June was not a good month for me financially. My Net Worth, having decreased $5,366.54 to a new total of $245,051.84, crossing underneath the $250k mark again.
While my 401k did lose $3,559.94 this month, even after my normal contributions, the clear problem was the decrease in my Credit Union Personal Savings of $5,003.52. I have been putting $2,000 a month into this account, so that means not only did I withdraw $5,000, I also withdrew the additional $2,000 that should have gone in here, for a total of $7,000.
Where did that $7,000 go, approximately?
- $500 went into my other savings account, to bring it up to $1,000
- $2,000 is sitting in my checking account, waiting to head to Ukraine to pay for upcoming Immigration fees and other expenses for my fiance
- $600 more also went to upcoming immigration fees
- $1,100+ went to pay unexpected vet bills, as unfortunately one of my beloved pets this month passed away after some serious internal bleeding from a tumor
- The balance of about $2,800 went to pay down the credit card debt, which went down $612.59, so about $2188 actually was spent this month on the cards. And if I am brutally honest, I probably didn’t need about 70% of that stuff. It’s those spendaholic ways creeping up!
June 2018 Financial Statement
| Account Name | Previous Balance | Balance | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $0.00 | $13.00 | $13.00 |
| Savings - Personal | $500.31 | $1000.39 | $500.08 |
| Savings - Personal (CU) | $16,009.85 | $11,006.33 | -$5,003.52 |
| Checking - Personal | $928.40 | $2,930.32 | $2,001.92 |
| Checking - Business | $2,156.51 | $1,475.53 | -$680.98 |
| Retirement - 401k | $185,265.03 | $181,705.09 | -$3,559.94 |
| Credit Cards | -$13,170.04 | -$12,557.45 | $612.59 |
| Retirement - Pension | $25,840.15 | $25,840.15 | $0.00 |
| Retirement - HSA (Investements) | $7,693.95 | $7,754.62 | $60.67 |
| Retirement - HSA (Cash) | $2,777.41 | $3,020.48 | $243.07 |
| Asset - Vehicle 1 | $13,325.00 | $13,000 | -$325.00 |
| Auto Loan 1 | -$14,281.36 | -$13,917.36 | $364.19 |
| Asset - Vehicle 2 | $8,500.00 | $8,500.00 | $0.00 |
| Asset - Precious Metals | $500.00 | $500.00 | $0.00 |
| Asset - Home | $152,546.00 | $152,107.00 | -$439.00 |
| Mortgage - Home | -$138,172.83 | -$137,326.26 | $846.57 |
| Net Worth | $250,418.38 | $245,051.84 | -$5,366.54 |
A few things to note this month:
- I do continue to add $2,000 a month to my credit union savings account, but this month it got taken out and more.
- My emergency fund is has dwindled to about $12,000 though I’d still like to get it up to $24,000 before I focus on other financial goals.
- I failed completely on my not eating out for June. I started off great and then totally fell off the wagon.
- My pet dying really sucks, for a variety of reasons and I’m trying not to dwell on it, but there’s no denying it hurt my finances as well as my emotions. On top of that, my remaining dog is now having medical issues as well.
Side Business Income
For May, my side business did about $3,200 in revenue – our best month ever!, I think this is mostly a result of the website redesign we did that gives our website a much more professional appeal, giving more people confidence to give us a try, plus some referrals we’re starting to get. Additionally, I had given away a bunch of credits to use, and if I included that it’d add about $200 on top of this figure. I’m really excited for the future!
This translates into about $800 profit after paying all my expenses and paying my team for the month. I’m still not happy with our cash reserves, however, so no money will be taken out of the business at this time.
Retirement
June was not kind to my 401k, losing -$3,559.94, basically giving back all of the gains from last month. I think I might reassess my investment options, as it’s been awhile and it’s good to do that from time to time.
With retirement accounts totaling $207,545.24 and using a 3.5% safe withdrawal rate (SWR), that would allow me to take $605.34 as income each month. That’s an increase of about $10.00 a month! Not enough to retire on for sure, but I am hopefully about 18 years away from that and have time to continue saving! Time is everything!
Safe Withdrawal Rate (3.5%) monthly income: $695.34
Some interesting information is that according to The Earth Awaits that’s enough to get by on in a few places in India and Ukraine! Luckily for me, Ukraine is my fiancee’s home, so it’s definitely an option for us if we need an inexpensive place to live in the future!
Spendaholic Ways
Though I had some legitimate expenses and needs to send my fiance money overseas, I did spend about $1600 this month I probably didn’t need to. I ate out too much, and I bought household crap that I probably could have done without. A decent chunk of this was spent in the week after my per died, with a little bit of retail therapy. I know that’s not an excuse, but it’s what happened.
Emergency Fund
My personal and credit union savings is now at $12,006.72. Right at about 3 months worth, but I have my sights set on a full 6 months E-Fund. Had I not spent so much this month, it would be sitting about $19.000 which sounds a lot more appealing to me – but sometimes life gets in the way!
Looking Ahead
For July, my fiance is strongly encouraging me to lose weight before she moves to the USA. We had a serious discussion about how she feels about it, and about my struggles with not only eating out, but eating healthier foods. For me, it’s really hard when I’m alone every day, and have a work commute I hate… I cope by eating food I enjoy, usually at restaurants which is killing both my wallet and my waistline.
I really need to make a serious attempt this month to eat better and spend less.
On the bright side, apart from the $2,000 already earmarked in my checking account to go to Ukraine, I shouldn’t have to send any more money this month, and very little next month I hope.
My remaining pet is also having some medical issues and has already cost about $300 in vet bills this week, with what looks like a need to extract 4 teeth next week, which is probably going to run at least $1,000 if I had to guess. But, he’s very important to me and I don’t want him to continue to be in pain (he’s really not eating due to it, either)