July Budget Review
Monthly Review: July 2021 - 91.8% Savings Rate
Let’s quickly hit the notable moments from July:
Surprise Birthday Party For Leslie
Whiskey Myers show at historic John T. FLoores
Lake day on the boat in Austin
AEW show in Dallas
AEW show in Austin
Texas Beach Trip + Catamaran
Lots of dog sitting french bulldogs
****As always, every category depicts what I spent, what I made, and how my net worth changed. Just me, not our household****
I think we spent single-digit nights in our actual apartment. So much time was spent either house-sitting for Leslie’s brother or out in California house sitting for my friend Mike.
We did have some memorable events in Austin however. Leslie’s surprise Bday included close to 20 friends, we had a great day out on a friend’s boat on the lake, caught some live music, and I even went to a live All Elite Wrestling event (Hey…don’t judge me).
Looking Good Cali!
The great thing about these types of getaways is that we’re helping out our friends and family by house sitting, but we’re also benefiting by getting out of our tiny 375 sq. ft apartment without paying for a hotel or Air BnB.
That’s why with our win-win strategy and of course our dirt cheap rent situation, I was able to keep my spending right at $1k.
As always, read on for the details.
After-Tax Income: $12,257.20
This month’s income was fairly standard outside of some 401k matching.
On to the expenses
Expenses: $1,001
When you tell people you threw a birthday party, spent a day on the lake, spend a week in California, went to three live events, etc, etc. Oh and live in Austin. They’re not expecting your total expenses to be $1k.
This is just another example of taking what life gets you and making the most of it. We have no pets or kids and have a job that is location-independent. So we used those attributes to create these win-win scenarios with our friends and family to save them money, make them feel safe about their pups, and give us a much-needed relaxing getaway.
Let’s break down the expenses in detail.
Going Out: $213.45
This month most of our dining out took place in California, and specifically, Santa Monica.
Our initial destination, more in the Hawthorne area, had us stop at a little burrito shop for a to-go order to enjoy on the beach.
As part of our trip to California, we not only house sat for a few days with Mike, but we also spent a couple of nights with our good friends Cam and Asher in Santa Monica who we had met in Austin.
There we ate at a fantastic Mexican restaurant (Palmilla) where the butter and tortillas are worth the whole trip.
We also did a bottomless Mimosa brunch at The Anchor and had a really solid burger at Stout Burger.
The total break-down for eating out this month was:
Bernies: $7.50
Taco Bell: $5.41
Little Woodrows: $16.75
Total Wine: $56.28
AEW Concession Stand: $20
Palmilla: $29.25
The Anchor: $38.50
Stout Burger: $11.50
The Waterfront: $6.40
Subway: $12.83
Beach Burrito: $9.03
Groceries: $100.16
House sitting for Leslie’s brother came with more perks than just having more space and a great pup, we also were able to eat a lot of groceries that would have otherwise went to waste while he was on vacation.
So even though I spent more than usual on groceries this month, that helped a ton.
Most of our grocery shopping happened while we were at our first stop in California with Mike where we treated ourselves to slightly fancier meals and were subject to the higher L.A. grocery prices.
Full grocery cost breakdown:
HEB:: $8.10
Pavillions: $14.96
Pavillions: $14.38
Pavillions: $58.18
HEB: $4.54
Bills: $349
Yep, our rent is still crazy cheap. I’ve covered why this is in previous posts but basically, we put in a bunch of sweat equity to renovate the place that is family-owned, and in return, we cover all costs (insurance, HOA, utilities).
This is month ten in the little apartment and we’ll probably be here until the end of 2022.
The full set of bills were:
Rent - $275.00
Internet - $10
Spotify - $10
Car Insurance - $49
Netflix: $4.87
Travel & Entertainment: $8.37*
So yes we spent a week in California, did tons of local trips and even started a second trip to California all within July and only spent $8.37.
How do you ask?
The biggest thing to remember is I list my expenses as they happen and my activities as they happen. Those things don’t always line up though. The concert tickets may have been purchased in May even though we went in July.
The other piece was that I got a new Delta Gold credit card which got us free checked bags to California and enough points for a free round trip flight.
Old School New Country
If you’ve read basically any of my monthly recaps, you’ve probably caught on that I’m addicted to live music. Now that we’re in Austin, I also want to hit some old iconic venues, and this show gave us both
John T. Floores is an old Honky Tonk in the little town of Helotes, TX.
The line-up that night featured two bands that really get after it. Bringing a lot of southern rock vibes.
The opener was Shane Smith and the Saints.
The next band, Whiskey Myers, really brought it. I’m talking four guitars going at any given time and a mad man on the cowbell/bongo.
All in all, it was another great night that ended with me having no voice.
4th of July Cali Style
Next up was our first trip to L.A. of the month to celebrate the 4th of July and spend a little time seeing friends.
Me and Leslie decided not to drink since our friend we were staying with had recently given up drinking.
I’m fairly certain we were the only three not drinking because this place turned into MTV Spring Break real quick. I’m talking people being taken out on stretchers. I was so thankful to simply be a spectator and not in the rough shape those folks ended up in.
We also got to meet our newest godchild for the first time.
World, meet Hugo.
Hugo was the brightest pup I’ve ever met and certainly brightened up our trip.
We did our best to take this time to kind of reset. We avoided drinking, got in a good workout routine, and soaked in that glorious California sunshine daily.
We also got down to Santa Monica to visit another set of friends who lived a block from the beach and just down from the pier. So here’s my obligatory touristy photo.
We loved our time so much out there that we decided to accept an offer to come back later that month for about two weeks worth of house sitting with Mr. Hugo.
Double Dose of Rasslin’
One thing that this pandemic and working remote has taught me, is that we have to find ways to keep in contact with others even when we’re not physically seeing them on the regular.
Me and my best friend have found two things this year that keep conversations active. Bourbon and Body Slams.
Yep, wrestling. And not the more commonly known WWE either. We’re talking about the people’s wrestling organization, All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
During the intermission between the two acts, Mississippi State sealed the deal and I was in heaven.
July brought AEW back on the road for the first time since the pandemic shut down it’s traveling show. Not only was it back, but it was having back-to-back shows in Texas.
The first show was in Austin with a follow-up in Dallas.
And you’re eyes aren’t deceiving you. That’s Sting! The man is still making memorable matches even at 60 years old.
Impersonating with Pearl Girl
Right after leaving one french bulldog, we turned to another.
This time we were house-sitting for Leslie’s brother in a nicer area of Austin. I said impersonating in the header because everything felt so different.
We were in this large nice home in a subdivision. A big change from our tiny little apartment downtown. It certainly got us thinking about more space.
Two people working full-time at a home that’s 375 sq/ft is pretty hard and tough mentally.
Maybe that’s what lifted our spirits, or maybe it was just how freaking much we loved pearl ha.
Getting our Water Fix
This is a bit of a catch-all as it’s not describing one trip, but there is a central theme.
First up was a fun day out on our buddy’s boat. Even got a little fishing in. Fishing was fun but let’s just say that if we had to eat only what we caught, we’d starve.
Next up was celebrating another friend’s birthday down on the coast of Texas. Lots of beach time and even got my first Catamaran ride.
And finally, we headed out for our next journey to California. I’ll cover that in the August edition as most of that trip took place in August.
I did though get a nice stop at the nice Delta lounge while waiting to head out for L.A.
The full list of expenses for travel and entertainment were:
Tyler Childers: $41.97
Camping: $15.83
Movies: $39.42
Rec Center: $63.95
Utah Fuel: $98.37
Lyft: $23
Lyft: $6.85
Big Bend Fuel: $45.93
Uber: $4.84
Miscellaneous: $268.46
Clothes, B-day party supplies, and an oil change.
Here’s the complete list of random purchases this month:
Tommy John: $92.67
Fabletics: $81.26
Oil Change: $18.50
Les Bday: $76.03
Gas: $61.43
Just a normal month of gas for the ole 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Big Picture: Net Worth Increase $34,139 to $930,796
Another solid jump this month. This time the market gave another solid push of $22,558.
On top of that, I saved $11,256 for a total net-worth increase of $34,139.