January Income $3281.92

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Here is a breakdown of my income for January.

Interest$123.24
Dividends$16.14
Job$2679.76
Social Casinos$100
Cash Back$16
All Selling$22.42
Class Action$24.36
Sportsbooks$100
Broker Bonus$200
Total$3281.92

January income was pretty good considering that I was out of the country the last half of the month.

Dividend income came in at $16.14.

Interest income was $123.24.

I made $22.42 from all forms of selling.

I made $16 from cash back.

I made $2679.76 from job income. This month will probably be lower since I’m waiting to be added to a new project now that I’m back in the country and available to work.

I made $100 from social casinos. I’ll make more this month.

I made $24.36 from a class action.

I made $100 from sportsbook promos. These deals are slowing down now, but I will still make a little more money from the promos this month.

I made $200 from a crypto broker bonus.

This month’s income will probably be about the same, depending on when I start a new project.

How was your month?

January Expenses $3307.50

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for January.

Household$1015.71
Utilities$200.01
Entertainment$10.28
Transportation$107.32
Food$420.07
Health$51.84
Travel$585.60
Visa$889.78
Phone$26.89
Total$3307.50

January’s expenses were rather high. That was expected since we were in Thailand for the second half of the month and had lots of travel and visa related expenses. This month’s expenses should be much lower.

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

My transportation expense consisted of $70.78 for gas and $36.54 for local taxis and shuttles in Thailand.

Food expense was $420.07. That is divided between $262.03 for groceries and $158.04 for restaurants. That isn’t too bad considering we were away from home for the last half of the month.

Travel expense came in at $585.60. That consisted of $182.77 for airfare, $224.99 for hotels, and $177.74 for other expenses. The other expenses were mainly long-distance shuttles or taxis and buses.

Utilities came in at $200.01. This was for electric, water, and internet.

Household expense came in at $1015.71 This was mostly for a gold necklace for my wife and some gifts to my wife’s family.

Visa expense was $889.78. Most of that was for the medical examination. The hospital has a monopoly on doing medical exams for the U.S. visa so they charge a premium price.

I spent $26.89 for phone service. This was for the usual monthly bill plus cell service in Thailand.

The $51.84 spent on health was for medicine and a dentist visit. I got a cavity filled in Thailand for about $25.

This was another expensive month. This month should have much lower expenses. I need a couple of low expense months to help my bank account recover. How was your month?

December Income $4643.95

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Here is a breakdown of my income for December.

Interest$131.98
Dividends$247.39
Job$2463.67
Social Casinos$350
Cash Back$54.39
Other Selling$96.78
Ebay$157.21
Class Action$59.34
Stock Sale$790.84
Sportsbooks$292.35
Total$4643.95

December was another good income month.

Dividend income came in at $247.39.

Interest income was $131.98.

I made $157.21 from selling on eBay. I didn’t list anything since I was busy with work, but I still sold a few things.

I made $54.39 from cash back.

I made $2463.67 from job income. This amount would have been higher. There was unpaid time off for the holidays. Additionally, there were a few more days when they were transitioning to different documents, so there was no work available. This month my job income will be lower since I’ll be gone the last half of the month. I’m hoping they will have work for me when I return.

I made $350 from social casinos. That is better than normal. This month it will go back to the usual $100 a month.

I made $59.34 from a class action. The MGM class action settlement was more generous than most.

I made $96.78 from other selling.

I made $790.84 from a stock sale. I don’t track the monthly fluctuation in value of my accounts, but when I sell a stock in one of my taxable accounts, I do report it here. This sale was from an odd lot tender which increased the chances of it being a profitable transaction.

Lastly, I made $292.35 from sportsbook promos. There were lots of good deals last month since sports betting became legal in Missouri on December 1st. Those deals are slowing down now, but I will still make a little more money from the promos this month.

This month’s income will be lower since I’ll be in Thailand the last half of the month.

How was your month?

December Expenses $2747.59

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household$558.28
Utilities$228.40
Entertainment$10.28
Transportation$94.50
Food$577.92
Health$116.97
Travel$1146.24
Phone$15
Total$2747.59

December’s expenses were once again rather high. This month’s expenses should be lower although still higher than I’d prefer since we’ll be traveling the last two weeks of the month.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Peacock, Hulu, and Prime. I let my Paramount Plus deal expire since I don’t have enough time to watch everything as it is.

My transportation expense consisted of $94.50 for three tanks of gas.

Food expense was $577.92. That is divided between $370.71 for groceries and $207.21 for restaurants. That is way too high. I’ll lower this expense this month. We’ll be traveling the last two weeks of the month which will complicate things. Food is cheap in Thailand though, so I still expect to lower this expense significantly.

Travel expense came in at $1146.24. That was for a cash flight for two to Thailand, seat selection fees on one flight, and the award taxes on a flight for two from Thailand back to the U.S. This will be less this month, although I still have to buy several intra-Thailand flights and several hotel nights, so it won’t be too low

Utilities came in at $228.40. This was for electric, water, trash and internet. This was about the same as last month. It should be a little bit lower this month since we won’t have a trash bill.

Household expense came in at $558.28. This was mostly for my Missouri Bar annual enrollment fee.

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

The $116.97 spent on health was for a walking pad and my BP medicine.

This month will be another expensive month, although it should be less expensive than December. How was your month?

2026 Goals

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Last year I didn’t set any goals for the year because I knew I wasn’t likely to meet them. This year I’m more confident so I’m setting a couple of goals now and I might set some more later.

My first goal is to lose weight. I’ve tried to lose weight many times. I’ve had some limited success. Yet, I always end up gaining back any weight lost. This year I’m trying something different. I usually lose weight by eating less and exercising more, but I don’t actually change the way I eat. I still eat junk food, just a smaller amount.

To change that, I’m going to change the composition of my diet. I’m starting by cutting out chips and french fries. I’ll also have at least one fruit or vegetable every day. That doesn’t sound like much, but I usually don’t have any, so it is an improvement. I’m also going to have salads at least three times a week. I’m going to keep track of my daily calories. I’m not going to limit my calories yet. For now, I’m just trying to see what number of calories seems right.

I’ll also exercise daily. I bought a walking pad last month and I will use it every day. When I want to watch a show, I’ll do so while walking on the walking pad.

I now weigh 210 pounds and my first goal is to weigh 188 pounds. I got down to 188 pounds in 2022 so it should be possible to do so again. If I achieve this goal, my next goal will be to get my weight down to 170 pounds.

My second goal for the year is to fully fund my Roth IRA with money from bonuses. Since I’m over 50 years old I can contribute $8600 this year. I’ve been lazy about doing bonus deals and haven’t been making nearly as much money as I should. This goal will give me a little more incentive to do bonus deals. I will count money from bank bonuses, brokerage bonuses, sportsbook bonuses, and casino promos toward this goal. This also give me a reason to track how much I’m making from bonuses.

I’ll update at least once a quarter on how I’m progressing towards these goals. Depending on what else is going on in my life I will add some more goals. These seem like enough for now.