Monthly Review: April 2019

April ended up being a little slower of a month for us than normal due to having some dental surgery.

There was still some fun packed in though. I got to see three concerts and spend a few days down with my best friend in Dallas and a Boston Redsox game. We also saw the weather start warming up here in Boston and got the camping season kicked off.

Let’s breakdown the month!

But don’t let me give it all away in the intro… Let’s unwrap March.

Income: $7,452

Just the standard post tax income

Expenses: $1,875

Any month I have since moving to Boston that’s under $2k is a good month.

April has a few non-standard expenses spotted like the $120 I had stolen from me in Mexico while on my mission trip. $110 to get some repairs and new tires for the bicycle. Lastly some new camping gear.

Plenty of fun travel stuff too such as concert tickets, tickets to see Tom Segura, camping fees, and the good ole NYC bus ride….man I don’t miss that bus ride.

Let’s dive into the deets

Going Out: $96.39

• Couple restaurants from down in Mexico: La Catrina $6 & El Picque $2.50

• Best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had down in Dallas $11.86

• Whiskey Cake for the three of us (Yass Chicken and waffles) $70.24

• Couple drinks for a get-together ($5.79)

Groceries: $49.05

• Star Market $12

• Star Market $6.46

• Commissary $13.24

• Star Market $17.35

Curious to learn more about my grocery shopping? Check out the couple articles below for cheap recipes like the breakfast pictured below.

$60 Month Grocery Shopping

Meal Prepping 101

Bills: $964.82

Bills were pretty standard this month with nothing special

• Rent

• Car Insurance

• Internet

• Cell Phone

Travel: $464.80

If you follow me very long you’ll realize that outside of rent, travel is by far my biggest expense. That means I have a lot I could cut out of my budget but also shows were my priorities are.

Travel > New car, bigger house, restaurants

Catfish Fry and Country Music - $37.15

My favorite part of April was very likely one of the strangest concert setups I’ve ever heard of.

It was an indoor BYOB country concert featuring Sam Riggs that included auctions and a fish fry all to raise money for a volunteer fire department and all for the low low price of $18.50 per person

Texas = Tons of Country - $0

While most people may have had their fill of country after a volunteer fire department fund raising country fish fry…. We had one more big event to take care of in Texas.

That event was one of the best artists of my generation, Mr. Eric Church

Me and my buddy have a standing deal that if you fly in to town for a concert, there’ll be free tickets waiting on you so these awesome floor seats were on the house.

Winter Is Leaving - $0

The snow is gone and the temps are rising. That means it’s camping season.

I discovered this awesome little camping spot about an hour away from Boston that’s free.

What makes it more interesting is that it’s more than simple dispersed tent camping. They have two of these three sided structures and one cabin. There’s an interactive calendar to show you when it’s available and requests were approved within an hour.

Big City Benefits - $68

Last few activities include a Muse concert, a Red Sox game and seeing Comedian Tom Segura

RED SOX - $10

The Red Sox have an amazing deal were military members can get $10 standing room tickets to any game. The folks at the ticket office hooked me up even more by only charging me $10 for both tickets

Muse - $13 - (4 tickets)

There’s an amazing organization called Vet Tix. This program gives military members a chance to get tickets to events for only the price of processing fees. So I

I’d never really listed to Muse before this but I have to say we were impressed with the show.

Tom Segura - $45

Unfortunately no photos were allowed but this man puts on a hilarious show and thanks to living in a big city, I was able to simply ride my bike down to see one of the best comedians in the country.

Miscellaneous: $270.76

Things always pop up you’re not expecting but that’s all the more reason to take care of your finances.

Random purchases this month

• Amazing new sleeping pad for backpacking - $85 after giftcard

• Bicycle repair - $110

• Camp Supplies - $6.93

• Tire Plug - $10

• Bike Pump - $20.79

• Underwear - $35

Gas:  $30.15

Below average this month and now bicycle season is upon us

Big Picture: Net Worth Increase $16,674 to $328,667

High savings rate and a big bump in the market makes for some very appealing numbers.