September was a good month for our income and expenses (see spreadsheet below).

In addition to our paychecks, my wife received a $500 gross ($280.10 net) special bonus and $75 reimbursement from her company for internet and cell phone. We also received a $100 in cash back rewards from our credit cards and an $89.63 auto insurance refund. Not too shabby.

Expenses were more or less in-line with our budget. We each got $140 in extra fun money (we’ve been doing that a lot lately), my wife went on a trip with her friends / family, we bought a few things for the Jeep, and we’ve purchased ~$250 in items for a camping trip we are taking in October.

October seems like it might be a pretty normal month. No large bills are looming and our income should be average.

While we missed some of our investment goals in August, our income and expenses were on target.

In addition to our paychecks, my wife received a $75 reimbursement from her company for internet and cell phone and a $96.36 reimbursement from her company for a new phone. We also received a $100 rebate from Verizon for her new phone and $61.59 in reimbursements from her H.S.A. account.

Expenses were reasonable, even considering a mini vacation that we took to Malibu and new cell phones for both of us.

September may be an extra strong income month because my wife receives a $500 special bonus check from her company and I hope to sell 5 days of vacation back to my company. I will also be out of town for 1 week, hopefully reducing some of our expenses.

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.

I simply don’t have time to post much, but here is our income statement for June:

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.