HAPPY NEW YEAR! Time for another BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) update and I'm happy to say that it's another good one!
I went on vacation this month, so it wasn't as stellar as last month, but I still managed to sock away 70% of my take home pay in December. Here's how this month's income and expenses broke out...
Income:
GIFT - 4.6%
SALARY - 52.2%
INVESTMENTS - 9.5%
REAL ESTATE - 33.7%
Expenses:
INTERNET - 3.69%
TRANSPORTATION - 0.98%
CHARITY - 3.92%
PERSONAL - 13.43%
GAS - 4.37%
MORTGAGE - 29.78%
EATING OUT - 1.71%
GENERAL EXPENSE - 3.37%
PHONE - 4.92%
UTILITIES - 3.63%
FOOD - 2.13%
ENTERTAINMENT - 28.07%
One thing that jumps out at me is that entertainment/personal is so high and gas is so low. This obviously reflects the fact that I was on vacation and not home filling up my truck.
My phone bill is entirely too high and I have one more year left on my contract, at which point I'll be looking to change companies if my current provider can't match them. There are a number of great possibilities on the horizon for this. Both T-mobile and ATT have presented great offers to new customers that cost about half as much as current plans, with no annual contract. I'd sure love to get a new phone AND cut $600 off my monthly cellphone bill.
Since I started doing this 3 months ago, my total take home savings has been about 56%. Not bad considering a vacation was entirely paid for in that. The last 2 months have been more reflective of a typical two months for me. Unless something major happens I don't see why this shouldn't continue. If one continued this type of lifestyle, there's no reason why that person couldn't retire in 10 years.
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