.43 for medicine. This month might be a lot higher. We had and ER visit last month, that I’m not sure how much will be covered.

This month’s expenses will probably be about the same since I will have some medical bills due. How was your month?

November Income – $5214.58

Here is a breakdown of my income for November.

Interest$196.27
Dividends$35.31
Job$3925.22
Other Selling$46.36
Cashback$95.20
Ebay$116.22
Credit Card Bonus$200
Bank Bonus$600
Total$5214.58

November was a great income month. It was helped by having five paydays and a couple of bonuses posting during the month.

Dividend income came in at $35.31.

Interest income was $196.27.

I made $116.22 from eBay and $46.36 from other selling. I currently don’t spend much time on this since it is more profitable to spend that time working at my job.

I made $95.20 from cash back.

I made $3925.22 from job income.

I had a credit card bonus of $200 and two $300 bank bonuses. I try to always be working towards one bank/brokerage bonus and a credit card bonus.

This month will be a little lower, but should still be a solid month.

How was your month?