Now that the first half of 2015 is coming to a close, its a good time to review the goals I set out for myself for the year at the end of 2014. It has been a pretty busy and exciting year so far and I continue to work at my goals and share them here. Overall, I am quite happy with most of my 2015 goal progression.
1) $1,200 in yearly estimated dividend income - Accomplished!
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Saturday, 4 July 2015
June 2015: Income & Expenses
June, as I mentioned in my last dividend update post is a slower month for me. With mostly just my monthly dividends hitting my brokerage account. It is also slower during the summer at work, so hours are a bit harder to come by, resulting in lower work income as well. Generally speaking though, I budget myself on a monthly $1,400 in income, so I only just narrowly fell under that. And that estimated earnings total is more of just a guideline to work from and to compare the months current and projected expenses.
As I mentioned, work was a bit light this month, in part due to taking a couple days off for vacation and my girlfriends convocation. So the days off were definitely enjoyed and well worth the slight drop in income, you still gotta live and enjoy the summer will it lasts! Bonus income via tips were proportionally lower due to fewer hours as expected.
On a side note, the blogs AdSense really pulled some weight this month and double the finalized earnings I had since I qualified for it in November! So that is pretty exciting. It was roughly $19! However, since Google only pays out with a minimum threshold of $100, I haven't received it yet and thus didn't report the income here since I record income and expenses as they occur when the money itself gets moved.
Expenses this month were actually quite good. Compared to last month my travel, restaurant and entertainment costs were way down. As I more often brought meals to work, or due to shorter shifts did not need to bring a meal at all. As well as staying in more, no fancy date night on the town. Also not quite as much extra costs related to drinking or buying games. Also helped that for my birthday in June I received a bottle of rum (cuts down entertainment costs) and subway tokens (cut down on transit), as well as having had bought tokens at the end of May. Groceries were higher than normal due to just buying groceries a bit more, including more fruits and vegetables. And there was a big shop right at the end, so July's food costs might show a bit lower to compensate. :)
All in all not too bad of a month, made more than I spent although didn't make quite as much as I would have liked (who doesn't?) and spending was fairly controlled. Managed a savings rate of 13%, which is less than what I would like to achieve, but higher than the national average I suppose, so not all bad.
Income
|
$
|
Work
|
1291.19
|
Bonus
|
42
|
Dividends
|
61.93
|
Total
|
1395.12
|
As I mentioned, work was a bit light this month, in part due to taking a couple days off for vacation and my girlfriends convocation. So the days off were definitely enjoyed and well worth the slight drop in income, you still gotta live and enjoy the summer will it lasts! Bonus income via tips were proportionally lower due to fewer hours as expected.
On a side note, the blogs AdSense really pulled some weight this month and double the finalized earnings I had since I qualified for it in November! So that is pretty exciting. It was roughly $19! However, since Google only pays out with a minimum threshold of $100, I haven't received it yet and thus didn't report the income here since I record income and expenses as they occur when the money itself gets moved.
Expenses
|
$
|
Rent
|
750
|
Phone
|
28.25
|
Travel
|
28
|
Groceries
|
188.99
|
Restaurants
|
19.35
|
Entertainment
|
67.77
|
Other
|
126
|
Total
|
1212.39
|
Expenses this month were actually quite good. Compared to last month my travel, restaurant and entertainment costs were way down. As I more often brought meals to work, or due to shorter shifts did not need to bring a meal at all. As well as staying in more, no fancy date night on the town. Also not quite as much extra costs related to drinking or buying games. Also helped that for my birthday in June I received a bottle of rum (cuts down entertainment costs) and subway tokens (cut down on transit), as well as having had bought tokens at the end of May. Groceries were higher than normal due to just buying groceries a bit more, including more fruits and vegetables. And there was a big shop right at the end, so July's food costs might show a bit lower to compensate. :)
All in all not too bad of a month, made more than I spent although didn't make quite as much as I would have liked (who doesn't?) and spending was fairly controlled. Managed a savings rate of 13%, which is less than what I would like to achieve, but higher than the national average I suppose, so not all bad.
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Recent Buy! July 2015
Pulled the trigger today and put some money to work! The TSX and broader global markets have taken a bit of a beating recently as fears of the possibility of Greece's default and unprecedented exit from the European Union(EU) loams ever closer. At first it appeared that Greece was going to miss its loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund(IMF) if Greece refused to negotiate/cede to the European Central Bank (ECB) terms. With that fear, markets took a nosedive. Then there was hope that a last minute deal over the weekend would provide Greece with its much needed funds; which did not end up happening as their Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras turned down the terms. With that, as some may remember global markets fell roughly 2-3% from just about all sectors. Since then, Mr. Alexis has pretty much given into most of the terms put forth on him, but nothing is signed as of yet (to my knowledge).
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Next Buy Watchlist: June 2015
Monday's news items made for an interesting day to put up a watchlist. With the current market fallout of Greece's potential missing of its IMF repayment date and the looming possibility of its unprecedented retreat from the European Union stock markets have taken a hit. I have been closing in on the stocks that I want to get, but with these events I am glad to have been taking my time. I am also going to be waiting on the result of tomorrow Bank of Canada report on the Canadian economy, as that could also affect financial companies. Now, while preparing and researching for my next addition to my portfolio I have had a few objectives in mind.
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