Thursday 5 November 2015

October 2015: Income & Expenses

    October was a very busy and exciting month. With a lot going on, I ended up spending more than I usually do. Luckily though October was one of those rare months every year that coincides with three pay periods which offset all that spending. And besides spending more at restaurants and fun, I spent more on health and new prescription glasses. So important items, not simply frivolous spending, as well as taking full advantage of my health and dental plan while I am covered.

Income
$
Work
2190.15
Bonus
160.66
Dividends
213.53
Total
2564.34

    Even though expenses were high, my income in every category was great! Work based income was higher than usual from working more hours each week, plus having three pay periods in the same month. Bonus/unexpected income came in from provincial and federal payouts. Once again, filing for taxes is your friend! Especially when in the low income bracket.

   Finally dividend income was great this month, setting a new high water mark! Here is my post on that dividend income breakdown. Dividends this month accounted for 8.3% of my October income. And also would have covered 12.% of my unusually high expenses this month.
 
Expenses
$
Rent
750
Phone
28.50
Travel
141.50
Groceries
201.20
Restaurants
74.70
Entertainment
150
Other
326.60
Total
1673.47

    Other than the extra one time costs related to getting new glasses and some dental work done, my total costs for the month were fairly in line with my average costs. I spent a little extra in the entertainment and restaurant categories due to some good news that needed celebrating! Will be sharing that in a future post.

    Groceries were slightly more than usual, in part to a big shopping trip at the end of the month, and also buying some steak and other treats! As well as trying to eat more fresh food.

    Either way, even with the extra splurging I lucked out with having the spending increase coincide with a triple pay period month, and my highest dividend income yet! Which means I was still able to save 35% of my total income!

4 comments:

  1. Great job with the increasing dividend income. :) I like how you can have a high savings rate because you manage to keep your expense low, even lower than mine.
    By the way, I've posted the results of the PF bloggers personality survey on my blog. I hope you find it somewhat informative. It looks like ENTJ bloggers like yourself are quite common. http://www.freedomthirtyfiveblog.com/2015/11/myers-briggs-personality-types-bloggers.html#04

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    1. Thanks! Its all about just steadily increasing positions over time, and holding out for dividend increases :D And I am lucky, and a bit calculated on keeping my re-occurring monthly expenses as low as possible. No smartphone with an extremely expensive date plan, no car/insurance (thankfully no need atm), grocery shopping with deals and discounts in mind, plus making as many lunches as possible.

      ENTJ seems pretty fitting! Thanks for including me, the post was a good read. :)

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  2. Nicely done on dividend income. Very solid and respectable savings rate. Keep up the great work.

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    1. Thanks and will do! I am expecting my savings rate to improve some in the coming months, and hopefully then with the extra cash to increase my dividend income growth even more! :)

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