Andy Hough

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.

November Income $3952.95

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Here is a breakdown of my income for November.

Interest$115.02
Dividends$115.99
Job$3186.17
Social Casinos$100
Cash Back$66.18
Other Selling$121.08
Ebay$244.50
Class Action$4.01
Total$3952.95

November was another good income month.

Dividend income came in at $115.99. This varies a lot from month to month. It will be a lot higher in December.

Interest income was $115.02.

I made $244.50 from selling on eBay. I didn’t list anything since I was busy with work, but stuff kept selling all month long. I think it has finally slowed down now that I don’t have a lot left listed.

I made $66.18 from cash back.

I made $3186.17 from job income. This will be lower this month since my project currently has some temporary downtime.

I made $100 from social casinos.

I made $4.01 from class actions.

I made $121.08 from other selling.

This month’s income will probably be a little lower, but it should still be decent.

How was your month?

November Expenses $2289

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for November.

Household$781.06
Utilities$222.07
Entertainment$12.84
Transportation$147.92
Food$451.05
Health$64.15
Travel$595
Phone$15
Total$2289

November’s expenses were rather high. This month’s expenses will likely be about the same.

Entertainment expense was for one month of Peacock, Hulu, Prime and Paramount +. After various deals I only paid $12.84 in total for all four services. I think that was a pretty good deal.

My transportation expense consisted of $147.92 for gas.

Food expense was $451.05. That is divided between $293.19 for groceries and $157.86 for restaurants. That was higher than last month. I’m hoping I can get it down a little this month, but I’m not worrying about it too much.

Travel expense came in at $595. That was for my Citi Strata Elite annual fee. I should be able to get a lot more than $595 of value out of it.

Utilities came in at $222.07. This was for electric, water, and internet. This was a little lower than the previous month since we didn’t use as much air conditioning. This much should be much lower.

Household expense came in at $781.06. This was mostly for a new couch and a very small amount of gold.

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

The $64.15 spent on health was for health insurance and otc medications.

After an October with low expenses, expenses swung the other way in November. This month will be another expensive month, although it should be less expensive than November. How was your month?