All in all May was another uneventful month…financially. There aren’t too many surprises anymore. It helps that I’m single, carless and have no kids. The only thing that keeps me on my toes are those pesky medical bills as I’m still struggling with my chronic illness.
In November I received a working diagnosis for my health woes and I was prescribed a targeted treatment to regulate my immune system. This month my doctors concluded my response has been inadequate and I need to try something else. While I do not have cancer, next month I’ll be starting a cancer treatment to partially wipe out my immune system. I’m much more hopeful about this one. But this whole experience has been exasperating.
In lighter news, my lazy budget tracking method went smoother this month. The way it works is that I now use my credit card balance to figure out my spending-to-date. I still try to keep the balance under a budgeted amount (currently $800). Last month I found it difficult to track my cash spending with this method. I’ve since figured it out.
Net Worth
My net worth! The markets didn’t perform well so my net worth declined by nearly 1 percent. Otherwise, things went well and I even managed to save $500 outside of my investment accounts.
| Liquid Assets | Start | End | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash & Checking | $1,900 | $2,100 | +$200 |
| Emerg. Fund | $7,500 | $7,500 | +$0 |
| Savings | $2,900 | $3,200 | +$300 |
| Brokerage | $1,800 | $1,800 | +$0 |
| HSA | $1,600 | $1,900 | +$300 |
| Illiquid Assets | Start | End | Change |
| Bonds | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Home Eq | $30,100 | $30,600 | +$500 |
| 401K | $54,900 | $53,600 | ($1,300) |
| Roth IRA | $29,200 | $28,200 | ($1,000) |
| Debt | Start | End | Change |
| Loans | ($3,400) | ($3,400) | +$0 |
| Net | $126,500 | $125,500 | ($1,000) |
| % Change | -0.8% |
Spending
My pay raise came through this month. More money is nice. Now that I know my take home pay for the remainder of the year, I’ve finally settled on yet another monthly budget:
- $125 – Bills & Utilities
- $350 – Sinking Funds & Savings
- $800 – Everything Else
I know I’ve changed my budget many times already this year, hopefully this is the last time.
| Category | Budget | Actual | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1)Bills & Utilities | $125 | $105 | $20 under |
| (2)Food | $300 | $290 | $10 under |
| (3)Medical | $- | $150 | $- |
| (4)Misc | $500 | $245 | $255 under |
| (5)SF* | $65 | $65 | $- |
| Total (1+2+4+5) | $990 | $705 | $285 under |
| Total + Medical (3) | $855 | $135 under |
*SF – Sinking Fund Purchases
(1) Bills & Utilities
Last month I switched cell phone carriers and now my internet and electricity are my only recurring monthly utility bills. I budget $40 for my internet and $85 for electricity, and my electricity bill was low.
(2) Food
I don’t usually have a problem with keeping my food spending down, and this month was no exception. I buy my groceries online and I try to limit these purchases to $35 once a week.
(3) Medical
In a perfect world this would be $0. It wasn’t. Someday.
(4) Misc
This is usually the spending category that gets me. Kitchen gadgets, clothing, and home decor all add up. I’ve managed to talk myself out of several of such purchases and it really paid off. I do have a running wishlist of things I plan to purchase. I can’t purchase everything I want in one sitting without going way over budget.
(5) Sinking Funds
I used $65 for a mother’s day gift.
Next Month & Conclusions
June shouldn’t be atypical at least not financially. There is Father’s day though. If the infusions work, my doctor said I should be feeling better by July.
A Tale of Finances 