October Expenses – $692.68

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for October.

Household$33.19
Mortgage/Apt$111
Utilities$115.11
Entertainment$19.92
Transportation$65.24
Food$120.66
Phone$0
Health$1.37
Travel$136
Support$90.19
Total$692.68

October’s expenses were extremely low. This is probably as low as I can get my expenses currently.

Entertainment expense was for one month Amazon Prime subscription, one month Hulu, and a movie ticket. Hulu offered me a deal for $2.99 a month for the next six months so I signed up for that. My local theater offered me a free large popcorn and a free large drink for my birthday so I went to see a movie to take advantage of that offer.

Rent was $111 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

My only transportation expense was $65.24 for two tanks of gas,

My food expense was $120.66. That is divided between $42.96 for groceries and $77.70 for restaurants. I’ll try to keep this expense about the same this month. I have to plan ahead and take advantage of good deals to keep my food spending this low.

I didn’t have a phone bill in October and won’t have one this month.

Utilities came in at $115.11. This was for electric, water, and internet at my U.S. residence. A new internet company is available in my town and the competition resulted in my current internet company drastically reducing their price. I overpaid my internet bill last month and had a credit for this month which also reduced my bill. I expect this to be about the same this month.

The household expense was for an electric toothbrush, toothpaste, cotton swabs, extension cords, mouth wash, a refrigerator filter and a ring.

Travel expense included $136 for a flight from Taipei to Chiang Mai. I had booked the ticket from the U.S. to Taipei using points a few months ago and I needed this flight to get me the rest of the way to Thailand.

I provided $90.19 of support to my wife.

The health category expense was $1.37 for some antacids.

This month’s expenses will probably be a little higher since it is difficult to keep expenses that low.

How was your month?

September Income – $170.01

Here is a breakdown of my income for September.

Interest$129
Dividends$19.52
Job$0
Cash Back$16.60
Amazon Merch$4.89
Total$170.01

September was a very low-income month due to not having any job income during the month.

Dividend income came in at $19.52

Interest income was $29. The high interest rates make for a nice return on my money.

I received $16.60 in cash back.

I received $4.89 from Amazon Merch. It isn’t much but since it is all passive income now it is still a good deal.

I made $0 in job income. I’m now back at work so I’ll have job income this month.

How was your month?

September Expenses – $828.83

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September.

Household$60.57
Mortgage/Apt$111.20
Utilities$264.33
Entertainment$29.60
Transportation$45.66
Food$189.48
Phone$7.17
Health$10.70
Travel$54.52
Support$55.60
Total$828.83

September’s expenses were unusually low.

Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, one month Thailand Netflix, one month Peacock TV, a Powerball ticket, and a movie rental. In Thailand, I can get Netflix for only $4.88 a month and it still works when I return to the U.S.

Rent was $111.20 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

My only transportation expense was $45.66 for gas,

My food expense was $189.48. That is divided between $64.70 for groceries and $124.78 for restaurants. This expense will go down slightly this month.

My phone bill was $7.17 for one month of service in Thailand. I won’t have a phone bill this month.

Utilities came in at $264.33. This was for electric, water, and internet at my U.S. residence and water and electric in Chiang Mai.

The household expense was for a haircut, batteries, deodorant, headphones, paper towels and various other household items.

Travel expense included $13.90 for a hotel in Bangkok. It also included $9.17 for a taxi to and from the Bangkok airport, $22.04 for a train ticket from Narita to downtown Tokyo, and $7.41 for a bus to Haneda airport.

I provided $55.60 of support to my wife.

This month’s expenses will probably be a little higher since it is difficult to keep expenses that low.

How was your month?

August Income – $1275.58

Here is a breakdown of my income for August.

Interest$132.76
Dividends$28.79
Job$755.07
Cash Back$333.96
Mystery Shop$25
Total$1275.58

August was a decent income month considering I only worked the first three days of the month.

Dividend income came in at $28.79.

Interest income was $132.76. The high interest rates make for a nice return on my money.

I received $333.96 in cash back. I made a few purchases for buyer’s clubs a couple months ago when shopping portals were offering a high cash back rate and the cash back became payable in August.

I received $25 from a mystery shop. Getting paid $25 to eat a burger and fries and then spend about 20 minutes reporting information on your shop is a pretty good deal.

I made $755.07 in job income. I only worked the first three days of the month. This pay was for my final two paychecks plus my delayed holiday pay for working on Independence Day.

My income was a little more than my expenses which is always good. This month my income will be a lot lower since I won’t return to the U.S. until the end of the month. Even if I manage to get work right away I won’t get paid until October.

This was a solid income month considering I was in Thailand and not working for most of the month. How was your month?

August Expenses – $1034.11

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for August.

Household$32.02
Mortgage/Apt$115
Utilities$240.79
Entertainment$26.43
Transportation$299.33
Food$246.65
Phone$8.69
Health$10.34
Travel$54.86
Support$0
Total$1034.11

August’s expenses were quite reasonable.

Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, one month Thailand Netflix, parking, a couple of movie tickets and two waters at the movies. In Thailand, I can get Netflix for only $4.88 a month and it still works when I return to the U.S.

Rent was $115 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

Transportation included $11.98 for gas, $3.95 for Songtaews, and $283.40 for six month of car insurance.

My food expense was $246.65. That is divided between $112.14 for groceries and $134.51 for restaurants. This is typical for when I’m in Thailand. I expect this expense will go down slightly this month.

My phone bill was $8.69 for one month of service in Thailand. It will be roughly the same for this month.

Utilities came in at $240.79. Electric and water in Chiang Mai came to $38.34. The remaining amount was for electric, water, and internet at my U.S. residence.

The household expense was for a haircut, a power strip, facial tissue, and various other household items.

Travel expense included $44.28 for airfare. That total includes airfare from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and a seat selection fee for my Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Tokyo. It also includes $2.81 for my hotel in L.A. Most of the hotel expense was paid for in points or covered by my annual CSP $50 hotel reimbursement. Lastly, the travel expense includes $7.77 for a taxi from the Chiang Mai airport and a $2 tip for my LAX hotel shuttle.

I provided $0 of support to my wife since I was in Thailand and was able to cover all expenses directly.

This month’s expenses will probably about the same since I will be in Thailand for most of the month.

How was your month?