Since 2014, I have been tracking my monthly income and expenses. You can see a breakdown of every penny I earn and spend. For perspective, this budget is for a household of two in a small US city. By documenting my journey, I aim to demonstrate the feasibility of saving a significant portion of your income and provide some ideas and inspirations for your own budget.
Below is my income and expenses for January 2016. You can see all my monthly budgets here.
Income
Dividend income was lower this month compared to last, but represents +34% yoy. Here is a chart of my dividend income by month for the past 12 months:
Wages are about 1% higher compared to last year.
Expense
As mentioned last month, student loan repayment went up next month due to increase in interest rate. Cell phone also went up, as I lost my cell phone and spent $30 to buy a new one from freedompop. Going forward, my cell phone monthly expense should go down by $5, as my plan is now free compared to $5 per month with my old carrier. Laundry expenses went up this month due to increased washing load for winter clothing.
Savings
My after tax saving rate was 91.75% for the month of January, which is a great start. I expect to meet or exceed my 90% savings goal this year.
Below is my income and expenses for January 2016. You can see all my monthly budgets here.
| Jan 2016 | |
| Income | |
| Wages | $8,497.42 |
| Dividends | $605.61 |
| Other Income | $1,056.05 |
| Total Income | $10,159.08 |
| Expense | |
| Federal Tax | $309.73 |
| Federal Tax Pmt/(Refund) | |
| FICA-SS | $360.77 |
| FICA-Medicare | $84.37 |
| Rent | $450.00 |
| Student loan repayment | $159.53 |
| Grocery | $65.09 |
| Cell phone | $47.83 |
| Electric | $36.39 |
| Clothing/laundry | $14.50 |
| Amazon sale costs | $2.72 |
| Total Expense | $1,530.93 |
| Ex-Tax Total Expense | $776.06 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | $8,628.15 |
| Before Tax Saving Rate | 84.93% |
| After Tax Saving Rate | 91.75% |
Income
Dividend income was lower this month compared to last, but represents +34% yoy. Here is a chart of my dividend income by month for the past 12 months:
Wages are about 1% higher compared to last year.
Expense
As mentioned last month, student loan repayment went up next month due to increase in interest rate. Cell phone also went up, as I lost my cell phone and spent $30 to buy a new one from freedompop. Going forward, my cell phone monthly expense should go down by $5, as my plan is now free compared to $5 per month with my old carrier. Laundry expenses went up this month due to increased washing load for winter clothing.
Savings
My after tax saving rate was 91.75% for the month of January, which is a great start. I expect to meet or exceed my 90% savings goal this year.
How's your budget? Did you save as much as you wanted to? On track to meet your savings goals for the year?
Thanks for reading.
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