Hey everybody! Hope you had a pleasant weekend, or Thanksgiving holiday, for my American readers. I haven’t updated the blog much because of the holiday, but I’m officially back! Let’s ease back into things with my November 2014 income/expenses repor .
After my standard pre-tax 401(k) contribution and various deductions, my net take-home pay was $5,053.30.
I invested $3,000 this month, all of which went into Cummins Inc (CMI). I also placed $500 in my savings account to add to my cash cushion.
My expenses for the month came out to $1,816.77. It can be broken down as follows:
- Rent: $935.00
- Bills: $111.32
- Includes: cell phone, electric, gas, cable, and my FAST Graphs subscription
- Car maintenance: $40.07
- Gas: $0.00
- Groceries: $349.08
- Medical expenses: $59.83
- Discretionary expenses: $321.47
- Restaurants/eating out: $36.23
- Music: $50.45
- Bonsai: $67.58
- Everything else: $167.21
My thoughts:
Wow, this was a great month for me! And a little interesting too. I started the month off right by not having a phone bill to pay. If you remember, I had to pay that last month due to some international roaming charges. I somehow managed to go the whole month without filling up for gas, which is weird for me. Got lucky that I didn’t have any business trips or vacations to go on, so my fuel expenses were nil.
I did have some small discretionary purchases which added up. The first one was music. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I paid for music! I’m lucky that my favorite genres are usually freely available online. I love listening to dub and ragga jungle mostly. Both of those genres are made for remixes and unknown producers to put their work online. There is a lot of good music out there, and most of it is free!
Anyway, I discovered a new band called Gentleman’s Dub Club, and I really like their FOURtyFOUR and Open Your Eyes albums. So to support them, I bought their entire discography. That’s always been my philosophy with music. I won’t pay for it unless I really like it. If I do, I will buy it as a show of support and encouragement, so they keep producing more. That way, I support the good musicians while ignoring the low-quality ones. Side note: if you’re interested in broadening your musical horizons, here’s a good source for ragga jungle remixes.
The other major discretionary purchase was a bonsai tree. Yeah, I love growing things, as you’re probably aware! Runs in my family; my grandmother also has a huge garden at her house. Since I live in an apartment, I can’t grow too much, so I focus on bonsai and carnivorous plants. This month, I purchased a 9-year-old Japanese Kingsville Boxwood. Very pretty tree, but a bit shell shocked from being shipped in freezing weather. Seems to be recuperating nicely though! I’ll write an article on that in time.
Despite those minor discretionary purchases, I managed to save 64.05% of my income this month. That is an insane number, and I’ve very proud of myself!
Separately, my dividend income for the month was $148.00. Pretty low, but November isn’t a high-payout month for me, so it’s expected.
How was your month? Did you meet your target savings rate?
Disclosure: Long CMI
My Income/Expenses archive page has been updated accordingly. Image source is available here.
14 Comments
DD,
Congrats on an excellent month. I consider a savings rate above 60% as excellent. That’s extremely difficult to attain on a regular basis, so you should definitely be proud of yourself. Keep it up!
Great month of dividend income as well. November isn’t a huge month for some of us, but that’s still capital you didn’t have to work for and can freely reinvest. Keeps the snowball moving along until you hit a patch of serious snow (like in December).
Best regards.
Dividend Mantra recently posted…Freedom Fund Update – December 2014
Thanks! Yeah, although this month’s dividend income isn’t amazing, it still could pay for my cable, phone, gas (not the car kind), AND FAST Graphs subscription. That is a wonderful feeling right there, knowing that I no longer need to work for those, even on a “bad” month.
Wow great savings rate. Your expenses is quite low compared to your large take home pay. You are living well within your means and then some.
Good Day and Grind On!
Asset Grinder recently posted…November 2014 Dividend , Options , Adsense and Interest monthly report
Yeah, I’m blessed with both a high income and low expenses. Makes for a great savings rate and lots of investments. Thanks for stopping by!
Great month! Your expenses are definitely low compare to your overall income. Hopefully I can get my income to that level soon. Keep it up! Cheers.
Henry – Living At Home recently posted…Net Worth Update – November 2014
All in time
I’m definitely lucky. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m envious with that savings rate! Overall, a fantastic month and unique with the music choices and the bonsai tree! I look forward to the article about the bonsai for sure. Thanks for sharing your monthly expenses with us.
Special Agent Dividend recently posted…Watchlist for December Stock Purchases
Thanks! Sometime I feel a bit guilty for spending on things that aren’t essential, but then I realize I’m not buying things for the hell of it. It’s not like I’m buying $100 shirts and new TVs every month, just for the sake of having new Shiny Things; what I buy actually is meaningful to me and makes me happy. Heh, I will write it up soon.
Still looking rock solid, DD! That his definitely a healthy income. It blows my mind how you keep your bills so low…. Keep it up!
Clay recently posted…Book Review: The Most Important Thing
Heh, the joys of being young and in a long-distance relationship. Might as well put away as much as I can while I”m still young, relatively free of obligations, and able. Thanks for stopping by!
Way to go on your savings rate! Definitely something to proud of!
Nick Brigman recently posted…Goal Complete: Pay Off Student Loan
Thanks!
Way to go Dividend Developer…50% is a nice goal to have but to reach 64% is just awesome! Keep up the great work. At your rate, you should continue to see growth and compounding at astounding rates.
Wishing you nothing but success my friend. AFFJ
Yes, I’m very happy with that! Thanks for the well wishes!