Expense/Income Tracking

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?

Here is a breakdown of my income for October.

Interest	$72.85
Cash Back	$83.44
Bank Bonus	$250
AZ Merch	$4.50
Dividends	$43.71
Mystery Shop	$63
Ebay/Other Selling	$15.10
Other Bonus	$200
Total	$732.50

October was an okay earnings month considering I didn’t have any job income for the month. I need to figure out a way to make decent money while I’m living in Thailand.

Dividend income came in at $43.71. 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 $83.44 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 $72.85. The rising interest rates are helping this a little plus I received a small windfall which I’m keeping in savings for now.

Ebay and other selling income came in at $15.10.

I received $250 from a bank bonus and a $200 bonus for switching auto insurers.

I made $4.50 from Amazon Merch.

This month’s income will be much lower since I’m still in Thailand. A lot of October’s income was from deals that I did before October. I don’t currently have any deals that will pay out in November. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for October.

Household	$76.73
Mortgage/Apt	$123.49
Utilities	$104.58
Entertainment	$76.70
Transportation	$26.33
Food	$326.91
Phone	$36.28
Health	$31.94
Travel	$650.24
Total	$1453.20

My October expenses were reasonable.

Entertainment expense was for a New York Times digital subscription, an online Thai course, and a couple of trips to the movies and arcade with my wife and stepdaughter.

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

Transportation was for a motorcycle helmet and a few taxi trips. Buying the helmet, allows me to ride on my wife’s scooter which will save me a little on taxi fares.

My food expense was way up at $326.91 for the month. This was to be expected since my wife and I eat out for every meal in Thailand. Also, my stepdaughter stayed with us for 3 weeks. Since there are only two of us to feed this month, food expense should come down some this month.

My phone bill was $36.28. This is a little higher than normal since I often have to use my phone’s data rather than wife since the wifi in our room is not reliable.

The household expense was for a mattress topper, a haircut, laundry, a couple gifts for my stepdaughter 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 $502.25 in airfare, $25.33 for a hotel room and the taxes on a free hotel room, and $121.76 for various bus tickets, shuttles, and taxis. Most of the airfare was spend on my wife and I flying from Chiang Mai to Buriram and back to get her daughter. I also bought a couple tickets from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for when I have to return to the U.S. next month. This month’s travel expense will be way lower. It might even be negative since I have a couple of refunds coming.

This month’s total expense will probably be about the same. Although I will spend less on travel and food, I have a big visa expense this month which will keep my overall expense level from dropping.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for September. Sorry for the late posting this month. The wifi is extremely weak in my room here in Thailand making it inconvenient to get this posted.

Interest	$26.78
Cash Back	$91.25
Bank Bonus	$0
Job	$2572.63
Dividends	$37.38
Mystery Shop	$0
Ebay/Other Selling	$110.32
Total	$2838.36

September was an okay earnings month since I had job income for most of the month.

Dividend income came in at $37.38. 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 $91.25 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 $26.78. The rising interest rates are helping this a little plus I received a small windfall which I’m keeping in savings for now.

Job income was the big source of income coming in at $2572.63 for the month.

Ebay and other selling income came in at $110.32.

It was a solid income month again. I’m now in Thailand and will not have any job income which will result in a much lower income total for this month. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September. This is a little late since I’m in Thailand now and my wifi is pretty weak.

Household	$20.28
Mortgage/Apt	$355
Support	$101
Entertainment	$26.15
Transportation	$318.52
Food	$123.94
Phone	$20.77
Health	$9.14
Travel	$202.30
Total	$1177.10

My September expenses were once again pretty low. I am happy with this level of expenses.

Entertainment expense was for a New York Times digital subscription, one month of Hulu at 99 cents, a month of Paramount Plus, roughly 2 months of Netflix Thailand and 1 month of HBO Max. That is a lot of entertainment for the money spent.

The mortgage payment was my regular mortgage payment.

Transportation was for gas and for two new tires. I didn’t spend much on gas since I work at home and don’t drive much. I got a pretty good deal on the tires. If you own a car, you are eventually going to have to spend money on tires, so I am okay with this expense.

My food expense was very reasonable. This is about as low as I can get it now with so many foods being more expensive. Now that I’m in Thailand and eating out for every meal and usually buying food for my wife as well, this expense will go up.

My phone bill was $20.77. It was quite low due to a special deal. It will be back to normal this month.

The household expense was for toothpaste, cheap silverware and bowls, batteries and a haircut.

Health expense was for one month’s health insurance premium, a zinc supplement and a 90-day supply of one of my blood pressure medicines.

Travel expense includes $54.77 for taxes on my award flight back to the U.S. from Bangkok, $55.47 for a hotel near my flight departing the U.S., and $92.06 for my Thai tourist visa, a couple airport taxis, and travel insurance.

There also was an expense of $101 to help my wife with some of her expenses in Thailand

This month’s total expenses should be about the same. I’ll be in Thailand the entire month. Some expense categories will go up and some will go down. Overall, they should roughly even out.

How was your month?