I started out the month of May thinking I’d run into cash flow problems because I’m still waiting on reimbursements. My checking account balance got uncomfortably low. Admittedly, the problem could be solved by moving money across accounts, but the point of being budget savvy is to avoid these types of situations. I’d also hate to lose progress  towards some of my goals.

Fortunately I had some surprise earnings this month. This made for, yet another, boringly smooth month despite going considerably over budget. I definitely was more laissez faire with my budget due to the unanticipated extra income. Don’t worry, I didn’t spend it all. My account holdings are below:

Liquid Assets	Apr-17	May-17	$ Change
Cash & Checking	$522	$528	+$6
Emergency Fund	$3,043	$3,065	+$22
Short Term Savings	$605	$750	+$145
Vanguard Fund	$165	$250	+$85
Illiquid Assets	Apr-17	May-17	$ Change
Brokerage	$287	$447	+$160
Savings Bonds	$1,700	$1,800	+$100
Retirement Assets	Apr-17	May-17	$ Change
Roth IRA	$14,870	$15,754	+$884
Traditional 401K	$19,163	$21,136	+$1,973
Net Worth	$40,355	$43,730	+$3,375
% Change			+8.4%

Everything increased! I don’t see that very often, if I’ve ever seen it at all. Yay for extra income! This means I was also able to stay on track with all my goals.
Goal Progress:

Fund/Goal	Contrib.	Total	Goal	Progress
401K	$1,476	$6,946	$18,000	38.6%
Roth IRA	$542	$2,700	$5,500	49.0%
Emergency Fund	$100	$4,842	$5,500	88.0%
Vanguard Fund	$165	$250	$3,000	8.3%
Vacation*	$200	$800	$1,000	80.0%

As I continue to make progress, the only notable thing here is that I decreased my vacation fund by $500 to $1,000. I do plan to slow down my Emergency Fund contributions to $25/month sometime in July or August.

I’ve already met my 2nd Quarter Goal of having $6,750 in assets outside of my retirement accounts. I have $6,840. Hopefully this accomplishment remains the case at the end of the actual quarter, which I think it should.

Monthly Income & Spending:

Category	Budgeted	Actual	Remaining
Income	—	—	$750 more
Rent	$1,650	$1,650	$0 left
Fixed Expenses	$100	$101	$1 over
Medical	$-	$140
Food	$200	$337	$137 over
Everything Else	$350	$598	$248 over
Total	$2,300	$2,686	$364 left

Income: While I’m still not ready to disclose exactly how much I earn, I can say I earned $750 more than usual. I really should start keeping track of what I earn over and above my base salary.

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

Food: I went way over budget for food this month. I ate out a bit more than usual, which tends to happen in warmer months. I also bought more meat this month due to experimenting with various recipes (thanks pinterest). I’m not a big meat eater by nature, so buying several pounds of meat really shows in the number above.

Fixed Expenses: I went over by $1 which isn’t a huge deal but also rarely happens. This is due to some data overages from last month’s international trip.

Everything Else: I increased my Everything Else budget by $100 due to a birthday. Other than that, I expanded my jewelry collection, purchased some groupons, and added some decor to my apartment. I don’t regret it.

Medical Expenses: I don’t include medical expenses in my total monthly budget (I am reimbursed with my FSA). But similar to month’s prior I didn’t escape a month of medical expenses, which is fine. I never anticipate being in perfect health. I’d like to do a post soon on my health and where things stand, but everything is still up in the air. Things haven’t been great and I’m a getting worried about this.

Coming Soon…

I’m going on a short trip next weekend which will result in some extra expenses for the month of June. June is also the month I pay renter’s insurance whomp, whomp. I don’t think June will be particularly stellar.

In July I’ll be receiving 3 paychecks. I’m looking forward to this so I can add extra money to various accounts and reevaluate and readjust my savings strategy.