April’s income was low since I was in Thailand for the entire month.
Dividend income came in at $22.46.
Interest income was $27.42. I have a lot of my savings in a non-interest paying account in order to qualify for a bank bonus so this total will be low until I complete the bonus.
‘I received $28 from a couple of mystery shops.
I received $24.66 cash back from a shopping portal and made $33.24 from Amazon FBA.
I made $152.12 in online income. That is probably the only money this blog will make this year. It is at least enough to cover my hosting and domain name expenses.
I’m now back in the USA. I haven’t found a job yet so this month’s income probably won’t be any better. I’m hoping for a much better month in June. How was your month?
Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, 4 weeks of a WSJ online subscription, a visit to the Night Market, and taking 3 people to the movies with concessions.
Rent was $219.25. This was for my wife’s apartment May rent and April’s utilities for her apartment.
Transportation was $13.70 for a tank of gas for my wife’s scooter and some local taxis,
My food expense was $345.97. That is for 3 people and mostly eating out so it is a reasonable amount considering those factors. This month my food expense will be way down since I’ll only be buying for 2 for the first half of the month and only for myself for the last half of the month.
Utilities were $251.12 This was for my electric and internet back in the U.S plus the electric bill for my stepdaughter’s room. It was about 105 degrees almost every day here so we used a lot of air conditioning.
My phone bill was $8.76 for one more month of Thai phone service. This month I shouldn’t have any phone expense at all.
The household expense was for a haircut, a couple of towels, and a variety of household supplies that we needed.
I spent $13.18 on over-the-counter medicine.
Travel expense includes $193.27 for airfare. That includes a ticket from Buriram to Chiang Mai for my wife, a round-trip ticket from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for me, a one-way ticket from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for me, and a one-way ticket from LAX to Kansas City. That is quite a bit of flying for the money paid. It also includes $49 for the annual fee on my IHG card. The card comes with a free hotel night which I will use when I stay overnight at LAX. The room would have cost about $180 if I was paying out of pocket making for a good use of my free night. Lastly, this expense includes 2 bus tickets, a long shuttle, and a couple of airport taxis.
I provided $26.86 of support to my wife. This was just small amounts of money I gave her for various things that I didn’t bother categorizing.
I’m guessing this month’s expenses will probably be a little bit less.
March’s income was low as I didn’t have any work projects during the month.
Dividend income came in at $9.91.
Interest income was $205.28. The large increase was due to cashing out an I-bond. This month it will be much lower as I’ve moved most of my money into a noninterest bearing account to get a bank bonus.
I made a net profit of $73.75 from eBay and another $45.60 from other sales.
Job income came in at $30.16 for the month. This was just payment for my accrued PTO. There will be no job income this month.
‘I received $53 from a couple of mystery shops.
I received $10 cash back from a credit card promo and made $4.15 from Amazon Merch.
I’ll be in Thailand all of this month so this low total will be even lower. I’ve got to find a way to make decent money while I’m in Thailand. How was your month?
March’s expenses were quite reasonable considering that I traveled to Thailand during the last part of the month.
Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, 4 weeks of a WSJ online subscription, a Netflix gift card and a movie visit that was mostly covered with free gift cards.
Rent was $274.10. This was for my wife’s apartment plus one month’s rent for an apartment for my stepdaughter. The rent for my wife’s room also includes what I paid for utilities for the month. Next month this will be cheaper since my stepdaughter will be returning home resulting in my only having to pay for one apartment in April.
Transportation was $59.18 for a couple tanks of gas, This will be even lower this month. My only transportation expense will be a couple tanks of gas for my wife’s motorbike.
My food expense was $169.49. That is pretty good since I was paying for 3 people for the last week of the month. My food expense will go up this month since I’ll be paying for 3 people all month. It will still be quite cheap considering it is for 3 people though.
Utilities were $243.75 This was higher than normal due to the quarterly trash bill being due during the month.
My phone bill was $106.03. This was high because I finished paying off the phone I had finance through Google Fi. I also signed up for local service in Thailand. This month I should finally have a very low phone bill. I’ll probably pay about $10 for another month’s Thai phone service.
The household expense was for a haircut, postage, and a variety of household supplies that my wife needed.
I spent $4.66 on some over the counter medicine. This total will be higher this month as I plan on signing up for a monthly gym membership this month.
Travel expense includes $125.53 for airfare from Buriram to Chiang Mai. I originally had a bus ticket purchased for this trip. The 14 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai to Buriram killed my back so I splurged for a plane ticket back. I spent $27.57 for one night’s hotel in Buriram. I spent $91.47 on various shuttles and taxis. My wife’s village is over an hour away from Buriram and there is no public transportation there so I have to pay up for a private shuttle or taxi ride to get there.
I provided $154 of support to my wife.
I’m guessing this month’s expenses will probably be about the same.
February’s expenses were a little higher than I would like.
Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, a Paramount Plus subscription, and a couple of entertainment-related meals.
Rent was $130. This isyy wife’s rent in Thailand including utilities.
Transportation was for $161.72 in gas, $273 for car insurance, and $8.61 for some antifreeze. I made a trip to see my dad who lives a couple hours away and also made 2 separate trips to a city about an hour away from me which drove up my gas bill. This month there should only be one trip to the nearby city so the gas bill will be much smaller. My insurance is now paid for six months and hopefully I won’t have any maintenance expenses. That should result in a much lower total for transportation expenses this month.
My food expense was $108.34 That is higher than last month, but still very low. I did manage to keep my fast-food bill below January’s level. I continued to take advantage of app deals and free food deals at fast food places to get food super cheap. Chase had an offer for $5 back on a $10 restaurant purchase. I had that offer on three different cards giving me $15 of savings. I also had one food mystery shop. That combined with eating at home more often led to a very low food bill.
Utilities were $250.03. This was higher than normal due to paying two months of internet. This month the total will be about the same because I will have a quarterly trash bill to pay.
My phone bill was $200.84. This was very high because I switched to Mint Mobile in January and had to pay off the phone that I had financed through Google Fi including repaying a $100 rebate. I screwed up on switching my phone service. I didn’t realize I had to keep Google Fi service for one more month to qualify for the rebate. If I had I’d have waited one more month before switching service.
The household expense was for a toothbrush, flossers, three t-shirts and a small Valentine’s Day gift for my wife. I got the three t-shirts for a total of 25 cents at Kohl’s. They send me $5 off $5 coupons a few times a year and I usually manage to find some clearance bargains for almost free stuff.
I spent $2.73 on health-related expenses in February. I bought some vitamins and some antacids. This total should be low again this month barring any injuries or illnesses.
Travel expense includes $94 for my Thailand visa and travel insurance. It also includes a $95 annual fee on my Alaska Airlines card, $20 for seat selection on a future flight, and $111.12 for a round trip flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles. The Bangkok-LA flight is so cheap because I used credit card points to pay for most of the fare.
I provided $220 of support to my wife. This covers her food and miscellaneous expenses as well as support she provides to her family.
I think this month’s total expense should be quite a bit lower. I will be traveling which could result in some unexpected expenses.
