Month: December 2018

Here’s every dollar I spent in 2018:

Rent – $7,804 total, $650 per month (up from $4,874 in 2017, a $2,930 increase)

I went from having 4 roommates in the beginning of the year to 3 roommates in May and June, then to 1 roommate in a new apartment in downtown Dallas in July. While paying twice as much rent downtown is not fun, my quality of life has increased greatly due to the time and freedom that comes with a 10 minute commute. This expense will increase in 2019 as I plan to live downtown the whole year.

Cell Phone – $140 total, $12 per month (down from $152 in 2017, a $12 decrease)

I used the service provider TPO for the last three years, but unfortunately they are discontinuing their U.S. operations. I have been researching new carriers with phone plans in the $10-15 per month range, and will update you when I find one I enjoy and would recommend. Until then I’ll take advantage of the two free months of service TPO gave me for ending my service (hence the $0 for December’s phone bill).

Groceries – $1,377 total, $115 per month (down from $1,475 in 2017, a $98 decrease)

I’m still eating truckloads of rice, lentils, beans, vegetables and nuts, consuming copious amounts of delicious and healthy food for less than $4 per day. The decrease from 2017 may be due to increased time traveling this year (in Europe many of my meals were prepared for me by my amazing friends), more meals at restaurants, and more meals paid for by work/at work related activities.

Dine Out – $319 total, $27 per month (up from $147 in 2017, a $172 increase)

Dine out expenses more than doubled this year, which was a deliberate move to spend more time with friends (see my post on Buying Happiness) and be more generous about paying for other people. I did stress a bit about the increased expenses, but looking back on the year the extra $172 for spending time with great people and having interesting experiences was money well spent. This number may increase in 2019 (although not by too much :P).

Travel – $1,236 total, $103 per month (up from $948 in 2017, a $288 increase)

My 3 week trip to Europe accounts for most of the $1,200 I spent on travel this year, with a few flights to Minnesota and one to Denver providing the balance. This number was kept a few hundred dollars lower than it should be as I volunteered to fly out one day later on one of my Minnesota trips and received travel credit from the airline which reduced the cost of my last two trips of the year.

I expect to spend less in 2019 on travel as it will be my first full year of full time work, but I said the same thing a year ago about 2018 so we’ll see!

Transportation – $100 total, $8 per month (down from ~$450 last year, but I didn’t track transportation as its own category then)

This figure is made up of ~$40 for tubes, one tire and a pump for my bike, ~$40 for gas to people who gave me car rides, and ~$20 for one Lyft ride. This ridiculously low number of $8 per month is possible thanks to my bike and the public transportation system in Dallas (which either school or my employer has always paid for). I’m a fan of living close to work/groceries/friends, which reduces my reliance on owning a vehicle.

Other – $2,258 total, $188 per month (up from $1,103 in 2017, a $1,155 increase)

Most of my miscellaneous expenses this year were due to buying professional clothes and having them tailored (~$850, whoa that was higher than I thought it was), wedding/graduation/thank you/baby/Christmas gifts (~$400), a new guitar (~$300), experiences such as concerts/museums/comedy shows (~$200), and apartment furniture/household items (~$150).

I expect this category to decrease in 2019 as most of my professional wardrobe will last for a few years, and the guitar and apartment expenses will not be recurring.

TOTAL – $13,234 for the year, $1,103 per month (up from $8,700 in 2017, a $4,534 increase)

The $4,500 increase from 2017 to 2018 came from rent (~$3,000 increase) and other expenses (~$1,100 increase). Rent will continue to increase in 2019, and should end up being around $10,000 for the year or ~$830 per month. I expect my total spending for 2019 to be around $14,000 – $16,000.

As we enter a new year, this is a perfect time to start tracking your own spending and start investing (if you haven’t started already). Let me know if I can help in any way, or if you have any questions or comments on my spending for the year. Thanks for reading, and best of luck in 2019!

Related posts:

My Personal Spending Report for 2017

Why I Don’t Use a Budget

How to Eat Like a Superathlete on $130 a Month

Preparation

#MoneyGoals

In December, the S&P 500 (an index which tracks 500 of the largest companies in the U.S.) declined over 12%, and if you have been watching your investments, you’ve most likely seen their value go down by hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

No one enjoys watching their investments lose value, and many people will sell their stocks and pull their money out to stop the bleeding. This is the last thing long term investors like you and I should do.

Imagine you bought 10 apple trees for $100 apiece. You sell the apples they produce every year for $5 of income per tree, and you plan to sell your apple tree farm in 40 years for $1,000 per tree. Six months after you buy your apple trees, you hear that the price of a new tree has dropped to $50.

While disappointed that you didn’t buy your trees for $50 each, you won’t dig up your $100 trees and go sell them for $50 (which is what people who sell their investments when the stock market goes down essentially do). Instead, you should go buy more $50 trees because you know they will still make $5 per year and will be worth $1,000 apiece in 40 years.

Likewise, when the stock market goes down it represents a sale for long term investors. Similar to the hypothetical apple tree farm, our investments will still produce income every year (in the form of dividends) and will still be much more valuable decades down the road.

So go buy yourself some shares of VTI, and save 12% during the stock market’s holiday sale!

#MoneyGoals

 

(Pictured: Transition defense provided by Sammy J and I. January, 2014)