Monthly Review: December 2018

Back on track with another month under the $2k threshold and it certainly wasn’t a slow one.

Besides having some insane reaction that sent me to the emergency room I had a few hundred dollars in free food at the airports, a visit from my dad and brother in law, tours of budweiser and harpoon breweries, local hockey game, indoor surfing and skydiving, a live Trailer Park Boys show, a trip back home for Christmas, and a ski trip in Vermont.

How’d I afford it all at such a low price? Read on.

Income: $7978.56

A slight uptick this month because of a one day work trip but nothing too much here.

Expenses: $1740.94

Especially now that I’m back to paying normal rent, any month I can keep things under $2k here in Boston is a big win. But as you read above, there’s plenty going on this month.

Going Out: $85.90

We went out three places in Nashville which we spent a night at on the way to my family in Mississippi. This included some famous hot fried chicken ($13.82), brunch for us and a friend ($24.90) and a somewhat Insta-famous Mexican restaurant ($19).

We also had some Raisin’ Canes ($5.10) and Zaxby’s this month ($10.58) so I think we met our fried chicken quota for sure. Throw in a pretzel at Harpoon brewery and some late night taco bell and that rounds out the wild spree on the town.

Also can’t forget that sweet Priority Pass again. It really has been worth it’s weight in gold. I was able to feed my Dad and Brother-in-Law for free at the Airport and then when me and Leslie were headed to Nashville, we scooped up enough food for the morning, lunch and breakfast for the next morning.

Below is my favorite Priority Pass meal, Steak Tip salad from Johnny Remmy’s at Boston Logan.

Groceries: $4.97

Based on my attempts to share my budget on Reddit, I know that people will think I’m lying but the truth is I was almost always at my parents, my parents were here, I was eating free hotel food or just cooking something out of the freezer.

Bills: $1019.32

Pretty standard. Rent, moviepass, spotify, cell phone, insurance, internet, and podcast fees.

Travel: $371.78

Travel expenses this month included tickets for four to a Boston University hockey game ($15), toured the Budweiser tour ($10), paid for Air BnB in Vermont, and went skiing at Stowe for New Years ($250).

On top of that I used some Hilton points and grabbed a free hotel night in Birmingham. Obviously this included free drinks, dinner, and breakfast. The reason? To go watch the best rocking country show in the land, Mr. Koe Wetzel. Do your self a favor and and see this man perform if you ever get the chance.

Reason for the Season

Obviously the most important travel of the month was going home to spend time with family for Christmas. As you can see below, Leslie knows what or I should say who the real present is.

Miscellaneous: $77.49

This month had a couple random expenses and the start of my Christmas shopping but it had one interesting new development.

Gas:  $48.52

Pretty standard gas month. Still taking the bus some and was gone a good bit as well.

Big Picture: Net Worth Decrease $21,817 to $269,332

Yep, I lost more money in one month in the market than I spend in over a year…Excuse me while I go out back and throw up…

Ok, I’m back and I think I’m going to be ok. I mean I have to get used to these kind of swings since I have over 90% of my money in the market and over 90% of that is in stocks. I have to get used to six figure swings in the future. It’s tough to swallow, but it’s part of the journey and I know it’ll all turn back around.