My vacation came and went smoother than expected. I had been padding my “Short Term Savings” account in the months prior in anticipation.  When I started saving for the trip, I failed to consider that I would not be buying the usual groceries and daily necessities whilst away from home. This resulted in saving too much, which is not a bad thing.

If I don’t count the extra day, the cost of the vacation over and above what I usually spend in a month was $0. So I still have $500 in my short-term account remaining.

The rest of the month involved some extra spending. However I did this knowing it was either reimbursable or within my adjusted budget. I adjusted my monthly budget because, following my vacation, I had a business trip. My employer provides a meal per diem when I have a business trip, so I increase my food budget accordingly.

Here is where my accounts stand:

Liquid Assets	Mar-17	Apr-17	$ Change
Cash & Checking	$600	$522	($78)
Emergency Fund	$3,026	$3,043	+$17
Short Term Savings	$500	$605	+$105
Long Term Savings	$154	$165	+$11
Illiquid Assets	Mar-17	Apr-17	$ Change
Brokerage	$287	$287	+$0
Savings Bonds	$1,445	$1,700	+$255
Incoming	$76	–	($76)
Retirement Accts	Mar-17	Apr-17	$ Change
Roth IRA	$14,492	$14,870	+$378
Traditional 401K	$17,157	$19,163	+$2,006
Net Worth	$37,737	$40,355	+$2,618
% Change			+6.9%

I do have a bit of a cash flow issue.  My Cash & Checking balances are much lower than I’d like. If I can stay close to my budget this month I should be fine. I’m slowing down my contributions to my Emergency Fund and Short Term Savings accounts.

What would really help me is getting my vacation expenses reimbursed. Since my vacation reimbursements are somewhat uncertain, I’m not entering it into the “Incoming” asset category.  But I did all the necessary paperwork, and anticipate a reimbursment of about $200 at some point. It would be great if everything gets processed before June.

Oh, and I surpassed a $40,000 net worth!

Goal Progress:

Fund/Goal	Contrib.	Total	Goal	Progress
401K	$1,476	$5,468	$18,000	30.4%
Roth IRA	$195	$2,225	$5,500	40.5%
Emergency Fund	$271	$4,742	$5,500	81.3%
Vanguard Fund	$10	$160	$3,000	5.1%
Vacation Goal*	$100	$600	$1,500	40%

* – This is a new goal

I’m still on track for meeting all of my goals! And I even have a new goal. I’ll go into more detail on the new one later. But first I’m going to break down my spending. Using my usual categories, this is how my budget went

 

Category	Budgeted	Actual	Remaining
Rent	$1,650	$1,650	$0 left
Fixed Expenses	$100	$88	$12 left
Medical	$-	$240
Food	$633	$482	$151 left
Everything Else	$546	$696	$150 over
Total	$2,929	$2,916	$13 left

Rent: I paid the usual: a lot. I choose to live close to work.

Food: Usually I budget $200 food, but this was increased due to my business trip and my travel insurance reimbursment.  I think I did relatively well, My understanding is that most spend a bit more than I do on food and eat $300-$500 worth of food during a typical month. This month was atypical for me, and a third of the food costs come from my 5 day business trip.

Fixed Expenses: No surprises here.

Everything Else: I usually budget $250 here. But I increased it mostly due to my vacation (i.e. hotel). I went over budget because I did some excess spending before and after my trips.

Medical Expenses: I don’t include medical expenses in my total monthly budget (I am reimbursed with my FSA). But I had sizable bills this month which I was anticipating.

My Next Trip:

I’m already saving for my next trip, and I have $600 to start me off. I am looking to vacation in South America. This time I’d like to do a 2-week Spanish immersion course. I hope to take this trip in January 2018!