March 2015: Income & Expenses

    March was a great month for me, although not quite as much in the ways of saving money. Had an awesome time during my trip to the Dominican Republic, soaking up the sun, booze and eating the food! As such, I had some extra one time costs of buying new ear-buds for the flight to help block out the planes sound, a shirt for the wedding ceremony as well as the cost/cash of converting Canadian dollars to American and spending it there on airport taxes, excursions and some small souvenirs. All in all, didn't spend that much more than usual and even offset some of my usual costs in fewer subway tokens used and buying groceries and lunches when at work.

Income	$
Work	1289.65
Other	44
Dividends	42.24
Total	1375.89

    Work income for March was fairly average, if not a bit lower than usual due to some reduced hours. My trips effect on my work income will be showing up this April as that's how the timing of the payroll occurs. Hopefully my higher number of hours since coming back will help boost that though. My Other income from tips was fairly average and a nice bit of cash which pretty much
words 'paid' for my groceries this month. And as I mentioned in my Dividend Income post, dividends were on the lower end, but growing consistently. $42 in dividends is enough is buy 2 shares of the ETF ZDV, which would theoretically add another $.12 the next month in dividend income, its all about the little things building up!

Expenses	$
Rent	750
Phone	28.25
Travel	107
Groceries	59.92
Restaurants	34.2
Entertainment	61.5
Other	336.1
Total	1377.07

   Expenses this month were definitely a bit higher than usual, although that is pretty much entirely due to the 'Other' category comprised of one-time or unusual costs. Groceries and Restaurant costs were quite low, in part to being out of the country for a week! Entertainment was fairly usual and is an area I am trying to keep under control going forward, but everyone should have a little fun now and then. Within my Other costs I had some semi-expected expenses in buying a dress shirt for the wedding ceremony during the vacation, as well as bought a new pair of jeans since most of mine were starting to get a bit worn out. So at least those two things are reusable items I can wear going forward. I unfortunately misplaced my earbuds and bought a new pair for the flight, and I say 'misplaced' because once back I found them a week later. Another unexpected cost was that during a blackout my laptops power-cord stopped working and so I had to replace it, thankfully it was on sale for $57 rather than the regular low low price of $99.99! Also within that category was money converted into $US and spent while on vacation. Lucky for me when we went to the casino, I ended up leaving with $16 more than I spent so that paid for a much needed hat to keep my head from burning more in the sun, yay!

    Overall, this month my savings rate was a very low -.1% so basically broke even. Which when considering going on vacation and spending extra on it and for it isn't so bad when working on near minimum wage. Goes to show you can still do quite a bit as long as you budget and spend your money properly.