January Budget Review
Monthly Review: January 2021 - 96% Savings Rate
Lets quickly hit the big events from January:
Skiing in Utah
Beach Trip on Texas Coast
Chili Festival
Kolby Cooper Concert
Great Happy Hours
New Cell Phone
Booked an Aspen Trip
Booked Paddle-Board Camping Trip
I have been itching to get back on the slopes and January was the month!
A buddy I met in Austin invited me up to his hometown just outside of Salt Lake City to go skiing at Park City. My epic pass meant that the lift tickets were free and I had some frontier vouchers about to expire so it was a no brainer.
The snow was a little thin but it’s always a good time when you’re flying down a mountain. Also, since it’s Texas, we got to get back out on the paddle boards and spend some more time on the beach down near Rockport and Port Aransas.
Then plenty of good eats, a chili fest, a new phone all while keeping spending under $1k for the month!
Keep reading to see how it all played out
After-Tax Income: $24,671
This month saw a big influx in the income category. That’s driven by my largest deal of the year coming in as well as some 401k match. Some of that match is actually some money my company owed me last year and then some more for 2021.
On to the expenses
Expenses: $987.05
We did it fam! Kept expenses under $1k without having to sacrifice. There’s one sneaky way I saved some extra money on my Utah trip, but you’ll have to read the travel section for that.
Alrighty let’s break this down by category.
Going Out: $84.19
The star of this category had to be the Happy Hour at Hotel Vegas.
Half price all food and $2 tall boy lone stars… what’s not to love? They also had some insane spicy ranch tots. Where else can you get some quality chicken and waffles plus a tall boy for $7??
Support Your Local Brewery
Next up was an impromptu trip over to Zilker Brewery. I stopped by to test out one of their sours which did not disappoint. Leslie skipped drinks and instead went for the fried chicken sandwich from the food truck on site.
Secret Date Night
We’ve been trying to get in a better habit of planing date nights out where one person does the planning as a surprise for the other.
I found a spot called Jacoby’s that does happy hour all night on Thursdays. We didn’t do any drinks but all the appetizers were 50% off. We got some stuffed beef yeast rolls, cowboy caviar dip, pimento & cheese spread, and baguette with whipped bone marrow. Put that pinky up!
There was a bit more eating out this month including a spot down on the coast, some craft sours I picked up, and of course a hot breakfast from the always delicious Taco bell.
The total break-down for eating out this month was:
Jacobys: $29
Taco Bell: $4.21
Poor Mans: $18.60
Hotel Vegas: $14.83
Zilker Brewing: $7.55
Marin House: $10
Groceries: $84.55
Not even 100% how we racked up a grocery bill a little on the higher side for us but still not a bad showing. I try to throw in the reminder from time to time but the $84.55 is my half of the groceries, so that’s just for one person.
Full grocery cost breakdown:
HEB: $5.42
HEB: $16.08
HEB: $23.38
HEB: $34.80
Target: $4.88
Bills: $360.56
Cheap rent and a few monthly memberships. This is the category that makes those sub $1k total expenses possible. Keep your housing low and your cars paid off and you’ll give yourself a fighting chance.
The full set of bills were:
Rent - $275.00
Internet - $10
Spotify - $10
Car Insurance - $49.32
Cidercade: $16.24
Travel & Entertainment: $251.54
I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get used to it being warm year round but I already love it. While friends are suffering through freezing temps and snowstorms in Boston, we’re paddle-boarding and sitting on the beach
Hawaii of Texas: Round 2
Looking good Rockport! I had a friend who was curious if we went to Hawaii when I sent them this picture.
While out there we also got the paddle-boards out again. These are quickly turning into our favorite hobbies and I’m looking forward to the summer when we can get out multiple times a week. We actually booked a 3-day paddle-boarding camping trip for the end of April for $19 each.
How long does it take to get abs on these things…Asking for a friend.
Shreddin’ in Park City
The big trip this month was a big contrast to being at the beach. This time around, I’d be exploring a winter wonderland. I mentioned in a previous recap that I had met some friends online in Austin. It’s tough when you’re in a new city and no office to go to.
Well we hit it off pretty well and they invited me up to a ski trip in Utah where their parents still live. That meant I didn’t need a hotel / rental car.
Then I utilized some frontier vouchers that were expiring which meant the trip only cost me $63.
There was an obvious reason though that the flights were as cheap as they were. The return flight included an overnight stay in the Denver Airport. This layover was about 10pm to 8am. To me that is not long enough to mess with trying to get to a hotel and instead I planned from the start to stay there.
When I say I planned, I really mean that. Even though I could only bring a backpack for the whole trip (Dang you Frontier), I still was able to pack my. sleeping pad, pillow, eye mask and a book.
With that setup, I slept like a baby and saved the hotel costs all without adding stress of getting to and from a Hotel.
We’ll be back in the mountains in February but this time Colorado. We each paid $100 for four nights in an awesome house in the mountains in Aspen.
Unlimited Chili + Free Drinks…And Goats?
The most unique thing this month though may have been the chili festival we went to. There were probably 15 different vendors giving out unlimited samples of chili. On top of that they had live music, free drinks, and even stations teaching you how to rope animals. Plus lots of baby goats.
The full list of expenses for travel and entertainment were:
Ski Rental: $103.05
Uber: $1.69
Lyft: $5.30
Aspen House: $100
Parking: $3.50
Chili Fest: $19
Camping: $19
Miscellaneous: $177.30
This is the random catch all category. Probably the one most people don’t think about enough when they’re budgeting for retirment or when they try to tell you how much they spend each month.
The most impressive line item this month to me was the new cell phone bundle I was able to get for $108. That was a new Samsung Galaxy S21, fast charging portable battery, controller, smart security cam, and a leather case. This was part of a promotional pre-order offer if you traded in your old phone. So I traded up my Galaxy S20 and enjoyed the spoils.
Here’s the complete list of random purchases this month:
Jump Battery: $28.68
Pump Adapter: $4.73
All Trails Membership: $15
Stadia Pro: $10.65
Dentist: $74
Robot Vacuum Filters: $8.65
Swifter sheets: $6.50
Dollar Tree: $1.08
Cell Phone: $108.00
Chase Credit: -$80
Gas: $28.92
A fairly typical month for us. We did have the one decent road trip down to the Texas coast.
Big Picture: Net Worth Increase $25,657 to $714,756
I didn’t think I’d be back celebrating a front number change but here we are. Rolling past the $600ks and on into the $700ks. Let’s hope the $800ks come just as fast!
Remember, all you can control is your spending and earning, your net-worth is what it is.
This month I saved $23,684 while the market gained me $1,973 for a total net-worth increase of $25,657