Expense/Income Tracking

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for January.

Household	$469.81
Mortgage/Apt	$115
Utilities	$114.38
Entertainment	$23.86
Transportation	$1.71
Food	$259.65
Phone	$9.95
Health	$129.39
Travel	$428.07
Support	$115
Total	$1666.82

January’s expenses were a little high, mainly due to having to pay my annual bar fee of $410.

Entertainment expense was for one month Amazon Prime subscription, one month Hulu, one month of Peacock and a visit to the movies.

Rent was $115 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

My transportation expense was only $1.71 for a couple of songthaew rides.

My food expense was $259.65 That is divided between $125.23 for groceries and $134.42 for restaurants. This expense will be much lower this month since I’ll only be buying food for myself.

I paid $9.95 for a replacement sim card. I lost my US sim card when switching from my Thai phone service.

Utilities came in at $114.38. This was for electric and internet in the U.S.

The household expense was mainly for my annual bar fee, but it also included a haircut, a gift, and some household items.

Travel expense included $214.62 for 2 domestic round-trip tickets in Thailand. I paid $16.54 for a Bangkok hotel. And I paid $196.91 for some long-distance taxi rides and some shorter transit rides.

I provided $115 of support to my wife.

This month’s expenses should be lower since I’m not expecting any large expenses other than my car insurance renewal. How was your month?

Here is a breakdown of my income for December.

Interest	$174.51
Dividends	$20.47
Job	$22.09
Cash Back	$9.60
Amazon Merch	$0
Mystery Shop	$220
Ebay	$0
Other Selling	$22.42
Surveys	$39.47
Total	$508.56

December was not a good income month since I was in Thailand and unavailable for work most of the month.

Dividend income came in at $20.47.

Interest income was $174.51.

I received $9.60 in cash back.

I made $22.09 in job income. That was the payout of my PTO. I’ll try to line up a job for when I return to the U.S. Since I won’t get back until January 29th, I won’t get paid this month even if I am able to work the last couple days of the month.

I made $220 from mystery shopping. I also got a free meal. They offered me increased pay to do some shops that were about to miss their deadline so I completed some shops that wouldn’t normally be worthwhile.

I made $21.09 from other selling.

I made $39.47 from surveys. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to complete the surveys when I’m in Thailand. I still need something to make income while here in Thailand. It may not matter now since my wife should be coming to the U.S. in the next few months.

Although, I won’t have any job income this month will be a better income month due to cashing in a couple of I-bonds. I’m hoping I will have more income than expenses this month.

How was your month?

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?