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 are my income and expenses for August 2017. You can see all my monthly budgets here.
Income
Wages remain my primary source of income by far. Dividend income was above $1k, always a good thing.
Here is a chart of my dividend income by month for the past 13 months:
Total dividends for the trailing twelve months: $15,003.79, up 16.8% from $12,851.65 a year ago.
Expense
Car insurance premium of $126.97 for 6 months was paid this month. My cell phone expense was higher by $30 this month because I bought another cell phone, a Moto E 2nd Gen, from Freedompop, as the one I last bought from them 18 months ago suffers from rapid battery depletion. The new cell phone's battery lasts much longer and gives me another 1GB free data per month. All other expenses this month were typical recurring expenses.
Food expense of $74.53 is lower this month compared to $105.47 last month. My trailing 12-month average $93.25. PassiveIncomeDude had asked before how my food expense could be so low. There is really no secret and anyone can do it. I never eat out. I buy grocery in bulk and on sale. My three main foods are oatmeal ($2.40 per 42-oz box), cabbage ($0.49/lb), and beans ($0.80/lb dry weight). Cheap and healthy. If I buy nothing else, my monthly food expense could be even lower. Now you all know how I do it, you can cut your monthly food expense too!
Total expenses for the trailing twelve months: $9,949.02, up 2.59% from $9,697.71 a year ago.
Dividend to expense coverage ratio = 1.51, which sets a new high!
Savings
My after tax saving rate was 92.82% for the month of August 2017, exceeding my 90% saving rate target. I am optimistic that my saving rate will average above 90% for the remainder of the year.
Below are my income and expenses for August 2017. You can see all my monthly budgets here.
Income
Wages remain my primary source of income by far. Dividend income was above $1k, always a good thing.
Here is a chart of my dividend income by month for the past 13 months:
Total dividends for the trailing twelve months: $15,003.79, up 16.8% from $12,851.65 a year ago.
Expense
Car insurance premium of $126.97 for 6 months was paid this month. My cell phone expense was higher by $30 this month because I bought another cell phone, a Moto E 2nd Gen, from Freedompop, as the one I last bought from them 18 months ago suffers from rapid battery depletion. The new cell phone's battery lasts much longer and gives me another 1GB free data per month. All other expenses this month were typical recurring expenses.
Food expense of $74.53 is lower this month compared to $105.47 last month. My trailing 12-month average $93.25. PassiveIncomeDude had asked before how my food expense could be so low. There is really no secret and anyone can do it. I never eat out. I buy grocery in bulk and on sale. My three main foods are oatmeal ($2.40 per 42-oz box), cabbage ($0.49/lb), and beans ($0.80/lb dry weight). Cheap and healthy. If I buy nothing else, my monthly food expense could be even lower. Now you all know how I do it, you can cut your monthly food expense too!
Total expenses for the trailing twelve months: $9,949.02, up 2.59% from $9,697.71 a year ago.
Dividend to expense coverage ratio = 1.51, which sets a new high!
Savings
My after tax saving rate was 92.82% for the month of August 2017, exceeding my 90% saving rate target. I am optimistic that my saving rate will average above 90% for the remainder of the year.
Haha thanks for the mention! I'm glad we got to see and learn a little more about how you do it, so thank you for sharing! My followup question would be - are those the only three things you eat? And if not, then what % of the time or meals are those the only three?
ReplyDeleteThanks again! And great job!
Haha, no problem! These three are what I eat the most, but they are not the only things I eat. I can't say what % because I haven't been tracking, but it is fair to say they are present in most meals. The point is that it is entirely doable to keep food expenses down. Some people can even forage wild plants depending on where they live. That would be the ultimate penny pincer.
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