July 2016: Income & Expenses

    Well, July is certainly long gone at this point since I am writing this post in October! Been rather busy the last few months and to be honest I have not been overly motivated or inspired to write. I have kept up with tracking my monthly income, expenses and dividends though. And I do intend to get back into the swing of things on my blog here, and on Twitter as well.

June 2016: Income & Expenses

   June is quite a ways behind us now, with summer in full swing now that August has begun! Either way, here is my income and expenses update for the month of June. Which all things considering went quite well for me. Now that I have been in my new job and position for a few months now, it is getting a lot easier and I am better able to help the customers who come to me. The only 'downside' is that at the end of June, and throughout a good portion of July I had not been getting as many hours as I would have liked, so my income from working is lower than usual, especially considering it was a triple pay month.

May 2016: Income and Expenses

    The month of May was a fairly quiet one for me. With lower than average spending and income as well. And because of this I did not get to save quite as much cash as I would have like, however I am happy that I still managed to do so. At least I got to enjoy some extra leisure time.

March 2016: Income & Expenses

    March was a busy month for me, between working, sorting out my taxes. Applying for and figuring out my workplace health benefits and dealing with multiple computer issues. Overall though, even with having to buy a lot of extra computer parts I am very happy with my end results for the month.

February 2016: Income & Expenses

    February ended up being a fairly standard month for my income and expenses. Work income was a bit lower than usual though, due to working fewer hours. I did mostly enjoy the extra rest though. Also kept my spending down nicely for the most part, with only one irregular expense, but well worth it.

    Generally speaking at the moment I do not usually aim to work full-time hours at my current work position. I prefer to have a bit more free time while I am able to get it for now. Even if that means a slight hit in my income, I value the extra free time higher than a few more dollars. I offset that by being my fairly frugal self, not spending a lot nor going out to restaurants, bars or events too often. Luckily for me, my lovely lady also usually prefers to relax at home as well. Although sorry March's budget, a sushi date is coming up. Yum!

January 2016: Income & Expenses

    After posting my January Dividend Update I kind of forgot about my other main monthly post, my Income and Expenses report. What better time to write it then being relatively snowed in (don't want to go outside again) and having the day off of work? So here it is! January had me back to a relatively normal level of spending from what I have recorded in 2015. Except of course for the usual outlier month of December, where holiday spending increases my expenses. Thankfully that month also saw a large increase in income.

    This January however did prove to have quite a bit more income than I was generally expecting. In

December 2015: Income & Expenses

    Wow the New Year is already starting to get into gear and pass us by! It has already been a full week since we said goodbye to 2015. And while financial markets may be doing their thing, going up and down, although mostly down for the moment. The part of my finances that I do control however went quite well in December. Those being my income from work, and my spending, trying to keep expenses down as much as possible, especially considering the usual surge in spending that comes with Christmas and other holiday festivities.

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.

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.

September 2015: Income & Expenses

    It feels like I only just wrote about what I earned and spent in September, but apparently it has been an entire year since! I find it interesting to compare how I am fairing from year to year, seeing the changes in where my income is coming from and where I spend my money. From the snapshots between September 2014 and 2015 it looks like I worked less, made about the same in Other/Bonus income, but more than doubled my dividend income!

August 2015: Income & Expenses

    August made for a pretty great last month of summer. Had mostly good weather and the chance to enjoy some warm holidays relaxing without having to fly down south. As such I took it a bit easier during the month and enjoyed life a little bit extra. As such, I worked a bit less, which is reflected in my lower work income for the month, but that hidden column of happiness definitely was way up!

July 2015: Income & Expenses

     July has been what I would consider to be a good month, beautiful summer weather for the most part and great times with family and friends. Also brought in a new high mark of dividend income, as well as working a fair bit to boost my work income and got a couple of deposits from the Government. All of this income resulted in my highest month of income that I have gotten outside of a triple payday month that occurs about twice a year.

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.

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.

May 2015: Income & Expenses

    The month of May is over and done with, and all the money that came in through work and dividends are in, as well as all the money I spent as well! I am happy to report that I have once again managed to spend less than I made, resulting in a nice little savings rate of 16%. Not too shabby for renting a place and working on near minimum wage if I do say so my self.

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!

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.

February 2015: Income & Expenses

     Overall February was a pretty good month for me, income was fairly average from work and dividends, with a nice boost from my increased position in D.UN from my previous buy. I also managed to control my costs very nicely last month with a below average amount spent, hitting a nice savings rate of 25.6%!

January 2015: Income & Expenses

Savings rate of 25.7%
    The month of January has most certainly come to an end, and I was very happy to recently post about my new dividend record! That record helped to keep my income for the month up and my savings rate as well, those dividends equaled 5.1% of my income for the month! Its pretty amazing to see the progress that my modest portfolio has begun. With $53.94 more in dividends than last year, I am eager to see it continuing to grow and pump out the dividends.

   I am also very happy with myself on keeping expenses down quite a bit this month, especially compared to Decembers heavy spending.

December 2014: Income and Expenses

    December and 2014 have come to a close as a new year begins. Throughout my Christmas shopping I have kept track of all my spending and managed to stay close to my general budget for presents and entertainment. This month in particular was trickier for me than others due to a large one time expense of paying for a trip in March, which is why my savings rate for the month is actually negative; although not too bad if you take away that one expense.

   My income this month was pretty good considering it gets a bit slower during the holidays and can be difficult to pick up hours, along with me wanting some extra days off here and there. I expect though January may be a bit lower, but it is hard to tell at the moment. Dividend income was pretty solid, with all my monthly payers comprising of most of the income and my first dividend payment from Suncor that month. My total dividend income this month also represents a nice 2.5% of my total income, which is a nice little raise from myself.  And my 'bonus's' in tips did nicely as well. For January I expect that category to be higher as well once I received payments for selling my restricted stock units, as well as including a GST rebate which I hope to be putting towards a new stock purchase to continue building my portfolio.

November 2014: Income and Expsenses

    Oh how I miss last months 3x pay period and seeing all that hard earned cash land in my account, and better yet my highest yet in not worked for cash either, with $63.5 in dividends! November was actually fairly good for me as well, with a total income of $1443, with $37.59 in dividends. Those dividends equaled 2.6% of my total income, and covered 3.2% of my expenses for the month.