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.