November Expenses – $1488.84

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?

October Income – $3014.95

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?

October Expenses – $692.68

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?

September Income – $170.01

Here is a breakdown of my income for September.

Interest$129
Dividends$19.52
Job$0
Cash Back$16.60
Amazon Merch$4.89
Total$170.01

September was a very low-income month due to not having any job income during the month.

Dividend income came in at $19.52

Interest income was $29. The high interest rates make for a nice return on my money.

I received $16.60 in cash back.

I received $4.89 from Amazon Merch. It isn’t much but since it is all passive income now it is still a good deal.

I made $0 in job income. I’m now back at work so I’ll have job income this month.

How was your month?

September Expenses – $828.83

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September.

Household$60.57
Mortgage/Apt$111.20
Utilities$264.33
Entertainment$29.60
Transportation$45.66
Food$189.48
Phone$7.17
Health$10.70
Travel$54.52
Support$55.60
Total$828.83

September’s expenses were unusually low.

Entertainment expense was for an Amazon Prime subscription, one month Thailand Netflix, one month Peacock TV, a Powerball ticket, and a movie rental. In Thailand, I can get Netflix for only $4.88 a month and it still works when I return to the U.S.

Rent was $111.20 for our apartment in Chiang Mai.

My only transportation expense was $45.66 for gas,

My food expense was $189.48. That is divided between $64.70 for groceries and $124.78 for restaurants. This expense will go down slightly this month.

My phone bill was $7.17 for one month of service in Thailand. I won’t have a phone bill this month.

Utilities came in at $264.33. This was for electric, water, and internet at my U.S. residence and water and electric in Chiang Mai.

The household expense was for a haircut, batteries, deodorant, headphones, paper towels and various other household items.

Travel expense included $13.90 for a hotel in Bangkok. It also included $9.17 for a taxi to and from the Bangkok airport, $22.04 for a train ticket from Narita to downtown Tokyo, and $7.41 for a bus to Haneda airport.

I provided $55.60 of support to my wife.

This month’s expenses will probably be a little higher since it is difficult to keep expenses that low.

How was your month?