Expense/Income Tracking

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household	$97
Mortgage/Apt	$116.18
Utilities	$26.72
Entertainment	$25.85
Transportation	$9.67
Food	$241.14
Phone	$7.13
Health	$8.03
Visa	$792
Travel	$221.51
Support	$0
Total	$1545.23

December’s expenses were higher than normal due to having to make a payment to the visa agency that is helping with my wife’s visa application.

Entertainment expense was for one month Amazon Prime subscription, one month Hulu, and a couple visits to the movies.

Rent was $116.18 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

My transportation expense was only $4.88 for a tank of gas and $4.79 for local transportation. It doesn’t take much to fill up my wife’s motorbike’s gas tank.

My food expense was $241.14 That is divided between $88.36 for groceries and $152.78 for restaurants. That is reasonable since it is for 2 people and we eat out almost every day. I expect this month’s expense will be about the same.

I paid $7.13 for one month of Thai phone service. This month I’ll pay the same amount for another month of service.

Utilities came in at $26.72. This was for electric and water for our Chiang Mai apartment. My mom paid for electric and water for my U.S. residence as a Christmas present.

The household expense was for gifts, deodorant, tp, a haircut, toothpaste, 2 power strips and some other miscellaneous items. This should be slightly lower this month.

Travel expense included $44.79 for a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, $5.60 in taxes and fees on an award ticket from LAX to Springfield, MO and $21.79 to select my seat and get a meal on my Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Tokyo. I also paid $95 for my Chase Sapphire card annual fee, $1.43 for a train from the Taipei airport to my hotel and back, and $3.24 in currency exchange fees.

I provided $0 of support to my wife. When I’m staying with my wife in Thailand any money I provide is accounted for in the appropriate category rather than using the generic support category.

The Visa category expense was $792 for a second and final payment to the visa agency. A small amount of that was for getting a certified copy of a document here in Thailand that is needed for the visa application.

This month’s expenses should be lower since there won’t be a large visa expense. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for November.

Interest	$162.09
Dividends	$22.62
Job	$158.21
Cash Back	$76.06
Amazon Merch	$8.64
Mystery Shop	$22
Ebay	$106.74
Other Selling	$21.09
Surveys	$10
Total	$587.45

November was not a good income month as my job didn’t have any work for me all month. When I return from Thailand I will try to find another job with more reliable work.

Dividend income came in at $22.62

Interest income was $162.09. This was helped by moving some money to a slightly higher interest paying account.

I received $76.06 in cash back.

I received $8.64 from Amazon Merch. It isn’t much but since it is all passive income now it is still a good deal.

I made $158.21 in job income. My project ended during the last part of October and I didn’t get another project in November.

I made $22 from mystery shopping. I also got a free meal. I did a lot more mystery shopping in November which will be reflected in December’s income.

I made $106.74 from eBay and $21.09 from other selling.

I made $10 from surveys. I did a lot more surveys in November, but I’m not counting them as income until I cash them out this month.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for November.

Household	$23.33
Mortgage/Apt	$115
Utilities	$157.57
Entertainment	$19.54
Transportation	$130.85
Food	$64.25
Phone	$0
Health	$0
Visa	$445
Travel	$214.32
Support	$318.98
Total	$1488.84

November’s expenses were a little higher than normal. That was to be expected after a couple of months of unusually low expenses.

Entertainment expense was for one month Amazon Prime subscription, one month Hulu, one month Paramount Plus, and a lottery ticket.

Rent was $115 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

My only transportation expense was $130.85 for gas. I did a lot of driving during the month, but the lower gas prices kept this expense at a reasonable level.

My food expense was $64.25 That is divided between $25.54 for groceries and $38.71 for restaurants. I doubt I’ll ever get my food expense that low again. I managed to have fast food or takeout 20 times for $38.71. That comes out to $1.94 a meal. I took advantage of some free gift cards, a couple of half price gift cards, and lots of other deals to get my food so cheap.

I didn’t have a phone bill in November. This month I will get Thai phone service so I will have a small phone bill.

Utilities came in at $157.57. 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 to take advantage of an Amex $5 back on $50+ offer.

The household expense was for flossers, socks, clips, and a document scan.

Travel expense included $99 for an American Airlines card annual fee. $44.32 in taxes and fees on an award ticket from Japan to LAX. I also paid $40 for my Thai visa and $31 for travel insurance.

I provided $318.98 of support to my wife. She was out of work for a few days and she also needed to get her phone repaired so this expense was higher than usual.

The Visa category expense was $445 for two fees I paid to the U.S. government for my wife’s visa to come to the United States. We are slowly making progress. I’m hopeful she will be here by spring of next year.

This month’s expenses will probably be about the same. Since I will be traveling, and will maybe have to pay more on my wife’s visa it is hard to predict how much I will spend.

How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for October.

Interest	$149.56
Dividends	$21.71
Job	$1785.17
Cash Back	$74.30
Amazon Merch	$8.30
Bank Bonus	$500
Ebay	$236.91
Other Selling	$228.10
Surveys	$10.90
Total	$3014.95

October was a good income month as I was rehired at my job and had some other good boosts to my income.

Dividend income came in at $21.71.

Interest income was $149.56. This was helped by some money that was in a non-interest paying account for bank bonus purposes was moved to an interest paying account and moving some other money to a slightly higher interest paying account.

I received $74.30 in cash back.

I received $8.30 from Amazon Merch. It isn’t much but since it is all passive income now it is still a good deal.

I made $1785.17 in job income. My project ended during the last part of October. I’m hoping I’ll have another project this month.

I made $500 from a bank bonus. I need to do more of these. They’re a pretty easy source of extra income.

I made $236.91 from eBay and $228.10 from other selling. Most of the other selling money came from a garage sale.

I made $10.90 from surveys. I should do more surveys this month since I’m not currently employed.

How was your month?

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?