July was nice and normal income month and a decent month in terms of keeping our spending in check.
In addition to our paychecks, my wife received a $75 reimbursement from her company for internet and cell phone and we earned a $50 cash back Citi credit card reward.
Not too much to say about our expenses. They were in line with our budget and no large unexpected bills came in. All and all, a good month.
August looks like it will shape up to be similar to July.
Wow, our July was a great month for the market. Our net worth increased $6,339.70 from last month, to a total of $93,035.08 (click on spreadsheet below). It feels good to be back up over $90K.
What Worked
We contributed $1,313 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase a whopping $6,251.46.
What Didn’t Work
We didn’t contributing $1,000 to our savings this month as planned. My wife and I gave ourselves some extra fun money instead. We’ll get back on track with the savings account contributions next month.
Next Month
Who knows? Hopefully the market keeps going up and the economy strengthens. Haha.
I simply don’t have time to post much, but here is our income statement for June:
I really have been neglecting this blog, but at least I’m still updating our net worth each month! Unfortunatley, our net worth decreased $1,240.46 from last month, to a total of $86,695.38 (click on spreadsheet below).
What Worked
$1,000 was also automatically deposited into savings account this month from my wife’s paychecks.
What Didn’t Work
We contributed $1,719.50 to our retirement accounts (401k & Roth IRAs), and saw them increase $2,015.01. We’re falling a little behind on our Roth IRA contributions. Since my Wife’s company does not have a 401(k) plan, our goal is to max out our Roth IRA’s. We’re half way through the year and have only contributed $1,250 each ($2,500 total) to our Roth IRAs. We need to pick up the pace to reach the $5,000 individual maximum contribution.
Next Month
The markets a little crazy right now, so I won’t even bother to guess at next month.
May was a strong income month and a reasonable expense month.
May was my Wife’s 1st full month at her new company and, thus, her 1st full months of paychecks at new new higher salary. We were also bless with my 2.5% salary increase kicking in at the beginning of May. In addition to our paychecks, my wife received a $1,884.50 gross ($1,055.71 net) bonus from her old company, a final $430 unemployment arrived, we received $100 in cash back credit card rewards, and $18.39 in rebates. Not too shabby.
Our expenses were pretty typical; we spent a total of $5,401.88. Auto, clothing, and gifts were higher than usual, but not too outrageous.
I’m not sure what to expect in June. I receive a 3rd “extra” check, but we also have a $1,906.90 in annual insurance premiums due at the end of June. Time will tell.
We slide back quite a bit in May. Our net worth decreased $4,254.95 from last month, to a total of $86,660.75 (click on spreadsheet below).
What Worked
My Wife received a $1,884.50 gross ($1,055.71 net) quarterly bonus from old job. She also set-up $500/paycheck to be directly deposited into our savings account. So, our savings jumped $1,000 this month.
What Didn’t Work
Almost everything went down this month.
Next Month
I hate to be negative, but I’m forecasting another net worth decrease for us next month. I will be receiving an extra (3rd) paycheck, but that will be used to pay $1,906.90 in annual insurance premiums (auto and rental) that are due by June 25th. In addition, we have a number of smaller bills next month that add up to one big bill.
April was a surprisingly good income month and a reasonable expense month.
For my wife having been laid off at the end of March, April was a great income month. Of course her new job that she started mid-month really helped – her 1st paycheck was prorated for 2 weeks and 32 extra hours. She received $905.00 in unemployment and a $1,457.99 severance check from her old job. In addition, we earned $88.98 in credit card cash back rewards.
Our expenses in April were a little more than we budget, but low compared to our huge expense total last month. Our expenses this month totaled $5,460.47. Large expenses included $366.59 for misc items for our new (used) 4×4 and $197.09 in “extra” gas for the new 4×4.
May should be a good month. It will be the first full month of paychecks from my wife’s new company, my 2.5% salary increase will kick in, and a final unemployment check for my wife should arrive.
April was a pretty typical month, in a good way. Our net worth increased $2,859.25 from last month, to a total of $90,915.70 (click on spreadsheet below).
What Worked
My wife began her new job mid month. She also received her 2 week severance check from her old job. We contributed a total of $792.70 to our retirement accounts (401k’s and Roth IRA’s) and saw them increase $3,019.25! Wife’s 401(k) acct closed and transferred to IRA.
What Didn’t Work
As expected, we had a little catching up to do this month after paying $12,000 cash for our new (used) 4×4 last month and buying misc items for it.
Next Month
In addition to May being my wife’s first full month at her new job, my company informed us that they will be increasing our salaries back to the full amount beginning my first paycheck in May.
Great news! My company announced today that they are returning us to our full salaries.
In February 2009, everyone in the company received a salary reduction to help us get through the tough economic times – my salary redution was 10%. My company has been slowly increasing our salaries in an effort to get us back to even. This last 2.5% increase represents $1,750/year and returns me to my annual salary of 70,460.
I feel very blessed to have kept my job while others in my company were let go. Hopefully the economy keeps getting stronger.
My wife started her new job today and it’s going great so far. She’ll be spending most of her time the next couple of months on home study, but is excited to get out in the field.
Check out some of her benefits:
* $0/month out of our pocket for health and vision insurance for both of us
* Complete home office (laptop, printer, etc.)
* Reimbursing for internet and cell phone service
* Company car / gas card
I’m so proud of how she is doing in her career. She keeps upgrading from one great job to another.
