Andy Hough

December Expenses – $1523.68

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household $444.82
Entertainment $0
Transportation $40
Food $56.36
Student Loan $500
Travel $0
Phone $298.88
Health $183.62
Total $1523.68

December was a low expense month. A big reason for the low expenses was the use of gift cards purchased in November that were reflected in November’s expenses. The use of a previously purchased movie gift card allowed us to go to the movies a couple of times and still have a $0 entertainment expense for the month. The use of restaurant gift cards allowed me to only have a food expense of $56.36. Most of that total was made up of the $50 a month I contribute towards groceries each month.

 

The big bills were $500 to my student loan and almost $300 of phone expense.  If you take away those two expenses I would be under my monthly target of $1000 in expenses. The student loan payment was made to reach the max  $2500 student loan interest tax deduction.

The phone expense reflects over $250 spent to purchase a Nexus 5x in order to switch to Google Fi phone service. My Virgin Mobile phone died on me and I decided to try out Google’s phone service. I didn’t want to spend so much on a phone, but the 5x was the cheapest phone they had.  The new phone plan should save me a few bucks a month, but it will take a long time to make up for the cost of the phone.

I expect January to be a low expense month and most of my expenses should be in their normal range. Sometime this week I plan to post a yearly summary of my expenses and income.

How was your month?

2016 Review and 2017 Plans

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Since this year is almost over it is time to reflect on how this year went and look ahead to what I would like to accomplish in 2017.  Before writing this post  I had to read last year’s post to see what my goals for this year were. That was a pretty good indication that I did not achieve this year’s goals.

I don’t feel like I accomplished much this year which is exactly how I felt last year. And that was probably true for at least a couple more years before that. I definitely feel that I’m in a bit of a rut. Looking back at my “goals” posts I see a lot of goals being set, but they are hardly ever being achieved. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again since it is still true, I have to start working towards my goals and not just writing about them.

The only goals I set for this year were to run a 23:59 or faster 5k and to be able to do a pull-up. Those goals were carryovers from the year before. I didn’t make any progress on those goals and only worked towards them for a little bit of the year. Although those goals are both things I’d like to accomplish they aren’t things I really want to do right now so I’m not going to make them goals again this year. I might make them goals again if things change.

My priority goals for 2017 will be the two goals I set last July of losing 50 pounds and completing the Appalachian Trail before I turn 50. I won’t be able to start hiking the trail again until after my tax job ends in April. I should be able to finish the A.T. in a little less than two months of hiking. I can start losing weight right now and I have some ideas on how to do that. I’ll share those once I have actually put them into effect.

The title of this post talks about my 2017 plans rather than goals since my goals for this year aren’t yet detailed enough to really be called goals. I am also trying to plan what I will do with the year. The first half of the year is all planned out. I’ll work the tax job until midway through April and then hike the A.T. until about halfway through June. After that my plans are a little murky.

I have three different plans of what I might do for the second half of 2017 and beyond. I’ll provide a brief overview of these possible plans now and possibly write a more detailed examination of them later. The first plan is to work the tax job in the spring and then travel the rest of the year. I can travel pretty cheap making it possible for me to  live off my tax job income and other random bits of income. I’ve always wanted to travel extensively and I feel like I’m running out of time to do so. However, I wouldn’t be able to save much money or pay off my student loan debt under this plan. There would be other drawbacks to this plan as well. If I write a blog post about this plan I’ll include a more complete list of pros and cons.

A second plan is to find a job with the government or a non-profit. After ten years of working I’d be eligible to have my student loan debt forgiven. I’d also be able to put a large chunk of money into savings. If I got a job with the state of Missouri I’d be vested in the state pension after ten years. The big drawback is I’d have to work at the job for ten years. I haven’t come remotely close to working a job that long. Also, I would be 60 years old by the time I got my ten years in. I always thought I would be retired before that age. Working ten years and getting six figures of debt and qualifying for a pension is a pretty good deal though.  Another thing to consider is that there is a chance that the loan forgiveness rules could change before I’m eligible to get my student loan debt forgiven. Although I don’t love this plan it is a pretty sensible and achievable plan.

A third plan is to find a relatively high-paying job that would allow me to pay off my student loan debt in the next three to five years. I estimate that I’d need to make at least $60,000 a year in order to pay off my student loans in this time frame. A big problem with this plan is I don’t think I’d be able to find a job paying me $60k a year. The seasonal/temporary jobs I’ve had the past few years would pay about $40-$45k a year if they were full year jobs. The extra $15-$20k seems like a pretty big jump. My spotty employment history and poor interview skills would also contribute to making getting a high-paying job an extremely difficult task.  That being said, a $60k salary isn’t really that high for an attorney/J.D. so it shouldn’t be impossible to find a high-paying job. I just don’t have any idea how to do it. A drawback to this plan is that after three to five years of paying off my debt I would be at zero. I’d still have to work a few more years or figure out another way to make money before I’d be able to retire.

Those are the three possible plans I have for my future right now. I’m not sure which one I’ll pick and it is possible that things will change and I won’t do any of them. What are your thoughts on these possible plans?

November Income – $1470.28

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Here is a breakdown of my income for November.

Qapital $15
Interest $1.41
User Testing $10
Online Income $61.91
Amazon FBA $1333.53
Cash Back $48.43
Total $1470.28

My November income was an improvement over October. It still needs to be a lot higher. It should get to an okay level once I start my tax job.

Most of the improvement in income in November came from increased Amazon FBA earnings. Black Friday shoppers and early Christmas shopping in general helped boost my FBA earnings. I’m hoping for a record month of FBA earnings this month.  I’ve sent in a lot of inventory and plan on buying and sending a lot more inventory before Christmas. Even with a record month I doubt I’ll make as much as I really should be making. I do feel like I’m slowly making progress on my FBA business, but I think I should be making a lot more. It would be nice to get my income up to about $5000 a month which I think is possible. I’m just not sure how to do it.  FBA will get put on the back burner once I start my tax job so it will be a while before I’m able to ramp up the FBA business again after this month.

Although the income is less than I like, it is enough to pay my basic bills and keep me going until I start making more money from the tax job.

 

November Expenses – $2040.40

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for November.

Household $450.94
Entertainment $118.67
Transportation $82.53
Food $222.65
Student Loan $500
Travel $477.06
Phone $36.79
Health $151.76
Total $2040.40


November was a high expense month.  I had a few low expense months in a row so I suppose I was due for a high expense month. The expense isn’t as bad as it would first appear though since a good chunk of my November expenses went towards paying future expenses. Also we had a trip to Las Vegas for four days and Greenville,SC for another three days which increased my expenses a bit.

I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and paid a $450 annual fee. Although I hate paying a large annual fee like that I will get much more value from the card than I paid for the annual fee. I’ve already used the card to get $300 credit for flights next year. I’ll get another $300 travel credit next year and I’ll receive a 100,000 point bonus that is worth $1500 in travel expenses. Taking that into account I paid for a lot of next  year’s travel in November.

I also bought a bunch of discounted restaurant gift cards and a couple of movie gift cards. My restaurant expense should be zero this month and probably next month as well. The movie gift cards should cover my movie expense for this month and possibly a bit of January’s expense. My gift card expenditures in November will lead to much lower food and entertainment expense this month and probably next month as well.

All of my other expenses were pretty much in their normal range. I don’t expect any major changes to my expenses other than the ones I already discussed. December should see my expenses return to their normal level.

How was your November?

5 Tips to Stay Cool When Teaching Your Teen How to Drive

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Your teen is turning 16 soon. Many parents dread this period. Not just because teenagers at that age can be difficult to deal with but also because they’re legally eligible to take a driving test and obtain a license.

Having your teen behind the wheel of a car can be the stuff of nightmares for many parents. This is understandable since the National Center for Health Statistics lists motor-vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death among people in their teens.

If you’re lucky, your teen may decide to delay getting their driving license and wait for a time they are more mature. According to the AAA Foundation, only 54 percent of teens that participated in the survey said they had a driving license by the time they were 18 years old. These findings show that teens are waiting longer to get their license.

While this may seem like good news, young drivers are still considered reckless. It should come as no surprise that insurance premiums rise when parents add their teens to the policy. You may score a better rate by changing your insurance provider even after you have included your teen on your policy.

If you want your teen to observe the law and be a more responsible driver, it’s a good idea to instill these principles yourself. There’s no better way to do this than to teach your teen how to drive.

The following are some tips to help you remain calm and cool during those trying trips:

  1. Practice in a safe place

The first step to ensuring that your teen learns how to drive properly is to identify a safe place where they can practice. This space should be free of traffic and other obstacles. A long empty stretch of road or an empty parking lot are great places to start.

  1. Agree on some ground rules

Agree on some basic rules before you begin the driving lessons. These rules may include establishing roles and ensuring that distractions such as smartphones are turned off while driving. Rules offer guidelines for lessons.

  1. Get the basics down

Begin with the basics necessary for driving a vehicle before you hit the open road. Make sure your teen understands just how important it is to learn these basics before you hit the highway. Learning the basics will not only help them to gain more confidence and become safer drivers, but it will also help to develop more confidence in your teen. Once these basics are mastered, it will be much easier on both of you when you hit the open road.

  1. Learn to ignore slip ups

It can be hard to ignore slip ups but doing so is essential to their development. Think about when you were first learning how to drive. You probably made just as many mistakes or even more. Expect your teen to make mistakes and be prepared to accept them. The whole idea of learning how to drive is to gain confidence behind the wheel and avoid slip ups on the road, where it counts most.

  1. Give them a little free reign

The best way to build your teen’s confidence is to be confident in their abilities. This often means giving them a little more freedom and allowing them to tackle bigger challenges. Allow them to drive on the highway once in a while (only after they have their learner’s permit and a licensed adult in the passenger seat). This will go a long way in helping your teen improve their skills quickly.

Don’t panic when faced with the prospect of teaching your teen to drive. Take it as an opportunity to instill good driving habits in them.