I wanted to do a "case study" style exercise and create a description of my current financial picture to give myself a new perspective. I figured I might as well share it here since this forum is what gave me the idea, and I enjoy reading the case studies everyone else posts.
Part of the motivation for the exercise was to help me figure out occasional and/or yearly expenses, so I could create a "monthly" budget for them, therefore improving the accuracy of my monthly expenditure tracking.
Any face punches?:
No debts.
Assets:Fuel efficient car,
worth $11,000Home with ~19% equity,
worth about $135,000, owe $110,000IRAs (Roth & Traditional)
worth $13,500Emergency fund
worth $4,500Home maintenence fund
worth $4,200Checking account cash buffer
worth $2,000I should be starting a 401K at work this month, I already contribute $5,000 per year towards my IRA.
Income:Salary,
$50,000/yearTiny bonus checks, probably
~$1,200/yearHousemate rental income,
$7,200/yearVarious internet income,
$200/yearOccasional very random freelance jobs,
~1,000/yearTOTAL: $59,600/year, or ~$4967/month before taxes
Expenses:Mortgage, Insurance, Property Tax,
$836/monthHOA fees (includes trash pickup),
$38/monthUtilities (all electric, no gas),
~$190/monthVegetable gardening & yard upkeep,
~$25/monthSmart phone & skype -
$33/monthInternet -
$48/monthWeb hosting -
$11/monthGas,
~$80/monthCar insurance & maintenence,
~$110/monthGroceries & household items,
~$200/monthRestaraunts,
~$40/monthLunch at work (days I don't bring lunch),
~$30/monthAlcohol at home & at meetups -
~$40/monthMisc. entertainment (movies, video games, etc.),
~$50/monthGym membership,
$35/monthHaircut,
$16/monthClothing,
~$20/monthVacations/weekends away,
~$50/monthPet food,
~$16/monthCredit card yearly fee (I earn rewards worth ~$250 each year on this card),
$5/monthBank line of credit yearly fee -
$4/monthGifts, special occasions throughout the year -
~$40/monthTOTAL: $23,004/year, or $1,917/month
According to Mint.com I spent ~20,000 last year, so maybe some of my monthly expense numbers have too high of a buffer. Despite that... it looks like I have about a 61% savings rate.
A few expense notes:
- I am working towards refinancing the house to remove PMI and lower the mortgage payment, need a bit more equity first
- I am ~13 miles from work. I recently started riding my bike to work once a week, working towards being more baddass and riding to work 2 days a week.
- I will keep my gym membership - it gives me somewhere to bike to on the weekends, and it's my main source of socializing with a good friend of mine.
- I appreciate a professional cutting my hair, not sure if I want to try it myself.