What else can I do?

[spaniard999]

Hi everyone.

I'm originally from Spain, living in the US for the last 6 years.
I'm on a H1B visa and will be starting my GreenCard process soon.

I'm single.
I own a 2014 Ford Fiesta (paid) which does 31.2 MPG. I tried everything to bring the number up but is not possible.
I own a 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R (paid). This is my hobby. Riding motorcycles what I do for fun in my spare time.
I try to ride my motorcycle all I can (>45MPG) but that depends on weather, and living in Chicago, that is barely 5 months a year.

I make 85k a year.
December 2015 I bought a house with my fiancee at the moment. Mortgage is $1780. Since we broke up we are trying to sell the house.
House is set to sell on May 23rd (can't wait).
As you can imagine this is draining a lot of money.

I rent now a place and my expenses are:
- Rent: Me($700) SO($500)
- Mobile $35
- Gasoline $100
- Gas: Me ($20) SO($20)
- Electric: Me ($15) SO($15)
- Internet: Me ($25) SO($25)
- Groceries: Me($200) SO($200)

My work pay is as follows (for every 2 weeks):
- Gross pay: $3,415.77
- Pretax Deductions: $423.89
    o Medical $75
    o Dental $7
    o Vision $5.04
    o PAI Emp $0.77
    o 401k $336.08
- Employee taxes: $890.03
- Posttax deductions: $18.02:
   o Opt Life
   o LTD


Take home/ Net Pay:  $2,083.83

I'm contributing 12% on my 401k. My company matches the first 3% and after that 0.5 per each $1 I put for the next 2 points; So if I put >5%, they put 4%.

I get a one time bonus of 6-10% variable and an extra 6-12% variable in my 401k.

I don't go out a lot to eat and if I do I never get a drink (they are a rip off).

I just moved closer to work so my commute went from 13 miles to 8 miles but considering this is Chicago and I was living around the lake and commuting to the airport, I cut my commute in half. Saving in gas and time.

I'm also trying to do something on my spare time to make some money but my H1B visa does not allow me to do this.
So I'm doing some carpentry on the side, and selling it.
I make $80 for a bench that takes $35 in materials.

I need more ideas on how to save or make more money.

UPDATE:
I live with my SO, so groceries are for 2. My part would be just $200.
Same for utilities, my part should be half of everything listed
Rent I pay $700 and my SO pays $500.
Entertainment is maybe $30-$50. But it's very rare.
I used to buy in Amazon every other day, but since this is a big expense I'm just trying to change my behavior and think during a week about what I am buying. Normally after 1 week I forgot about it.
I have a Roth IRA with 2014,2015 contributions maxed and 2016 just $1500. My plan is to contribute $5500 this year.
I spend $180/month in car+motorcycle insurance.

[ketchup]

It's not a huge number, but is there a reason you're paying for life insurance if you're now single and with no dependents?  (I assume that's what that "Opt life" line item is.)

[spaniard999]

Well when I decided to buy the house ( which is now selling) I was engaged so it was a way to secure some money in case something happened and left my wife to be with the whole amount of the mortgage.
I guess I can remove it for now, but that is not a big save.

[YoungGranny]

Can you get groceries down at all? We spend $400 a month on groceries for 2 of us so it seems a little high for just one. Since you're in Chicago can you rely on public transportation more? When I lived there I didn't own a car at all and if you could sell your car that would give you a big lump sum to apply to your goals.

You're doing well though, keep it up!

[mamagoose]

We spend 433/month for a family of 3 on groceries. When I was living alone, I could eat well on 35-50/week (half of your budget). I also didn't have internet at home, since I was usually either working or having fun outside of the home. Can you open an HSA or IRA? (not sure how this works with your visa).

[Frankies Girl]

Where are insurance costs for the bike and car? License renewals? Public transit costs? Bike gear? Haircuts? Clothes? What about household/personal stuff - laundry detergent, bath soap, razors, and such?

Any expenses associated with getting your green card like lawyer or paperwork filing?

You say you hardly ever go out to eat, but when you do... and then have zero category slated for going out to eat? Even if you do it occasionally, you still need to account for the spending.

And you spend zero dollars on any entertainment? That's great if so, but I can't believe you never go out with friends to a movie or concert or something.

You say you make things (carpentry) and don't include the spending category for materials and goods or the profits made from sales?

Think there's quiet a few spending/income categories missing. Suggest you start really tracking every single thing using something like Mint or YNAB (or a simple spreadsheet if you account for every transaction in/out) so you can see exactly how you spend and earn.

And yeah, the grocery/food expenses for a single adult should be closer to $150-200 if you're going absolutely crazy with shopping. $400 is just insanity and sounds like you're not cooking much at all or buying very expensive things in very expensive stores. So do you know how to cook simple, inexpensive meals? Do you take your lunch to work? Cook in bulk and shop the sales?

Why do you have a car if you also have a motorcycle? As you just moved closer to work, and from what I understand Chicago has a very good public transit system, I would think you could get rid of the car completely (and the associated fees/tags/insurance) and save a ton of money just using the bike for general travel and public transit for everything else.

[spaniard999]

Where are insurance costs for the bike and car? License renewals? Public transit costs? Bike gear? Haircuts? Clothes? What about household/personal stuff - laundry detergent, bath soap, razors, and such?

I added the insurance to the OP. License renewals I don't know until I have to do them around august.
My life had a personal big change on August 2016 so thats when I sold my old car and bought the used one and the same with the motorcycle.
Personal stuff I include it in groceries.
I dont take public transit, or maybe once a month ($4)
I have a hair cutting machine, so I do it at home.
I have a pack of 100 razors that I bought 1 year ago and I still have more for another 2 years.
Clothes I have plenty, if anything I need to get rid of some. I bought a pair of shoes for $20 on black friday and thats it.
Motorcycle gear: I don't need new gear for at least a year.

Any expenses associated with getting your green card like lawyer or paperwork filing?

My work is doing this for me, so I shouldn't have to pay anything.

You say you hardly ever go out to eat, but when you do... and then have zero category slated for going out to eat? Even if you do it occasionally, you still need to account for the spending.

I added $30-$50
And you spend zero dollars on any entertainment? That's great if so, but I can't believe you never go out with friends to a movie or concert or something.

You say you make things (carpentry) and don't include the spending category for materials and goods or the profits made from sales?

I do. I make $80 but spend $35, so my gain is $45. But I put around 2-3 hours of work a piece.

Think there's quiet a few spending/income categories missing. Suggest you start really tracking every single thing using something like Mint or YNAB (or a simple spreadsheet if you account for every transaction in/out) so you can see exactly how you spend and earn.

I have MINT and I pay everything with credit card, so everything is tracked.
It's hard to track some things. For example we got a house inspenction and they complained about some humidity in the basement so we had to pay a professional to fix it. We spend $2500 each in things like this, and tracking this in a month basis when it just happens once is hard. How do I do that?

And yeah, the grocery/food expenses for a single adult should be closer to $150-200 if you're going absolutely crazy with shopping. $400 is just insanity and sounds like you're not cooking much at all or buying very expensive things in very expensive stores. So do you know how to cook simple, inexpensive meals? Do you take your lunch to work? Cook in bulk and shop the sales?

I added more info in the OP. But I do cook. I used to buy lunch every other day. Since the last 2 months I never do anymore, I just cook and bring it from home.

Why do you have a car if you also have a motorcycle? As you just moved closer to work, and from what I understand Chicago has a very good public transit system, I would think you could get rid of the car completely (and the associated fees/tags/insurance) and save a ton of money just using the bike for general travel and public transit for everything else.

Chicago has a good system but not for my commute. I work by the lake and my work is by the airport. There is no easy combination for the commute.
Plus I would have to take more than 1 transport (BUS+PACE or TRAIN+PACE) and just the bus is $100 monthly which is about my gas expenses. Also the public transportation commute is around 1hour and by car is 30 min.

A bike might be an option in sunny days. I'm considering it.
The motorcycle is a hobby. It is 100% extra money I'm expending without a doubt but the joy it brings me outshines the rest.

[Malum Prohibitum]

Is my math correct?

You spend $1310 a month.


You put $672 monthly in a 401(k).

You have a net pay, after 401(k) and insurance and taxes, of $4166.

$4166
-1310
$2856

So you have $2856 to save every month plus your $672 in the 401(k).  That's $3538 monthly savings.

That would be outstanding.

I say "would be" because I think perhaps your numbers are off.  You would not be coming to us if you had such a fantastic savings rate.

[spaniard999]

You are right.
The problem is about little things here and there.
So I basically don't know where my money goes.
Don't get me wrong, there is not much money that is missing, but enough to be noticeable.

I guess I forgot my dog's food ($80)
Here is an example.
This corresponds to this year:

Category   Spending
Auto & Transport   $8,945.22
Home   $7,155.34
Bills & Utilities   $2,545.06
Food & Dining   $1,950.95
Shopping   $945.53
Travel   $237.31
Entertainment   $186.03
Fees & Charges   $61.75
Business Services   $59.59
Pets   $55.11
Financial   $47.00
Education   $12.00
Taxes   ($1,765.02)
Total   $20,435.87

Mainly is hard to track things since I split half living expenses with my ex, which then appears in MINT as:
I put in a shared account $1500, then I pay my rent ($700) and take this $700 from the shared account.
I don't know how to keep track of my finances better.
Also, if I pay my rent on a day 30 of a month, they appear as a rent expense is double one month.

I tried to get the excel files that are in this forum to keep track of expenses but I can't, I get lost

[Karinajane8]

I downloaded the spreadsheet from MadFientist and it has done wonders for my recordkeeping (the averages tab).  I highly recommend it.  I use mint and personal capital (boot and suspenders!) and once a month update the FI Spreadsheet.  Do you go through and check the categorizations of your spending in mint?  And use the trends page to check your spending by category?
And it is amazing to start seeing some progress on the net worth page (balances tab).   
Good luck!

[Rosy]

Interestingly, in your case the answer really does lie in the record keeping. Keep it up, you are on the right track - good job so far.

Try the MadFientiest spreadsheet and see if that will throw some light onto your financial situation. One time expenses and averages and separating your own expenses is what you will need to figure out where your money goes. Then you can analyze everything better and hone in on the weak spots.

Taking your own food to work is a huge money saver and you have obviously given the transportation dilemma some serious thought. You also don't seem to spend hardly any money on clothing ...
So where exactly is the missing money going - is it simply a case of having disappeared into that home purchase? A string of one time expenses?

Have you cancelled the life insurance as suggested? Unless you need to provide for someone after your death, there is no need to continue with it, even if it is a cheap policy.

[geo_kale]

I also use Personal Capital and the Mad Fientist spreadsheet: http://www.madfientist.com/. At the end of every month I export my transactions and paste them into the Mad Fientist spreadsheet in categories that make sense for my life. I do this for both myself and my SO. I've separated the sheets so that there's one showing my averages, another showing his, and then one that combines them to show the total for both of us.

Another thought -have you read "Your Money or Your Life"? This book is FI 101 and will really help you to understand your spending habits better. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are trying to be more conscious of your spending.