Income & Expenses For March 2017

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 March 2017. You can see all my monthly budgets here.

	Mar 2017
Income
Wages	$10,296.36
Dividends	$2,190.97
Other Income	$93.86
Total Income	$12,581.19
Expense
Federal Income Tax	$735.83
Federal Tax Pmt/(Refund)
FICA-SS	$427.02
FICA-Medicare	$99.87
Housing	$450.00
Student loan repayment	$160.47
Food	$87.99
Cell phone	$12.84
Electric	$42.72
Clothing/laundry	$8.00
Total Expense	$2,024.74
Ex-Tax Total Expense	$762.02
Surplus/(Deficit)	$10,556.46
Before Tax Saving Rate	83.91%
After Tax Saving Rate	93.27%

Income
Wages remain my primary source of income by far.  Dividend income reached a new all-time high this month, in reversal to last month's 3-year low.

Here is a chart of my dividend income by month for the past 13 months:

Total dividends for the trailing twelve months: $13,959.85, up 14% from $12,294.59 last year.

Expense
Expenses were all typical recurring expenses this month. Electric was slightly higher than norm at $42.72, not significantly out of the ordinary though.

Total expenses for the trailing twelve months: $10,271.28.
Dividend to expense coverage ratio = 1.36.

Savings
My after tax saving rate was 93.27% for the month of March 2017, back above my 90% saving rate target. I am optimistic that my saving rate will average above 90% for the remainder of the year.

Portfolio Update March 2017

The time has come for my monthly portfolio update. At the end of every month, I will update my portfolio and comment on any changes. I do that for accountability and also so you may glean some ideas on how I allocate my capital. You have the opportunity to learn from what I do well, so you can do the same, as well as what I do poorly, so you will not have to repeat my mistakes.

Follow my real-time portfolio here. Below is a snapshot of my stocks and ETFs portfolio as of 3/31/17:

Ticker	Price	Shares Held	Cost Basis	Total Invested	Market Value	G/L ($)	G/L (%)	Weight
Total	$41.37	18181.56083	$33.29	$605,237.21	$752,150.33	$146,913.11	24.27%	100.00%
BDX	$183.44	169.503183	$84.36	$14,300.00	$31,093.66	$16,793.66	117.44%	4.13%
VWO	$39.72	733.18015	$39.40	$28,885.07	$29,121.92	$236.85	0.82%	3.87%
AFL	$72.42	308.0023	$48.05	$14,800.00	$22,305.53	$7,505.53	50.71%	2.97%
XOM	$82.01	263.761838	$80.70	$21,284.51	$21,631.11	$346.60	1.63%	2.88%
EMR	$59.86	360.667439	$50.83	$18,331.98	$21,589.55	$3,257.57	17.77%	2.87%
EXC	$35.98	567.834	$30.46	$17,296.43	$20,430.67	$3,134.24	18.12%	2.72%
BRK.B	$166.68	91.0092	$121.57	$11,064.20	$15,169.41	$4,105.21	37.10%	2.02%
KO	$42.44	344.0515	$41.55	$14,295.00	$14,601.55	$306.55	2.14%	1.94%
NSC	$111.97	129.182	$76.25	$9,850.00	$14,464.51	$4,614.51	46.85%	1.92%
WMT	$72.08	195.2793	$66.58	$13,001.10	$14,075.73	$1,074.63	8.27%	1.87%
PG	$89.85	153.38	$69.87	$10,715.96	$13,781.19	$3,065.23	28.60%	1.83%
BMTC	$39.50	326.882644	$23.56	$7,700.00	$12,911.86	$5,211.86	67.69%	1.72%
VFC	$54.97	227.6187	$57.55	$13,100.00	$12,512.20	-$587.80	-4.49%	1.66%
LMT	$267.60	44.233058	$96.91	$4,286.67	$11,836.77	$7,550.10	176.13%	1.57%
SPGI	$130.74	89.647935	$45.73	$4,100.00	$11,720.57	$7,620.57	185.87%	1.56%
GILD	$67.92	166	$76.34	$12,672.24	$11,274.72	-$1,397.52	-11.03%	1.50%
MOCO	$21.75	517.375	$13.82	$7,150.00	$11,252.91	$4,102.91	57.38%	1.50%
UL	$49.34	227.5219	$41.75	$9,500.00	$11,225.93	$1,725.93	18.17%	1.49%
NKE	$55.73	197.4214	$51.16	$10,100.00	$11,002.29	$902.29	8.93%	1.46%
AZO	$723.05	15	$759.94	$11,399.08	$10,845.75	-$553.33	-4.85%	1.44%
AZN	$31.14	344	$22.13	$7,613.49	$10,712.16	$3,098.67	40.70%	1.42%
MSFT	$65.86	145.9167	$39.93	$5,827.06	$9,610.07	$3,783.01	64.92%	1.28%
SON	$52.92	180.275	$35.22	$6,350.00	$9,540.15	$3,190.15	50.24%	1.27%
CVX	$107.37	88	$95.19	$8,376.87	$9,448.56	$1,071.69	12.79%	1.26%
MCD	$129.61	70.92	$103.64	$7,350.00	$9,191.94	$1,841.94	25.06%	1.22%
YORW	$35.05	261.298	$21.24	$5,550.00	$9,158.49	$3,608.49	65.02%	1.22%
INTC	$36.07	243.1592	$27.28	$6,632.56	$8,770.75	$2,138.19	32.24%	1.17%
VIAB	$46.62	177.8076	$41.06	$7,300.00	$8,289.39	$989.39	13.55%	1.10%
PEP	$111.86	72.127668	$80.41	$5,800.00	$8,068.20	$2,268.20	39.11%	1.07%
ESLT	$113.65	70	$36.86	$2,580.05	$7,955.50	$5,375.45	208.35%	1.06%
MAT	$25.61	307.5679	$29.26	$9,000.00	$7,876.81	-$1,123.19	-12.48%	1.05%
T	$41.55	187	$33.89	$6,336.85	$7,769.85	$1,433.00	22.61%	1.03%
HCP	$31.28	245	$35.65	$8,734.17	$7,663.60	-$1,070.57	-12.26%	1.02%
ED	$77.66	98	$70.40	$6,899.44	$7,610.68	$711.24	10.31%	1.01%
ABBV	$65.16	114	$61.84	$7,050.14	$7,428.24	$378.10	5.36%	0.99%
DIS	$113.39	65.4646	$95.47	$6,250.00	$7,423.03	$1,173.03	18.77%	0.99%
BUD	$109.76	67.6069	$108.72	$7,350.00	$7,420.53	$70.53	0.96%	0.99%
KMB	$131.63	56	$115.30	$6,456.80	$7,371.28	$914.48	14.16%	0.98%
PEG	$44.35	148.004	$30.07	$4,450.00	$6,563.98	$2,113.98	47.51%	0.87%
VMI	$155.50	41.408	$119.54	$4,950.00	$6,438.94	$1,488.94	30.08%	0.86%
BEN	$42.14	150	$35.26	$5,289.56	$6,321.00	$1,031.44	19.50%	0.84%
OGZPY	$4.49	1390.2431	$6.09	$8,464.47	$6,242.19	-$2,222.28	-26.25%	0.83%
RL	$81.62	76.254	$90.81	$6,924.41	$6,223.85	-$700.56	-10.12%	0.83%
NVS	$74.27	81.969	$75.64	$6,200.00	$6,087.84	-$112.16	-1.81%	0.81%
SRCL	$82.89	72	$82.12	$5,912.79	$5,968.08	$55.29	0.94%	0.79%
DV	$35.45	167	$22.09	$3,688.64	$5,920.15	$2,231.51	60.50%	0.79%
UHS	$124.45	47	$122.89	$5,776.00	$5,849.15	$73.15	1.27%	0.78%
FOSL	$17.45	322	$24.72	$7,961.06	$5,618.90	-$2,342.16	-29.42%	0.75%
SNY	$45.25	124.17	$40.27	$5,000.00	$5,618.69	$618.69	12.37%	0.75%
SAN	$6.07	925	$6.78	$6,273.42	$5,614.75	-$658.67	-10.50%	0.75%
NVO	$34.28	163	$38.92	$6,344.74	$5,587.64	-$757.10	-11.93%	0.74%
VIG	$89.94	60	$59.80	$3,587.92	$5,396.40	$1,808.48	50.40%	0.72%
HPE	$23.70	220	$9.77	$2,150.40	$5,214.00	$3,063.60	142.47%	0.69%
BCR	$248.54	20.651628	$96.84	$2,000.00	$5,132.76	$3,132.76	156.64%	0.68%
CSX	$46.55	108	$21.04	$2,272.36	$5,027.40	$2,755.04	121.24%	0.67%
VEA	$39.30	126.78515	$31.06	$3,938.54	$4,982.66	$1,044.12	26.51%	0.66%
GPS	$24.29	200.5943	$20.94	$4,200.00	$4,872.44	$672.44	16.01%	0.65%
LUKOY	$53.06	89	$49.38	$4,395.19	$4,722.34	$327.15	7.44%	0.63%
FOX	$31.78	146.5179	$25.59	$3,750.00	$4,656.34	$906.34	24.17%	0.62%
CTSH	$59.52	75	$53.00	$3,975.00	$4,464.00	$489.00	12.30%	0.59%
CHL	$55.23	77.42	$47.44	$3,672.95	$4,275.91	$602.96	16.42%	0.57%
RBCAA	$34.39	118	$21.26	$2,508.83	$4,058.02	$1,549.19	61.75%	0.54%
SBRCY	$11.53	346	$6.18	$2,137.25	$3,989.38	$1,852.13	86.66%	0.53%
JNJ	$124.55	32	$61.42	$1,965.54	$3,985.60	$2,020.06	102.77%	0.53%
AAN	$29.74	133	$22.62	$3,008.06	$3,955.42	$947.36	31.49%	0.53%
HPQ	$17.88	220	$8.89	$1,956.29	$3,933.60	$1,977.31	101.07%	0.52%
GIS	$59.01	65.282	$38.30	$2,500.00	$3,852.29	$1,352.29	54.09%	0.51%
JOY	$28.25	136	$12.54	$1,705.04	$3,842.00	$2,136.96	125.33%	0.51%
K	$72.61	52.686	$50.30	$2,650.00	$3,825.53	$1,175.53	44.36%	0.51%
CVS	$78.50	48	$88.52	$4,248.81	$3,768.00	-$480.81	-11.32%	0.50%
DGS	$44.88	83.77	$44.07	$3,691.36	$3,759.60	$68.24	1.85%	0.50%
AN	$42.29	88	$47.50	$4,180.00	$3,721.52	-$458.48	-10.97%	0.49%
RHHBY	$32.02	112	$30.80	$3,449.74	$3,586.24	$136.50	3.96%	0.48%
FISV	$115.31	30	$100.80	$3,024.00	$3,459.30	$435.30	14.39%	0.46%
FNDE	$26.43	129.85	$24.59	$3,193.03	$3,431.94	$238.91	7.48%	0.46%
BVN	$12.04	282	$9.23	$2,601.60	$3,395.28	$793.68	30.51%	0.45%
BBBY	$39.46	85	$41.60	$3,536.00	$3,354.10	-$181.90	-5.14%	0.45%
HSIC	$169.97	19	$155.68	$2,958.00	$3,229.43	$271.43	9.18%	0.43%
SBS	$10.41	307	$4.92	$1,510.38	$3,195.87	$1,685.49	111.59%	0.42%
TIF	$95.30	33	$60.25	$1,988.40	$3,144.90	$1,156.50	58.16%	0.42%
IBM	$174.14	17	$133.64	$2,271.92	$2,960.38	$688.46	30.30%	0.39%
PII	$83.80	34	$76.53	$2,602.00	$2,849.20	$247.20	9.50%	0.38%
WBA	$83.05	33	$36.78	$1,213.89	$2,740.65	$1,526.76	125.77%	0.36%
CEO	$119.80	21.66	$144.63	$3,132.74	$2,594.87	-$537.87	-17.17%	0.34%
PPL	$37.39	69.357	$24.17	$1,676.52	$2,593.26	$916.74	54.68%	0.34%
DHR	$85.53	29	$79.24	$2,298.10	$2,480.37	$182.27	7.93%	0.33%
PAYX	$58.90	40.572	$33.27	$1,350.00	$2,389.69	$1,039.69	77.01%	0.32%
LLY	$84.11	28	$35.93	$1,006.02	$2,355.08	$1,349.06	134.10%	0.31%
DISCA	$29.08	79.6427	$24.99	$1,990.00	$2,316.01	$326.01	16.38%	0.31%
DE	$108.86	21	$74.65	$1,567.56	$2,286.06	$718.50	45.84%	0.30%
HCN	$70.82	31.8857	$56.45	$1,800.00	$2,258.15	$458.15	25.45%	0.30%
TLK	$31.17	72	$16.17	$1,164.01	$2,244.24	$1,080.23	92.80%	0.30%
OGS	$67.60	29.562	$33.83	$1,000.00	$1,998.39	$998.39	99.84%	0.27%
DLTR	$78.46	25	$76.92	$1,923.08	$1,961.50	$38.42	2.00%	0.26%
SGTZY	$5.11	371	$6.45	$2,392.73	$1,895.81	-$496.92	-20.77%	0.25%
WFC	$55.66	32	$45.86	$1,467.50	$1,781.12	$313.62	21.37%	0.24%
SJI	$35.65	46.836	$24.55	$1,150.00	$1,669.70	$519.70	45.19%	0.22%
WLK	$66.05	23	$44.00	$1,012.00	$1,519.15	$507.15	50.11%	0.20%
BP	$34.52	44	$39.34	$1,731.17	$1,518.88	-$212.29	-12.26%	0.20%
OAOFY	$37.49	38	$28.59	$1,086.23	$1,424.62	$338.39	31.15%	0.19%
TESS	$15.70	88.983	$8.99	$800.00	$1,397.03	$597.03	74.63%	0.19%
CHKP	$102.66	13	$74.85	$973.05	$1,334.58	$361.53	37.15%	0.18%
AXP	$79.11	16.7283	$59.78	$1,000.00	$1,323.38	$323.38	32.34%	0.18%
POT	$17.08	77	$23.11	$1,779.18	$1,315.16	-$464.02	-26.08%	0.17%
MPC	$50.54	26	$18.83	$489.68	$1,314.04	$824.36	168.35%	0.17%
STRA	$80.49	16	$48.00	$768.00	$1,287.84	$519.84	67.69%	0.17%
TLSYY	$17.74	72	$14.78	$1,064.26	$1,277.28	$213.02	20.02%	0.17%
RHI	$48.83	26	$36.06	$937.56	$1,269.58	$332.02	35.41%	0.17%
TGT	$55.19	22.8818	$61.18	$1,400.00	$1,262.85	-$137.15	-9.80%	0.17%
CERN	$58.85	21	$47.80	$1,003.80	$1,235.85	$232.05	23.12%	0.16%
GGG	$94.14	13	$73.00	$949.00	$1,223.82	$274.82	28.96%	0.16%
FSBK	$12.13	100	$4.51	$451.00	$1,213.00	$762.00	168.96%	0.16%
CICHY	$16.10	73	$13.64	$995.73	$1,175.30	$179.57	18.03%	0.16%
MDLZ	$43.08	27	$17.63	$475.90	$1,163.16	$687.26	144.41%	0.15%
KSS	$39.81	28.7161	$43.53	$1,250.00	$1,143.19	-$106.81	-8.54%	0.15%
MRK	$63.54	17	$34.30	$583.18	$1,080.18	$497.00	85.22%	0.14%
NNN	$43.62	24.121	$45.60	$1,100.00	$1,052.16	-$47.84	-4.35%	0.14%
MYTAY	$8.30	124	$13.18	$1,633.71	$1,029.20	-$604.51	-37.00%	0.14%
VSS	$102.65	10	$87.82	$878.20	$1,026.50	$148.30	16.89%	0.14%
SCL	$78.81	13	$38.46	$499.98	$1,024.53	$524.55	104.91%	0.14%
TROW	$68.15	15	$67.00	$1,005.00	$1,022.25	$17.25	1.72%	0.14%
BF.B	$46.18	22	$45.82	$1,008.04	$1,015.96	$7.92	0.79%	0.14%
ESRX	$65.91	15	$68.83	$1,032.45	$988.65	-$43.80	-4.24%	0.13%
IJR	$69.16	14	$69.25	$969.50	$968.24	-$1.26	-0.13%	0.13%
BCMXY	$18.52	52	$16.07	$835.50	$963.04	$127.54	15.27%	0.13%
CMP	$67.85	14	$69.00	$966.00	$949.90	-$16.10	-1.67%	0.13%
ARLP	$21.65	41	$26.68	$1,094.01	$887.65	-$206.36	-18.86%	0.12%
BIIB	$273.42	3	$221.90	$665.71	$820.26	$154.55	23.22%	0.11%
TLKGY	$22.62	36	$19.78	$711.92	$814.32	$102.40	14.38%	0.11%
KHC	$90.81	8.881	$28.52	$253.28	$806.48	$553.20	218.42%	0.11%
PB	$69.71	11	$45.43	$499.73	$766.81	$267.08	53.44%	0.10%
AEO	$14.03	54.4158	$11.95	$650.00	$763.45	$113.45	17.45%	0.10%
AAPL	$143.66	5.2832	$94.64	$500.00	$758.98	$258.98	51.80%	0.10%
PNW	$83.38	8.884381	$35.01	$311.00	$740.78	$429.78	138.19%	0.10%
CLD	$4.58	158	$9.44	$1,492.23	$723.64	-$768.59	-51.51%	0.10%
IMBBY	$49.40	14	$62.93	$880.98	$691.60	-$189.38	-21.50%	0.09%
NAT	$8.18	82	$19.64	$1,610.79	$670.76	-$940.03	-58.36%	0.09%
AMGN	$164.07	4	$141.00	$564.00	$656.28	$92.28	16.36%	0.09%
RAVN	$29.05	22	$22.60	$497.20	$639.10	$141.90	28.54%	0.08%
HSY	$109.25	5.806	$90.42	$525.00	$634.31	$109.31	20.82%	0.08%
EFSI	$28.40	22	$22.85	$502.70	$624.80	$122.10	24.29%	0.08%
HFC	$28.34	22	$23.50	$517.00	$623.48	$106.48	20.60%	0.08%
ICE	$59.87	10	$16.67	$166.66	$598.70	$432.04	259.23%	0.08%
IDCBY	$13.10	45	$12.18	$548.10	$589.50	$41.40	7.55%	0.08%
PDLI	$2.27	255	$6.05	$1,542.59	$578.85	-$963.74	-62.48%	0.08%
CAH	$81.55	7	$74.84	$523.88	$570.85	$46.97	8.97%	0.08%
BACHY	$12.35	45	$11.00	$495.00	$555.75	$60.75	12.27%	0.07%
CCFN	$46.16	12	$39.50	$474.00	$553.92	$79.92	16.86%	0.07%
WTR	$32.15	17.045122	$29.33	$500.00	$548.00	$48.00	9.60%	0.07%
RLI	$60.02	9	$57.00	$513.00	$540.18	$27.18	5.30%	0.07%
BCS	$11.24	46	$14.02	$644.92	$517.04	-$127.88	-19.83%	0.07%
SB	$2.20	233	$7.99	$1,861.40	$512.60	-$1,348.80	-72.46%	0.07%
NTT	$42.84	11	$22.30	$245.34	$471.24	$225.90	92.08%	0.06%
MPLX	$36.08	13	$8.59	$111.66	$469.04	$357.38	320.06%	0.06%
MRO	$15.80	27	$29.92	$807.79	$426.60	-$381.19	-47.19%	0.06%
TRGP	$59.90	7	$27.35	$191.42	$419.30	$227.88	119.05%	0.06%
ATW	$9.53	33	$15.00	$495.00	$314.49	-$180.51	-36.47%	0.04%
HNNMY	$5.07	61	$6.53	$398.52	$309.27	-$89.25	-22.40%	0.04%
IEMG	$47.79	6.25	$49.67	$310.46	$298.69	-$11.77	-3.79%	0.04%
RAD	$4.25	66	$8.00	$527.84	$280.50	-$247.34	-46.86%	0.04%
CPLP	$3.57	75	$8.53	$639.48	$267.75	-$371.73	-58.13%	0.04%
DYN	$7.86	24	$29.77	$714.50	$188.64	-$525.86	-73.60%	0.03%
AMC	$31.45	5.5556	$18.00	$100.00	$174.72	$74.72	74.72%	0.02%
LYG	$3.40	50	$3.24	$162.00	$170.00	$8.00	4.94%	0.02%
GSH	$30.18	4.59	$20.75	$95.24	$138.53	$43.29	45.45%	0.02%
MVC	$8.99	11	$8.84	$97.28	$98.89	$1.61	1.66%	0.01%
QCCO	$0.82	113	$3.63	$410.25	$92.66	-$317.59	-77.41%	0.01%
TSCDY	$6.97	11	$14.33	$157.63	$76.67	-$80.96	-51.36%	0.01%
PTR	$73.25	0.97	$99.24	$96.26	$71.05	-$25.21	-26.19%	0.01%
LGCY	$2.29	28	$15.62	$437.22	$64.12	-$373.10	-85.33%	0.01%
VTI	$121.32	0.45382			$55.06	$55.06	#DIV/0!	0.01%
BIVV	$54.46	1	$37.77	$37.77	$54.46	$16.69	44.17%	0.01%
EVEP	$1.48	32	$21.84	$698.97	$47.36	-$651.61	-93.22%	0.01%
BK	$47.23	1	$25.01	$25.01	$47.23	$22.22	88.84%	0.01%
GOOGL	$847.80	0.0459	$544.66	$25.00	$38.91	$13.91	55.66%	0.01%
BPI	$10.67	1	$17.85	$17.85	$10.67	-$7.18	-40.22%	0.00%
BKS	$9.25	1	$8.70	$8.70	$9.25	$0.55	6.32%	0.00%
ALN	$0.56	15	$2.11	$31.65	$8.40	-$23.25	-73.46%	0.00%
LPHIQ	$0.03	130	$6.69	$869.72	$3.90	-$865.82	-99.55%	0.00%
LQD	$117.91	0.02347			$2.77	$2.77	#DIV/0!	0.00%
VGIT	$64.32	0.03855			$2.48	$2.48	#DIV/0!	0.00%
TIP	$114.65	0.01731			$1.98	$1.98	#DIV/0!	0.00%
SJNK	$27.96	0.04473			$1.25	$1.25	#DIV/0!	0.00%
VNQ	$82.59	0.00775			$0.64	$0.64	#DIV/0!	0.00%
ZAHLY	$0.01	23	$6.64	$152.72	$0.23	-$152.49	-99.85%	0.00%
VCSH	$79.74	0.0024			$0.19	$0.19	#DIV/0!	0.00%
FAZ	$19.35	-100	$34.42	-$3,441.54	-$1,935.00	$1,506.54	-43.78%	-0.26%
ERY	$11.37	-200	$13.07	-$2,614.59	-$2,274.00	$340.59	-13.03%	-0.30%
EDZ	$17.35	-200	$27.57	-$5,514.54	-$3,470.00	$2,044.54	-37.08%	-0.46%
TZA	$18.04	-350	$21.62	-$7,566.14	-$6,314.00	$1,252.14	-16.55%	-0.84%

My transactions in March are listed as follows:

Stock	Action	Cost	Price per share	% of Portfolio
ERX	Cover	$1,580.26	$31.61	0.17%
FOSL	Add	$1,032.24	$17.50	0.11%
TGT	Add	$750.00	$57.02	0.08%
RL	Add	$500.00	$80.24	0.05%
MAT	Add	$500.00	$25.24	0.05%
IJR	Add	$476.00	$68.00	0.05%
XOM	Add	$333.70	$82.01	0.04%
AFL	Add	$329.30	$72.49	0.04%
EMR	Add	$309.19	$59.52	0.03%
EXC	Add	$248.38	$35.93	0.03%
WMT	Add	$200.00	$70.61	0.02%
VMI	Add	$200.00	$153.49	0.02%
KO	Add	$200.00	$42.23	0.02%
BRKB	Add	$200.00	$175.95	0.02%
NVS	Add	$200.00	$75.93	0.02%
SON	Add	$165.55	$53.23	0.02%
VFC	Add	$150.00	$54.35	0.02%
NKE	Add	$150.00	$57.90	0.02%
MCD	Add	$150.00	$129.34	0.02%
DIS	Add	$150.00	$111.40	0.02%
YORW	Add	$100.00	$34.35	0.01%
UL	Add	$100.00	$47.19	0.01%
PEP	Add	$100.00	$110.06	0.01%
NNN	Add	$100.00	$42.72	0.01%
MSFT	Add	$100.00	$64.95	0.01%
INTC	Add	$100.00	$35.76	0.01%
BUD	Add	$100.00	$106.36	0.01%
BDX	Add	$100.00	$181.71	0.01%
SNY	Add	$100.00	$44.62	0.01%
NSC	Add	$76.30	$119.41	0.01%
BMTC	Add	$68.30	$41.35	0.01%
PEG	Add	$63.03	$44.32	0.01%
SPGI	Add	$36.64	$131.54	0.00%
K	Add	$24.66	$74.73	0.00%
OGS	Add	$12.33	$63.89	0.00%
PNW	Add	$5.77	$81.66	0.00%
VTI	Add	$4.85	$123.07	0.00%
VEA	Add	$3.28	$38.38	0.00%
WTR	Add	$3.24	$30.28	0.00%
VWO	Add	$0.76	$38.54	0.00%
LQD	Add	$0.32	$117.65	0.00%
VGIT	Add	$0.30	$63.56	0.00%
TIP	Add	$0.24	$115.38	0.00%
SJNK	Add	$0.14	$27.29	0.00%
VNQ	Add	$0.07	$88.61	0.00%
VCSH	Add	$0.07	$82.35	0.00%
ERY	Short	-$1,169.80	$11.70	-0.13%
	Bought	$9,024.92		0.97%
	Sold	-$1,169.80		-0.13%
	Net	$7,855.12		0.85%

Purchases
This month, I added to my positions in FOSL, TGT, RL, MAT near 52-week low. Most of these stocks belong to the retail sector which has been on sale in the market recently.

I also covered the last leveraged bull ETF (ERX) and shorted more of its counterpart leveraged bear ETF (ERY). 

The rest of my purchases are part of my monthly investment plans and DRIP. 

Sales

To cover the ERX position, I shorted more ERX, 3x energy bear. I am now exclusively on the long side of the market. 

Here is how my assets, liabilities, and net worth have changed over the past month:

	Beginning balance on 3/1/2017	+ Cash inflow /(outflow)	+ $ P/L	= Ending Balance on 3/31/2017	% P/L	% Equity
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash	9,885.37	2,383.32	0.00	12,268.69	0.00%	1.30%
Bonds	14,706.48	(2,274.34)	116.15	12,548.29	0.79%	1.33%
Stocks	668,163.41	6,539.47	4,560.60	679,263.48	0.68%	72.00%
Total current assets	692,755.26	6,648.45	4,676.75	704,080.46	0.68%	74.64%
Tax-deferred retirement account	150,213.25	1,515.23	4,258.49	155,986.97	2.83%	16.54%
Roth IRA	73,612.45		(103.01)	73,509.44	-0.14%	7.79%
Gold	13,331.97		118.90	13,450.87	0.89%	1.43%
Other non-current assets	4,000.00	(500.00)	0.00	3,500.00	0.00%	0.37%
Total assets	933,912.93	7,663.68	8,951.13	950,527.74	0.96%	100.76%
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Liabilities
Current liabilities	633.71	(25.00)	0.00	608.71		0.06%
Long-term debt
Student loan	6,701.47	(147.01)	0.00	6,554.46		0.69%
Other loans	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00		0.00%
Total liabilities	7,335.18	(172.01)	0.00	7,163.17		0.76%
Equity (net worth)	926,577.75	7,835.69	8,951.13	943,364.57	0.97%	100.00%

During March, my net worth increased 1.81% to $943,264.57, due to investment gains (0.84%) and net cash inflows (0.97%).

Below is a chart of my net worth since I started tracking on a monthly basis:


My monthly performance against the S & P 500 is shown below:

2017	My Portfolio Return	S & P 500 TR
Jan	2.39%	1.90%	Good
Feb	2.08%	3.97%	Bad
Mar	0.97%	0.12%	Good
YTD	5.53%	6.07%	Bad

March was a good month for me relative to the market, but not enough to overcome the shortfall from February. YTD I am trailing the market by just about half a percentage point, a pretty tight race for the first quarter.