November 2015: Income & Expenses

    November was a busy and exciting month for me, particularly with leaving my job at Starbucks slinging coffee for the past two and a bit years to starting a new career at one of the big 6 Canadian banks. So baring that in mind, I actually had pretty good hours that month, having been given more hours to assist in the training of several new hires.

    Going forward I am looking forward to earning more each month due to a higher income. Also my continually higher dividend income will keep me moving ahead as I keep adding to my portfolio, and some of those great companies keep growing their dividends.

Income	$
Work	1527.74
Bonus	86.88
Dividends	100.77
Total	1715.39

     As I mentioned, income from work was higher due to a bit more hours than usual, as well as having my banked up vacation hours paid out on my last paycheck. I expect that December is going to be a great month, as I will be getting paid more at my new job, however I am not 100% on how many hours I will be getting since it is still technically a part-time position. But, if all remains the same in hours similar to Starbucks, then the higher hourly wage will bring me up a fair bit.

    The Bonus income category this month consisted of another payment from the Government of Canada, as well as a $30 credit card cash back payment, which is always quite nice to get! Sadly, no other sources of unexpected income to speak off, but perhaps next month.

    My dividend income for the month, while not being a record breaker as October was, Novembers was still higher than the previous comparable month, and going back a year to November 2014 was $62.68 higher! Also my dividends represented 5.87% of my monthly income this month, and would be able to cover 8% of my expenses this month, not too shabby!

Expenses	$
Rent	750
Phone	28.25
Travel	141.5
Groceries	149.72
Restaurants	40.66
Entertainment	66.65
Other	238.15
Total	1256.38

     I am actually rather surprised that my expenses this November were not a lot higher than they were. Primarily due to having bought a new suit jacket for work, which was on sale for $160, from the regular price of $460. Sometimes it really pays to get email updates from Moore's (or other stores) on their weekly sales. I had been waiting for that one for a few weeks and was about to 'bite the bullet' when I saw the E-Newsletter.

    Also within that category was some extra spending on Christmas decorations and a small 4' faux-Christmas tree and a starter pack of ornaments for the apartment to get it looking festive. Once again was able to take advantage of Black Friday (week) sales at Canadian Tire. And I am planning on getting some higher quality decorations for next year after the holidays when it should all go on sale at deep discounts.

     While my 'other' category of expenses may have been higher than normal, it was still less than last months when I bought new prescription sunglasses and got some dental work done. However,  managed to control my spending better this month in the Grocery, Restaurant and Entertainment sections of my spending. Still though, my total months spending is only just slightly above my year to date average of $1,249, even with buying a suit jacket and decorations. So I am very happy about that and my savings rate for the month was 27%, which is better than my year to date savings rate of 24%.