Budget June 2015 ~ The Great Camera Switch Out
Ever since we decided that the path for us is out of the rat race and into an early retirement of our choosing, the Mr. and I have been keeping an eye on our finances and scaling down our spending. Neither one of us were complete clowns, but we certainly weren't looking out for our future selves at anywhere near the level we want/need to be.
So in comes the budget. Budgets don't work for everyone and in the future it may not be necessary for us but for now it is the way we are buckling down and meeting the tough goals we've set for ourselves. Read more about how we budget here.
We are labeling June the Great Camera Switch Out. As you may have seen, Steve changed out his camera rig to something lighter and more travel-worthy to align with exploration goals. What's funny is that even though he spent A LOT of money on his new gear he's still under on his camera fund. Why? He sold all of his old stuff. While the camera budget took a bit of a hit this month, his camera fund is still under budget for the year. This is the beauty of well-regulated roll over budget categories.
Otherwise, this was a pretty normal month for us. No extra paychecks or bonuses to speak of (oh shucks). Spending pretty in line...a little over here a little under there. So all in all a good month.
On to the numbers!
- Fixed Costs (Mortgages, HOA, Loans) $3054/ $3054 Normal
- Utilities (electricity, gas, water etc.) $254/$370 (expected) Back to being under for the month. In fact we're under in all categories here for the year. Yay!
- Monthly Costs ( phones, internet, gym, pets, car maint, etc.) $532/ $600 Under over all.
- Food (groceries and restaurants) $505/ $500 Just very slightly over. We went to the farmers market multiple times this month which led to groceries being a bit high. Yummy fresh farm food is a bit pricey in the desert.
- Fun (Travel, Mr.'s fun money, Mrs.'s fun money, Mr.'s camera fund, gifts) $614/ $825. Even with the great camera switchout we did well!
- Additional Income: $18.09. This is a random assortment of checks, interest and other sundries that came in this month. Unexpected money is a plus! We reinvest all our dividends, etc. so those don't get counted in this roundup.
Another great month on the books.
Now, let's take a look at the money-shot numbers.
Total May 2015 income: $10,254.42
Total May 2015 expenses: $4,961.90
This means our total May 2015 Take Home Savings Rate came in at: 52%.
And our May 2015 Total Savings Rate: 70% (includes maxing out our 401ks).
Our net worth: $621,637.00. Ouch. Less than $200 growth from last month but I guess we should feel lucky that we didn't actually drop like many people. Look at the bright side, all that extra money we invested was invested when the market was down. The right time!
We're doing great! Just gotta keep on keeping on.
Another adventure awaits!