Welcome to the July 2022 Income/Spending Review. I love reading income reports and seeing how other people made money, spent money, and most of all– I love finding new tips/tricks they employed that I can borrow to do things more efficiently in my own life. I know a lot of bloggers don’t like to share dollar specifics but I think the specifics are the most inspiring parts; so here we go!
Household: 5 residents– 2 adults (1 full time worker/gig worker, 1 full disability benefits recipient, 1 car, mortgaged single family house), 3 lazy, do-nothing cute furries 😉
Why we’re sharing a car right now
Money made:
Company paychecks: $1066 each x 2 = $2132.00 (this is after IRA contributions that match the company max contribution, an additional amount deducted for taxes to make sure my side gigs don’t surprise me with a payment at tax time, and health insurance deductions)
Sales commission check for July: $2594 (paid when I reach at least 90% of my sales goal for the previous month plus other monthly contests/incentives. This is not guaranteed and so I do not count it until I have met my goal and also why I continue to side gig)
Side gig income June: $500.28 (teaching English online, Doordash, Dog sitting/walking, Mturk surveys)
(Teaching: $251, Mturk Surveys: $46.28, Dog sitting/check ins: $203)
I taught more classes and picked up a new student this month, said yes to a couple private dog sitting clients and was a little more consistent with surveys near the end of the month)
Total: $4346.98
Money Spent
- Car Insurance: $104.00
I actually paid this in full at the beginning of the 6-month period but pay myself back by transferring the monthly price back to my savings - Hybrid car savings: $400/$400
- House fund: $50 transfer to this sinking fund (held in Qapital goal)
- Internet: $70/$70
- Dogs: $110/$110
Right on the money this month - Groceries: $272.26/$340 +$15 stock up fund=$355 ($67.74 under this month). I also roll over $15 into a stock up fund every month for meat purchases so it doesn’t blow our monthly budget. Similar strategy for household items, below.
- Household items: $45.00 transfer to stock up fund
I have switched to a quarterly buy plan so that I can buy bigger packs of items that will last us 3 months). I actually restocked on our quarterly household supplies this month (splitting the purchases between Walmart & Target where it was cheaper and spent $120 of this fund and will roll over the extra $15 for the next stock up) - Gas: $34.47/$100
$65.53 under for July. I only filled the tank once and it wasn’t a full fill up. I got gas when the tank was down to 1/4 tank to ease some of the pain at the pump. - Unplanned/spontaneous spending: $300/300
It looked like I was going to have about $30 leftover in this fund this month, but a last minute vet need used up the last of it in the last couple days of the month. - Streaming/prime membership: $18
My share of family plans - Personal/fun spending: $100/$100
This is anything I just want for the joy of it rather than need. I also list personal items that are only for me that no one else uses (perfume, deoderant, etc.)
Total spending: $1518.73
Money made-money spent= $2828.25
Plans for the extra
At this point, I look at what I have leftover (If I was successful in meeting my sales goal, it’s usually a decent number to work with) and make a list of where to transfer it.
Every month I make these savings transfers and then focus on big goals with what remains.
- Savings: $150 (this goes into my emergency fund that is already funded, so it’s just adding a little to it)
- Traditional IRA: $100 (I have a Roth through my employer and regular IRA in a Betterment account. I like having a mix of both and get a tax break for these contributions)
- Gift fund: $135 (Not having to stress about gift giving occasions is one of the best things I’ve ever done)
- Taxes: $100 (I do gig work every month and never want to owe Uncle Sam at tax time. Some months I make more than others but I save this every month just in case. Last year I didn’t owe anything and was able to add this $1200 to my tax refund transfer to my savings)
I am currently working towards a few different, more immediate goals than FI. I met my goal of $5k in dividend stocks for 2022 so I will likely pivot focus for now because I have more pressing items to finish up in 2022 and then focus solely on dividend investing in 2023
- Hybrid car purchase end of 2022 – $2615
I’m devoting most of my funds to the car savings fund for the rest of this year unless something urgent comes up. I would like to have enough cash in hand to purchase a new Prius during Q1 of 2023. I am currently at $12,301 (almost halfway!)
($150 rerouted emergency fund savings+$400 car payment savings in budget+leftover gas budget+$2000) - Mint Mobile contract renewal – $402
We’ve been using Mint for a year now and it’s time to renew. This time last year, I paid $402.00 for both of us to have unlimited talk/text/4gb per month each for the entire year (comes out to about $34 bucks per month if you like to think in terms of monthly payments but if you pay monthly, it is not quite as cheap as this). - Succulent nursery- $100
One of my current projects is building a succulent nursery. I plan to seek out more diversity in the plants I have as well as build a DIY greenhouse for them in the back yard. - Professional Research tools- $100 (blogging research tool, Etsy research tool, Pinterest guide)
- Miscellaneous expenses from end of July: $50.00
- Unplanned $442
I’ve learned that one of the best ways to embrace the living/doing part of life is to leave a little unaccounted for so that you can say yes to opportunities. If such an occasion arises, I don’t have to scramble for the funds (once I’ve transferred into goals/savings, that money is gone and does not come back out). If, at the end of August, nothing worthwhile presented itself, I will transfer this $442 to whichever goal is priority (probably a split between the succulent shop and the car savings fund).
If you made it to the end, thank you! I love posts like this and hope that in sharing my strategies, you were able to pick up a tip or two that will help you towards your goals. Onto August!