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.

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 1^st 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.

As I stated in our Net Worth Update, March was a crazy month.

My wife was laid off mid month, but we still had a good income month. My wife received one final pay check, her company cashed out her vacation ($733.52), and will be giving two weeks of severance ($1,300+). We also received a $4,111 tax refund ($3,730 fed & $381 state) and sold 20 shares of BofA stock for small $48 gain. My wife received a $110 company reimbursement for internet and phone service, we earned $25 in credit card cash back rewards, and earned $2.30 in interest income.

Our expenses this month were off the chart, primariliy because with paid cash for a 3rd vehicle (4×4). Our expenses totaled $18,391.59, but if you pull out the $12,250 we paid for the 4×4, our expenses were $6,141.59. Still a bit high, but not so outrageous.

With the purchase of our 4×4, and my wife being out of work part of the month, we’ll be playing a little catch up in April.

Thanks to my wife, February was strong income month and a low spending month (click on spreadsheet below).

In addition to our regular paychecks, my wife received a $3,000 ($1,217.53 net) quarterly bonus. My paycheck was also a bit higher because my company gave everyone another salary increase. My wife received a $110 company reimbursement for internet and phone service, we earned $75 in credit card cash back rewards, and we received a $50 rebate.

Our expenses this month were only $4,930.82, within $200 of our monthly budget. I was on business travel for 7 days, which probably helped save us some money.

March should be a pretty typical income month, but may be a large expense month, depending on how our taxes come out.

January was another strong income month and an okay spending month (click on spreadsheet below).

Our incomes dipped a bit in January with my 15% 401(k) contribution kicking in, reducing my paychecks from $1,818.76 to $1,668.40. We certainly felt the missing $300 this month, but the sacrifice is worth it and we’ll get used to it. In addition to my wife’s $110 company reimbursement for internet and cell phone, we earned a $50 Chase credit card cash back reward and $62.44 Citi credit card cash back reward.

Our expenses totaled $5,792.05, which isn’t horrible. A couple of large expenses included: $455.48 traveling out of state and $233.50 for 6 months of life insurance. I was happy to learn that my new gym is allowing me to pay month-to-month, but giving me the 12 month prepayment rate. This kept us from having to pull a large chuck of change out of savings.

February looks like it may be a great income month and low expense month. My wife should be receiving her quarterly bonus that may be as much as $3,000 gross (~$1,500 net). I will be out of town on business for 1 week next month, hopefully saving us a few bucks on food and gasoline.

December was another strong income month and low spending month too (click on spreadsheet below).

In addition to our regular paychecks, I received a 3rd “extra” check and my wife received $330 in reimbursements from her company (3 months worth).

Our expenses totaled $5,174.03, a bit over our budget of $4,724.98/month, but not bad.

Not much else to report. The new year has begun and January looks like it may be an expensive month for us. We took a trip our of state from 12/30-1/2, we have payments due for our 6 months of life insurance, and I have a large 12 month gym membership bill due. We’re also going to see a bit of a drop because my 401(k) contribution increase from 7% to 15% begins in January.

November was a strong income month and reasonable spending month (click on spreadsheet below).

Our expenses totaled $8,434.66, but $2,925.74 of that was to pay off our auto loan. That brings us down to $5,508.92 in other expenses. Not to shabby when you consider we purchased Christmas gifts, took a road trip to see my family, and went over budget in our “Goceries” and “Household Items”.

The big boost in income in November came from a $4,872 ($2,255.97 net) quarterly bonus my wife received. In other good news, my company increased my salary another 2.1%. We also earned $75.00 in credit card cash back rewards and $0.63 in interest income from our online savings account.

December is here already and it’s an “extra” check month for me. Plus, we’ll be receiving $330 worth of reimbursements that my wife is due. Our expenses should be pretty normal, with the exception of a trip out of state planned at the end of December.

Our income in October was a bit above average and we did an good job keeping our expenses down (click on spreadsheet below).

For the 3rd month in a row, my company increased my salary 1%. In addition to our paychecks, my wife received her $110 company reimbursements, I sold my old gym membership for $480, and we earned $85.89 in credit card cash back rewards. We also earned $0.95 in interest income from our online savings account.

If you pull out the extra $1,150 we paid to our auto loan, our total expenses were only $5,266.53. That includes being dinged with a $342.50 towed bill. I was out of town 2-1/2 weeks of the month, so my wife gets credit for keeping expenses down.

Next month brings more good news. My wife may receive her quarterly bonus (early) and my company will be increasing my pay again.

We had a pretty average income and expense month in September (click on spreadsheet below).

Our largest expense for the month was our amazing 6 day vacation to Hawaii that cost $1,787.69 (not too bad, huh?).

Here’s a breakdown of our vacation costs:

Flights: Free thanks to frequent flyer miles

Hotel: $773.70 (wife found a good deal)

Rental Car: $244.55 (wife found a good deal)

Food & Entertainment: $769.44

Other large expenses for September include an extra $1,900 payment to our auto loan and $116.75 at the shooting range.

Our income for the month consisted of our regular salaries and my wife’s $110 company reimbursement. My company bumped everyone’s salaries up again, resulting in another 1% increase to my salary (it was also increased 1% last month). We also earned $1.48 in interest income from our online savings account.

Next month, there are no large expenses planned, other than continuing to pay down our auto loan at an accelerated rate with a goal of having it paid off by the end of the year.

Our income statement spreadsheet (click on spreadsheet below) for August shows total expenses of $12,685!

While that number is startling, August was, in fact, a pretty reasonable spending month. If you subtract $6250 in extra auto loan payments and $850 for a boat tower, our expenses only totaled $5,585. That’s pretty close to our $4,919.55 budget.

In addition to our regular salaries, we earned $111.35 in credit card rewards and my wife received a $896 ($480.84 net) quarterly bonus and her $110 company reimbursements. We also earned $4.26 in interest income from our online savings account. My wife’s 15% 401(k) contribution (increased from 5%) kicked in her 2nd check in August.

Next month, there are no large expenses planned, but our net income will be less because we increased my wife’s 401(k) contribution from 5% to 15%.