September Budget Review
Monthly Review: September 2020 - 96% Savings Rate
Lets quickly hit the big events from September:
Renovated our new Austin apartment
Finished my phone booth
Sam Riggs Concert
This was our first full month in the new house! And man did we hit the ground running. The old rough paint was changed out on our request for bright white top to bottom and the place had a good cleaning.
Luckily I’d also created a 3D model of the apartment to scale before we left so we had a jump start on placing things and a confidence that all our furniture would fit perfectly.
Keep in mind that this little canvas is only 375 square feet but it has a pool right out the patio door and a hundred yard walk to the river and boardwalk.
I’ll point out the updates we made to the house as well as some ways we were able to save money along with the full expense breakdown below.
After-Tax Income: $48,184.00
This seems absurd to me and maybe it does to you as well. Most of my life I didn’t imagine making this much money after taxes in a year, much less a month.
It was a strange sequence of timing that led to this though.
I had a year of backpay related to benefits from my time in the Air Force. I took me almost a year to qualify but once I did, they paid me back retroactively to the date I separated. That added up to about $17k.
This also marked my one year anniversary of my new job. This job came with restricted stock spread over four years. They would pay 25% after one year and then 6.25% each quarter after that. After taxes this accounted for about $19k.
On top of all that I had my regular pay as well as some of my variable compensation which covered the rest of the $12k.
It certainly makes the 96% savings rate seem less impressive but I’m proud of myself for fighting off the urge to buy things I don’t need. I’m talking to you Tesla, motorcycles, new electric bike….I have a long list.
Now on to the expenses
Expenses: $1,949.86
This month’s expenses were dominated by the miscellaneous category due to random things needed around the house as well as gas money for the Uhaul.
We did a pretty good job however of furnishing our house on a budget. Like that $2500 crate and barrel dresser we got for free that just needed new handles and a coat of paint on top. There’s also the canvas art you see that Leslie drew up on her computer and got the whole set delivered for $60.
You may also notice two 50” tvs in the apartment which I think is critical in 375 sq ft!
Even with some thrifty moves and a tiny place, you can still have little charges add up fast. Let’s get into the nitty gritty of the month.
Going Out: $136.59
Jester King: $20
Tommy Wing: $9.38
Moonshine: $31.50
Fresas: $30.53
Taco Joint: $15.10
Mag/Cherry: $30.08
One of my favorite sour beer breweries in the country is now a short drive away. If you like sour beers then I highly recommend you check out Jester King in Dripping Springs, TX.
The rest of the stops where catching up with friends and enjoying the amazing weather that Austin has to offer. I’ll never get tired of outdoor happy hours on a beautiful day.
Groceries: $54.71
Getting settled in and comfortable with the new grocery store options. Seems like everyone in Texas is obsessed with the chain HEB and they’ll get no complaints from me.
Full grocery cost breakdown:
HEB: $15.42
HEB: $29.23
HEB: $10.07
Bills: $361.32
Well this category will now be absurdly low as long as we live in our current apartment. We pay a total of $550 for rent from Leslie’s parents. We struck a deal that we’d come in and handle all the updates to the apartment and get great pictures of it so that it could be rented out for full market rent when we left.
This benefits both sides because we think they should have been getting ~$300 more a month than they were charging before we got here and we’ll help make sure they get it when we leave. While we get to enjoy renting at cost. Win-Win
Rent - $275.00
Internet - $27
Spotify - $10
Car Insurance - $49.32
Travel: $105.10
Did someone say Donut boat?
We didn’t really go anywhere but we did get to start enjoying our new surroundings. The best of that was this 10 person donut boat on Lady Bird Lake.
It picked up right down the walking path from our house and could seat up to 10 people. It’s $200 for 2 hours but you do get to bring your own food and drinks.
Being down in Texas meant getting to enjoy ourdoor music again. Even though it was odd to be sitting at a table, you should never turn down a Sam Riggs concert.
Give him a spin on Spotify. We also purchase some concert tickets for Parker McCollum on a later date.
The travel sections costs include:
Sam Riggs: -$28.50
Donut Boat: $28
Parker McCollum: $43.60
Hike: $5
Miscellaneous: $1,038.57
Another big month with a large amount of random expenses but it was mostly tied to getting the new house all setup along with paddle for the kayak, new running shoes, and repairing my electric bike.
The couch ($45), desk ($20), and ladder shelf (Curbside Treasure) pictured help round out the room. The ceiling fan was part of the renovation budget we received to fix the place up as well as the google nest thermostat.
Keep in mind that expenses for the general house are usually half of the actual cost since me and Leslie split them. If it’s something for me, such as the phone booth, then it’s the full cost.
Here you get to see that beautiful phone booth! I had several expenses related to it such as 3D printed keyboard encasement ($70), Flexible microphone grip ($21.60), wooden table top ($20) and a vent fan in the ceiling ($31.38).
The phone booth has a 27” ultra-wide monitor vertically mounted along with the mic, webcam, vent fan, and even hardwood floors.
We also see the second 50” tv sitting above the tv stand we got ($72.50) and our snake plant named Nagini ($14). The bar cart was a carry over from Boston as well as the awesome metal map my brother made me.
Moving on into the kitchen we added shelving above the stove from Ikea. We also got a new fridge and stove. We painted the backsplash, replaced the window light and overhead light, and put new curtains in the window. Also changed out the handles to gold metal.
Most of those fixes were funded by Leslie’s parents who own the place. They gave us a budget to use for things that would stay with the apartment when we left as they looked to update the looks.
Last up is the bathroom. This didn’t take too much work. I did add the tall narrow white cabinet that I got for free in Boston, toilet paper holder, new light fixture above vanity, shower curtain, and cactus print.
The full list of expenses for this category:
Home Depot: $132.96
Target: $27
Dick’s: $48.70
Target: $5.91
Uhaul: $40.90
Lowes: $58
Vent Fan: $31.38
Spoke Wrench: $5.30
Mic Stand: $21.60
Duvet Cover: $16.51
Sheets: $5.93
Google Holder: $4.33
TV Mounts: $54.10
Headphone Pads: $11.85
Shoes: $145
Keyboard enclosure: $70
lenses: $34.64
Ikea: $79.43
House stuff: $189.03
Nagini: $14
Bike repair: $42
Gas: $253.57
This finished up the expenses tied to driving the Uhaul down from Boston.
Big Picture: Net Worth Increase $30,359 to $578,101
It’s certainly strange to see that my net-worth grew over $30k while my investments actually lost $15k. But we all know you don’t lose until you sell.
This month I saved $46,234.54 while the market lost me $15,874.52 for a total net-worth increase of $30,359.62.