December 2014: Income and Expenses

    December and 2014 have come to a close as a new year begins. Throughout my Christmas shopping I have kept track of all my spending and managed to stay close to my general budget for presents and entertainment. This month in particular was trickier for me than others due to a large one time expense of paying for a trip in March, which is why my savings rate for the month is actually negative; although not too bad if you take away that one expense.

   My income this month was pretty good considering it gets a bit slower during the holidays and can be difficult to pick up hours, along with me wanting some extra days off here and there. I expect though January may be a bit lower, but it is hard to tell at the moment. Dividend income was pretty solid, with all my monthly payers comprising of most of the income and my first dividend payment from Suncor that month. My total dividend income this month also represents a nice 2.5% of my total income, which is a nice little raise from myself.  And my 'bonus's' in tips did nicely as well. For January I expect that category to be higher as well once I received payments for selling my restricted stock units, as well as including a GST rebate which I hope to be putting towards a new stock purchase to continue building my portfolio.

Income	$
Work	1395.93
Other	65.3
Dividends	38.11
Total	1515.54

    Expenses for this month were a bit all over the place with the easiest explanation being Christmas shopping, additional activities with friends and family which require purchase of food and drink. So in relation to that my groceries and entertainment for the month are significantly higher than my November update. I am quite happy though at my cost control in relation to eating out for meals, with keeping that category of spending under $30 and hopefully I will be able to keep that low in the future. Which mainly means taking a bit more time to cook bigger meals which leave delicious leftovers for the next day.
   
    Travel costs were by and far the highest expense I have ever had before; comprised of my Metropass($133) to get around the city, and my now paid for in full trip in March to a sunny destination. I think having paid it off in full rather than having part of the expense sit on a credit card accruing interest is definitely the better way to go! I don't think I would have gone had I not been able to pay for the trip with my cash available. Doing so has however has strained my available cash and cash reserves which will have to be built back up. Total expenses for the month would have been $1,316 without the trip, but will totally be worth it soaking up the sun later in Winter with a delicious beverage!

Expenses	$
Rent	750
Phone	27
Travel	1702.35
Groceries	153.29
Restaurants	28.48
Entertainment	132.92
Other	90.80
Total	2884.94

    Due to this months higher expenses my saving rate is a record low of -90%! If the trip is removed, my savings rate is still a low of 13.2%. My 2014 saving rate is still a pretty good 29.5%, and 38% if you remove the trip. Overall, I think my saving rate is quite good considering income, although overall lower if the data from since I moved out of my parents home is considered, the 2014 savings rate is actually 26% with the trips cost not included. Keeping all that in mind, I think I still have a pretty good shot of hitting my 2015 goal of a 40% savings rate if I keep at it.