April 2015: Income & Expenses

    April has passed on by at what feels like a lightning fast pace! Especially considering I had no glorious week of vacation in the Caribbean to slow things down, and I have been working quite a bit more that I have usually in previous months. With April's passing spring is finally getting its start here in Toronto and I feel positive its going to be a great summer! My portfolio has gone into high gear with all my recent purchases.

Income	$
Work	1799.86
Other	180.81
Dividends	143.95
Total	2124.53

    Income was quite good this month overall, with my receiving three paychecks to boost the 'Work' column, although one of those was smaller than usual since during the two week period it covered I was on vacation. Having that 3rd payment though certainly made up for it. April also had an unusually higher 'Other' sources of income, even though my tips were about average I also received a deposit from the government (HST credit) as well as I closed out an account from another bank which I had forgotten about (Woops). So I added that transfer amount to the Other income as well, felt a bit like finding that mystical forgotten about $20 in a winter or spring jacket :) To cap off the months income, I also received my new record for dividend income! A whooping $143.95! Which is by far my highest amount of passive income that I have received so far, nearly doubling my last highest of $75.17 in January,

Expenses	$
Rent	750
Phone	28.25
Travel	140
Groceries	86.55
Restaurants	66.83
Entertainment	96.25
Other	0
Total	1171.83

    I managed to keep expenses down quite well in April, with a lower than average grocery bill and thankfully no unexpected or one time costs in the 'Other' category unlike last months. However my Entertainment and Restaurant bill were higher than usual, in part due to going out for a good all you can eat sushi dinner with friends. It was delicious!

   Overall the month of April was a good one. Having the triple pay checks, government rebate, an unexpected balance transfer and $143.95 in dividends really helped out! And with the lower expenses this month  I managed a great savings rate of 45%!! I am also pretty happy and impressed that my dividend income this month managed to equal 8% of my work income and could have covered 12.2% of my expenses this month!