May 2008 Review

My net worth as of May 31st, 2008:

($16,191.18)

Assets:

Liquid assets:
$1,579.62
Investments:
$5,232.20
Total:
$6,811.82

Liabilities:
Consumer Debt:
$23,003.00
Hospital Bills:
$0
Total:
$23,003.00

That is a 62% increase in my net worth. My assets actually decreased a bit this month, mostly due to an increase in spending. My big discretionary expenses were a large entertainment bill and a larger transportation bill. The entertainment expense was purchasing two tickets to a baseball game, this is an event that I will attend in Sept. There's a chance that my team will make it to the playoffs this year, and I had the opportunity to get front row tickets directly next to the visitor's dugout. It's not cheap, but I'm very excited about it. I'm not sure why the transportation bill was so large. My quarterly medical retainer bill came through, as well as some repayment expenses.

I'm going to try something new and put the spreadsheet I use online for everyone to see. I use it to track and categorize my income and expenses, as well as keeping track of my net worth. Check it out here. I did earn more than I spent for the month.

April 2008 review

My net worth as of April 30st, 2008:

($43,051.66)

Assets:
Liquid assets: $3,748.40
Investments: $3,078.84
Total: $6,827.24

Liabilities:
Consumer Debt: $23,003.00
Hospital Bills: $26,875.90
Total: $49,878.90

My assets have increased by 43% since last month. My investments were the big increase, with an increase of over 1400%. My debts decreased by nearly 13%. I still have a long way to go on them, obviously, but things continue to move in the right direction. Overall, my net worth increased by nearly 18%. When I do move, it will be hard to maintain that level of increase, but I am going to work on keeping my expenses lower than my income.

Monthly income and expenses:

Income:

Interest: $1.45
Internet income: $88
Other income: $1,567
Salary: $2,333.66
Total: $3,970.11

Expenses:

Charity: $20
Clothing: $41.34
Debt Repayment: $59.00
Dining: $27.69
Entertainment: $129.79
Gifts: $21.15
Household: $1344.66
Medical: $177.26
Misc.: $25.90
Transportation: $87.00
Utilities: $54.00
Total: $1987.79

Overall Total: $1,982.32

I spent quite a bit this month. Purchases of a cell phone and a computer contributed for the bulk of the expenses. I came very close to covering my entertainment bill with my internet income, and I think that will be a goal every month. I definitely met and exceeded the goal of earning at least $25 extra every month. My tax refund came in, which made a big different in my income, although I still spent less than I earned if you exclude that. I expect my discretionary expenses to decrease next month.

March 2008 Review

My net worth as of March 31st, 2008:

($52,263.48)

Assets:
Liquid assets: $4,579.65
Investments: $202.77
Total: $4,782.42

Liabilities:
Consumer Debt: $23,003.00
Hospital Bills: $34,042.90
Total: $57,045.90

My assets have increased by 109% since last month. Both my liquid assets and my investments more than doubled, so I think that's a clear sign of progress. My liabilities also decreased - consumer debt was down 7.8% and my hospital debt decreased by 15.7%, for an overall decrease of 12.7%. That resulted in my net worth increasing by over 17% this month. I expect for those trends to continue through April.

Monthly income and expenses:

Income:

Bonus: $581.87
Interest: $2.39
Internet income: $25.70
Salary: $2,333.66
Total: $2,943.62

Expenses:

Debt Repayment: $99.00
Dining: $2.00
Entertainment: $39.99
Gifts: $58.36
Investment: $100.00
Medical: $28.81
Misc.: $128.88
Transportation: $73.00
Utilities: $24.00
Total: $554.04

Overall Total: $2,389.58

A pretty good month. Obviously not having rent or grocery expenses allowed me to save quite a bit. About 18% of my spending was discretionary this month. I spent $58.36 on a jacket that also counted as a political contribution. I needed the jacket, and I felt the money went for a good cause as well. The entertainment charge was for a fantasy baseball league, which will provide me with entertainment through September. I also spent $2.00 on sodas at work. The misc. category charges stemmed from costs associated with filing my taxes. For the second month in a row, I have spent less than I earned.

February 2008 review

My net worth as of Feb. 29th, 2008:

($63,051.34)

Assets:

Liquid assets: $2,210.02

Investments: $75.95

Total: $2,285.97



Liabilities:

Consumer Debt: $24,946.00

Hospital Bills: $40,391.31

Total: $65,337.31



My liquid assets increased by 68%, and my overall assets increased by 73%. My liabilities didn't change, however, I have made progress to negotiate debt reduction and payment plans regarding both my hospital bills and my consumer debt. I expect these to begin decreasing sharply over the next 2 months. Thus, my overall networth increased 1.5%



Monthly Income and Expenses:



Income:

Uncategorized: $3.56

Interest: $1.92

Salary: $3100.11

Total: $3105.59



Expenses:

Bank Charge: $4.00
Dining: $97.42
Entertainment: $35.00
Gifts: $10.00
Health & Fitness: $30.00
Household: $23.44
Medical: $1,157.43
Rent: $650.00
Transportation: $126.00
TO Lending Club: $50.95
Total: $2,184.24



Overall total: $889.43



I spent less than I earned this month, which is what I was aiming for. About 9% of my spending this month was purely discretionary. Over 50% was medical, that category should be drastically reduced next month. I'm not unhappy with the way the month went.

January 2008 review

My net worth as of Jan. 31st, 2008:

($64,018.64)

Assets:
Liquid Assets: $1,318.67
Other: $0
Total: $1,318.67

Liabilities:
Consumer Debt: $24,946.00
Hospital Bills: $40,391.31*
Total: $65,337.31

*I am negotiating with the various doctors and hospitals to try to reduce the hospital bills amount.

Obviously, the net worth looks pretty bad, and it is. I took a big hit at the end of December with the hospital bills.

Monthly Income and Expenses:
Income:
Uncategorized: $0.50
Interest: $0.40
Other: $25.00
Salary: $1701.61
Total: $1717.51

Expenses:

Bank Charge: $4.50
Debt Repayment: $825.00
Dining: $51.11
Groceries: $178.79
Household: $9.15
Misc: $15.00
Rent: $1300.00
Transportation: $78.25
Utilities: $36.00
Total: $2497.80

Overall Total: -$780.29

Looking at it, it appears that I spent more than I earned, as well. However, it's not as bad as it looks. My paycheck for the first half of January was incorrect, about $350 short. $650 of the rent bill is actually a security deposit, and that's a one time expense that I will eventually recoup. Factoring in those two issues, I spent less than I earned.

$14.50 of my expenses came from poor decision-making on my part, I lost $10 and didn't plan ahead and had to go to the ATM at my office, which is from another bank, resulting in the $4.50 bank charge. The $825 debt repayment was a personal loan from before I had my bank account set up, so that reflects expenses occurred in a prior month. I spent quite a bit on groceries, but a lot of that came from having to buy several things to get settled into my apartment. Those won't be regular expenses, and I'll be looking to keep my grocery bill around $100/month.