2026 Goals Q1 Progress

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I made two goals for this year. One was to lose weight, with a goal weight of 188 pounds. The other was to fully fund my Roth IRA from bonuses.

I’m doing very poorly on my weight loss goal. Based on past experience, this isn’t much of a surprise. I started off the year well. I lost 5 pounds in January. I spent most of that month in Thailand and I find it easier to lose weight there.

Since January, I have gained weight. I’m only down a couple pounds for the year. I’m not sure how to do better on this goal. I have occasionally tracked my food. I need to increase my protein and fiber intake. Knowing what I need to do and actually doing it are two very different things. I’m still hoping I will figure out a way to eat better and stick to eating better.

I’m doing ok on my second goal. I’m at $2195 in bonuses so far this year. That is behind where I should be at this point to be on track for meeting the $8600 goal. I can make quick progress on this by doing some credit card and bank bonuses so I’m not too worried about making this goal. I’ve actually made most of my Roth IRA contribution for the year since I wanted to take advantage of the stock market dip earlier this year. The money from the bonuses will be used to reimburse for the contributions rather than being used to directly make the contributions

I’ll check in again on these goals at the end of Q2 and I hope I will be able to share better progress then.

March Income $1999.90

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Here is a breakdown of my income for March.

Interest$117.62
Dividends$280.53
Job$160.70
Social Casinos$322.09
Cash Back$148.72
eBay$644.26
Other Selling$44.63
Sportsbooks$150
Class Actions$111.35
Surveys$9.98
Amazon Merch$10.02
Total$1999.90

March income was okay considering the lack of job income.

Dividend income came in at $280.53.

Interest income was $117.62.

I made $644.26 from eBay and $44.63 from other selling.

I made $148.72 from cash back.

I made $160.70 from job income. I’ve been having a difficult time getting placed on projects this year. I need to find a different job or ramp up my side hustle income.

I made $322.09 from social casinos.

I made $9.98 from surveys.

I made $150 from sportsbooks. The promos are beginning to dry up. This source of income will go down unless I can figure out another way to profit from the sportsbooks.

I made $111.35 from class actions and $10.02. Those are both random sources of income that I probably won’t get next month.

How was your month?

March Expenses $1078.92

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for March.

Rent$0
Household$94.35
Utilities$130
Entertainment$7.29
Transportation$181.77
Food$434.81
Health$215.70
Travel$0
Phone$15
Total$1078.92

March’s expenses were unusually low.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Peacock, Hulu, and Prime. Credit card rewards eliminated the cost of Peacock and Hulu.

My transportation expense consisted of $130.51 for gas and $51.26 for an oil change.

Food expense was $434.81. That is divided between $310.08 for groceries and $124.73 for restaurants. I have some free gift cards for grocery and fast food that should allow me to lower this expense this month.

Travel expense came in at $0.

Utilities came in at $130. Internet was $40 and electric/water was $90 after being reduced by a gift card. This expense will go up this month.

Household expense came in at $94.35. This was for miscellaneous household items and a small income tax bill.

I spent $15 for phone service. That is the usual monthly amount.

The $215.70 spent on health was for an eye exam, a doctor visit, and some medicine..

This month’s expenses will be considerably higher. I’ve already made a rent payment and paid an A/C repair bill. How was your month?

February Income $2689.40

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Here is a breakdown of my income for February.

Interest$111.50
Dividends$116.98
Job$1483.82
Social Casinos$394
Cash Back$43.20
eBay$89.22
Other Selling$85.43
Sportsbooks$200
Bank Bonus$100
Surveys$65.25
Total$2689.40

February income was decent for a short month.

Dividend income came in at $116.98

Interest income was $111.50

I made $89.22 from eBay and $85.43 from other selling.

I made $43.20 from cash back.

I made $1483.82 from job income.

I made $394 from social casinos. That was an unusually good month.

I made $65.25 from surveys.

I made $200 from sportsbooks.

I made $100 from a bank bonus.

How was your month?

February Expenses $2478.55

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for February.

Rent$1554
Household$41.40
Utilities$45
Entertainment$7.29
Transportation$282.49
Food$331.40
Health$6.67
Travel$195.30
Phone$15
Total$2478.55

February’s expenses were a little high, but reasonable all things considered. The trip to try to get my stepdaughter’s visa was mostly a waste. Trump put a pause on all visas from 75 countries including Thailand the day before we left. This meant we had no chance to get the visa.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Peacock, Hulu, and Prime. Credit card rewards eliminated the cost of Peacock and Hulu.

My transportation expense consisted of $41.92 for gas, $5.57 for a taxi and $235 for six months of car insurance. This expense should be lower this month.

Food expense was $331.40. That is divided between $172 for groceries and $159.40 for restaurants. A couple of free gift cards helped keep this expense lower than usual. This expense will go up this month, but I hope I can keep it under $400.

Travel expense came in at $195.30. That consisted of $145.44 for buses and shuttles and $49.86 for hotels.

Utilities came in at $45. This was for electric, water, and internet. Gift cards from our health insurance paid most of the electric bill. This expense will go up this month unless we get more gift cards.

Household expense came in at $41.40.

I spent $15 for phone service. That is the usual monthly amount.

The $6.67 spent on health was for some over the counter medicine.

The big expense was the $1554 for rent. This month we paid the annual home insurance bill rather than rent. Usually, we will be paying $600 a month for rent.

This month’s expenses should be a little lower. How was your month?