Andy Hough

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for January.

Household	$411.87
Mortgage/Apt	$0
Utilities	$37.58
Entertainment	$15.29
Transportation	$19.03
Food	$86.98
Phone	$103.40
Health	$0
Travel	$7
Support	$200
Total	$881.15

January was a very low expense month.

Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription and a lottery ticket.

Rent was $0. My wife’s rent in Thailand is included in the support amount. I will usually account for the rent separately, but I forgot this month and I’m too lazy to go back and do it now.

Transportation was for a partial tank of gas. Since I work from home and didn’t go out of town during the month, I used very little gas.

My food expense was $86.98 That is way better than I have been doing and I might not ever be able to get it that low again. I took advantage of app deals and free food deals at fast food places to get food super cheap. This is reflected in the fact that I had fast food 21 times in January and only spent a total of $65.61. My grocery spending was also kept low due to using a free $25 Walmart gift card. Eating the food I already had at home was one more way I kept my food expense low. I won’t be able to keep my food expense as low this month, but I’m going to aim to keep my fast food bill below January’s level.

Utilities were $37.58. This was so low due in part to using $75 in free gift cards to lower the water/electric bill. It was also artificially low due to delaying paying the internet bill until February so I could pay it with my new credit card that I need to make a minimum spend amount on in order to get a bonus.

My phone bill was $103.40 This was very high because I used a lot of phone data when our home internet was out for 3 days. I switched to Mint Mobile in January and this total also includes the first six months of service with them. This will eventually save me a lot of money.

The household expense was mainly my $410 annual bar enrollment fee. I hate paying it, but it is necessary for my employment. Household expense should be way down this month since I won’t have any similar fees to pay.

I didn’t spend any money on health related expenses in January. I think that might be the first time that has ever happened. It might happen again this month. If not, my health expense this month should still be very low.

Travel expense includes the taxes on my next award flight to Thailand.

I also gave $200 to my wife. This covered her rent and a new tire for her motorbike. Rent is super cheap in Thailand.

This month’s total expense will probably be higher since it is difficult to keep expenses so low. It is crazy that if it were not for my $410 annual attorney enrollment fee I would have had less than $500 in expenses.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for December.

Interest	$83.35
Swagbucks	$33
Ebay	$61.62
Class Action	$5.21
Dividends	$43.77
Flipping	$117.15
Total	$344.10

December was another very low-income month since I don’t currently have a way to earn decent money while I am in Thailand.

Dividend income came in at $43.77. This will be going down since I sold a lot of my dividend stocks to contribute to my Roth IRA. In just 4 years I’ll be able to take money from my Roth tax-free so it makes sense to get more money in there now. If you sign up using my Robinhood referral link we will both get one share of free stock. Thanks to anyone who signs up using my link. Every little bit helps.

Interest income was $83.35 This increased a little as interest rates went up again. This will go down this month since I took a lot of money out to do a bank bonus deal.

I received $61.62 from eBay and $117.15 from sales elsewhere.

I also received $5.21 from a random class action and $33 from a Swagbucks deal.

This month’s income should be higher since I start my new job in the middle of the month. It will only be part-time for January though. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household	$109.30
Mortgage/Apt	$157.43
Utilities	$233.13
Entertainment	$43.29
Transportation	$84.76
Food	$222.05
Phone	$109.67
Health	$35.39
Travel	$102.74
Support	$380.46
Total	$1478.22

December was a little bit cheaper than November.

Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription and some other things.

Rent was for one month’s rent, electric, and water for our room in Chiang Mai.

Transportation was for 2 tanks of gas and a new bolt and nut for my battery connector.

My food expense was $222.05. That was better than last month, but this month I’ll try to cut it in half. I will only be buying food for myself which will help. I’ll also eat more from the pantry and take advantage of deals.

My phone bill was $109.67. This was very high because I used a lot of phone data while in Thailand. I’ll be switching to a different phone plan this month. I like Google Fi since it works in Thailand and the U.S., but I can’t justify the cost. I’ll be getting a cheaper phone plan that includes more data. When I’m in Thailand, I’ll purchase a local sim card.

The household expense was for a haircut, laundry, and a bunch of miscellaneous household stuff. This should be lower this month since I don’t anticipate having to buy much household stuff

Health expense was for one month’s gym membership, and some over the counter medicine.

Travel expense includes a taxi, a hotel shuttle tip, and the annual fee on my Sapphire Reserve card

I also gave $380.46 to my wife. She needed to buy a new phone for her daughter, and she moved to a new apartment which made this total a little higher than normal.

This month’s total expense will probably be a little less. If it were not for the fact that I have to pay my $410 annual attorney enrollment fee I would expect the total to be a lot less.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for November.

Interest	$72.68
Cash Back	$120.95
Credit Card Bonus	$10
Class Action	$35.79
Dividends	$38.56
Refund	$42.04
Total	$320.02

November was a very low-income month since I don’t currently have a way to earn decent money while I am in Thailand.

Dividend income came in at $38.56. If you sign up using my Robinhood referral link we will both get one share of free stock. Thanks to anyone who signs up using my link. Every little bit helps.

I received $120.95 in cash back income. If you sign up for Rakuten using my referral link you can start earning cash back too and I’ll get a small bonus for referring you. These little bits of referral income help me keep the blog going.

Interest income was $72.68 The rising interest rates are helping this a little plus I received a small windfall which I’m keeping in savings for now.

I received $10 from a credit card spending offer.

I also received $35.79 from a random class action and $42.04 from an airline voucher refund. The refund was for the taxes on an award ticket from Hong Kong to London I bought way back in January 2020. The pandemic prevented me from being able to use the ticket. Now Virgin Atlantic doesn’t fly out of Hong Kong at all, so they issued me a refund after I requested it. Since the refund amount was included in my travel expense back in 2020, I’m counting it as income now.

This month’s income will hopefully be higher since I return to the U.S. in the middle of the month. I might not be employed soon enough to get a paycheck before the end of the year though. Making money will be a priority for the first few months of next year. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for November.

Household	$216.10
Mortgage/Apt	$223.41
Utilities	$80.11
Entertainment	$35.54
Transportation	$5.16
Food	$282.94
Phone	$26.13
Health	$37.09
Travel	$141.75
Visa	$535.00
Support	$267.08
Total	$1850.31

November was a bit of an expensive month.

Entertainment expense was for a Netflix, mini golf, and a couple other things.

Rent was for one month’s rent, electric, and water for our room in Chiang Mai.

Transportation was for a tank of gas for my wife’s scooter and a parking fee.

My food expense was $282.94 for the month. This was better than last month, but still too high due to my eating too much fast food. This month I’ll eat more Thai food and bring down this expense to a more reasonable level.

My phone bill was $26.13. I put my Google Fi plan on pause and got a Thai phone number for the month. The amount I paid in November was for a partial month of Google Fi. This month I will have to pay for the Thai phone and resume my Fi service so this expense will go up.

The household expense was for a cell phone, a haircut, laundry, and a bunch of miscellaneous household stuff.

Health expense was for one month’s health insurance premium, one month’s gym membership, and some over the counter medicine.

Travel expense includes $37.73 in airfare, $47.18 for a hotel room, and a visa extension.

The big expense for the month was the $535 I had to pay to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for my visa application to bring my wife to the U.S. There will be a lot more fees coming next year. For now, we have to wait a few months for them to review the application.

I also gave $267.08 to my wife. She quit her job at the end of October so she could spend more time with me in November, but she still had some financial obligations to pay.

This month’s total expense should be a lot less. I’ll be going back to the U.S. this month. Almost all of the travel expenses for returning to the U.S. have already been paid. I’m not expecting any big expenses this month so my expenses should drop down to a more normal level.

How was your month?