Monthly Review: June 2019 - 77% Savings Rate

Lets quickly hit the big events from June:

1. Camping trip to Cape Cod

2. Getting featured in the Boston Globe

3. Free secret concert

4. Free local town music festival

5. Work trip to Baltimore with free food and my first Tesla ride

6. Full week in Denver with camping and the amazing Passport Program

   • Yea lots of free food in the airport too

7. Concert at the amazing Grizzly Rose to see Parker McCollum

8. Invite to a free tech social with 5 course meal and local craft beers

9. Last but not least a family vacation in the Smoky Mountains

Now it’s time to get into the details:

Income: $7,452

Just the standard post tax income

Expenses: $1,681

Pretty happy with the total because we spent a lot going out. We did get a ton of value with that money though thanks to the Passport Program which I’ll cover in detail later.

This was an awesome month through and through but the time spent with my family in the cabin and down at Dollywood was certainly the highlight but the week in Denver was a really close second.

As always there’s some things I had already paid for prior to this month and some things I’m pre-paying for other months.

Now let’s break it all down in detail

Going Out: $225.82

• Drinks for Porchfest $8.80

• Remy’s $3.50

• Timberline $17

• Grizzly Rose $15

• Brass Tacks $18.48

• The Source $8.56

• Crooked Stave $14.90

• Millers and Rossi $32.50

• Family Jones $13.88

• Brothers Bar $12.50

• American Bonded $9.64

• Kings Country Kitchen $7.04

• Georgetown $23.97

• Ole Smokey $28.55

• Margaritaville $11.50

Now what won’t be on here is a ridiculous amount of food we got while traveling because it was all free (Yep that’s an accurate reuse from last month)

You may have noticed there were a lot more entries than normal. This was thanks to that Passport Program I hinted at.

The Passport gives you a buy one get one free voucher for really cool local bars regardless of the time or day. Me and Leslie would just take turns picking up the tab.

We rarely treat ourselves to that degree on food/drinks but it was super fun and part of our anniversary celebration. Check out some of the fun drinks below

Groceries: $84.43

• Commissary $30.16

• King Sooper $12.78

• King Sooper $27.56

• Georgetown $7.50

Groceries were a little high this month but we also cooked a few meals for our friends that let us stay with them. The best were these bomb burgers or it could have been the loaded waffle fries…can I go back?

Bills: $964.82

Bills were pretty standard this month but with the addition of an annual online storage bill

• Rent

• Car Insurance

• Internet

• Cell Phone

Travel: $349.07

This month’s spending is completely reflective of the events because of pre-paying.

The actual costs for the month were:

• $36.81 Parker McCollum concert tickets

• $52.22 Rental Car

• $79 Randy Houser concert tickets

• $57.09 Seven Ubers

• $123.95 Leslie’s Bday surprise tickets to see Maggie Rogers in Atlanta

As always though this month has more than meets the eye.

Wealth and Wilderness

Cape Cod is known for coastal beauty and rich New England residents. We finally got a chance to go down and explore but we did so on a budget.

We found a great campsite in Nickerson State park. It had it’s on little beach but was close enough for quick trips out to the more famous Cape Cod beaches

We slept in a tent but weren’t roughing it too bad. We had our bikes, the grill, and even the portable projector setup (we take our netflix’n very seriously).

Oh Colorado, How We Missed You

We already touched on all the amazing local bars and restaurants we got to hit up but the real Colorado stars were those beautiful Rocky Mountains.

We got to camp in two different dispersed camping areas. Dispersed camping is generally free but also means you can’t reserve it. They’re normally the best spots.

Now we didn’t just eat, drink and sleep outside. We tried to stay pretty active as well. Got in some runs, grocery runs on the bike and of course some amazing hikes.

Family Retreat

In May I had the chance to take my Mom backpacking in Tennessee and now in June I get to have a vacay with my Dad.

We weren’t roughing it this time though. He was gracious enough to pay for all of us a big cabin and admission into Dollywood. If you’ve never heard of Dollywood, it’s a theme park owned by Dolly Parton.

It’s a really great theme park and in a beautiful setting in Tennessee. We only ate out once and opted to grill out and keep things simple the rest of the time.

Miscellaneous: $38.01

Just the random stuff that doesn’t fit into a category

• Camp Supplies - $29.70

• Car Wash - $3

• Backpack Buckle - $5.31

Gas:  $20.04

I Between spending so much time out of town and being able to go back to biking to work kept the gas bill in check.

Big Picture: Net Worth Increase $30,998 to $352,750

Ok stock market….I see you. This is one of those months it’s hard not to get excited but you have to understand that it’s probably a fleeting blip.

The money will grow but don’t expect investments to earn $25k on their own too often.

In total I saved $5,770 and the stock market pitched in $25,227…preciate you Market.