May Income – $631.53

Here is a breakdown of my income for May.

Interest$27.81
Bank Bonus$200
Ebay$300.81
Other Selling$33.24
Dividends$22.33
Class Action$5.44
Cash Back$25.30
Amazon Merch$16.60
Total$631.53

May’s income increased from April, but it is still way too low. I came back to the USA in the second half of the month and didn’t get a project offer from my employers during the month.

Dividend income came in at $22.33.

Interest income was $27.81. 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. The bonus should pay out before the end of this month.

‘I received $200 from a bank bonus.

I made $300.81 from eBay. I’m slowly increasing my listings which should lead to an increase in income.

I made $33.24 from sales in a private group.

I received $25.30 cash back from a credit card and I received $5.44 from a class action.

I made $16.60 from Amazon Merch. I think that is my best month ever. I haven’t done anything on AZ Merch for years. It might be time to add some more designs and see what else I can do to increase this source of income.

I’m hopeful I will have some document review work this month. That would help my income a lot. Even if I don’t get any doc review work I should do at least a little better this month. How was your month?

May Expenses – $987.24

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for May.

Household$178.55
Mortgage/Apt$0
Utilities$171.65
Entertainment$19.79
Transportation$82.77
Food$194.19
Phone$0
Health$0
Travel$65.35
Support$274.94
Total$987.24

May’s expenses were pleasantly low.

Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription and an anniversary dinner.

Rent is included in support this month. I should have separated it out when I paid it, but I didn’t and I’m too lazy to go back and figure it out now.

Transportation was $54.72 for gas and $28.05 to renew my auto registration.

My food expense was $194.19. That is divided between $77.53 for groceries and $116.66 for restaurants. This was lower since I was only buying food for myself the last half of the month. Although food in Thailand is cheap, I am able to spend even less on food in the U.S.

Utilities came in at $171.65. That was for electric and internet at my U.S. house. Thailand utilities are included in support.

My phone bill was $0 since it is prepaid. This month I once again shouldn’t have any phone expense at all.

The household expense was for a haircut, toothpaste batteries, and other household supplies. The biggest part of this expense was $110 for my continuing education. I need to get some self-employed attorney income so I can write that off as a business expense.

Travel expense includes $30.12 for airfare. That includes the taxes on a couple of award tickets and a slight charge for changing the date of a ticket. I also spent $15.20 on a cheap hotel in Bangkok before I flew out the next day.

I provided $274.94 of support to my wife. That was mainly for the rent and utilities for her room.

This month’s expenses should be even less. I’m not expecting any big expenses this month.

How was your month?

April Income – $287.90

Here is a breakdown of my income for April.

Interest$27.42
Job$0
Ebay$0
Online Income$152.12
Dividends$22.46
Mystery Shop$28
Cash Back$24.66
Amazon FBA$33.24
Total$287.90

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?

April Expenses – $1302.31

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for April.

Household$16.54
Mortgage/Apt$219.25
Utilities$251.12
Entertainment$55.17
Transportation$18.94
Food$345.97
Phone$8.76
Health$13.18
Travel$346.52
Support$26.86
Total$1302.31

April’s expenses were about what I expected.

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.

How was your month?

March Income – $431.85

Here is a breakdown of my income for March.

Interest$205.28
Job$30.16
Ebay$73.75
Other Selling$45.60
Dividends$9.91
Mystery Shop$53
Cash Back$10
Amazon Merch$4.15
Total$431.85

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?