Wednesday, October 1, 2014

September Passive Income and Expenses

Another month has passed and it’s time to reveal what the expenses and passive income were for September. This month we stayed in the beautiful Sea Isle City, New Jersey. We also were lucky enough to stay at the Borgata which was one of the nicest casinos in Atlantic City. The bonus was the hotel stay was free because my uncle had a promotional offer in the mail. The Borgata also gave us $50 worth of slot dollars because we were new members at the casino. My uncle was also kind enough to let us stay at one of his beach homes for the week, so we were able to save a ton of money. One of my favorite memories of our vacation was the dolphin watch because it was my first time seeing them in their natural habitat.
                Going on vacation is a strong motivation for me to keep saving and putting my money to work. I am even more motivated in achieving my goals now because I would love to be able to go on vacation whenever I want. I hate having both jobs taking control of my life. So the more money I am able to save, the faster I will gain financial independence. I have been very mindful of my spending habits because I don’t care about keeping up with the Joneses. I could care less if my laptop is four years old and my car is a 2002. It doesn’t bother me when people around me have better phones, clothes, or cars because I don’t give in to consumer spending. There is only one thing I will always over spend my money on and that is food. I strongly believe that food quality is important to our health. This is why the groceries are usually high each month. Organic and gluten free foods are not cheap but it’s important to live a healthy lifestyle.
Here are the expenses for the month of September 2014:

Expense
Cost
Groceries
$356
*Rent
$250
Student Loan
$200
*Utility Gas
$183
General Merchandise
$178
Entertainment
$141
Car fuel
$158
Restaurants
$125
Auto Insurance
$108
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
$90
Phone Service
$43
Liquor
$42
*Dish
$39
*Cable Internet
$37
Post Office
$29
*Electric
$19
Hair Cut
$17
PAYT Trash Bags
$10
Total
$1,842

*These are expenses that are split between my significant other and I.
This was an expensive month because I paid off my entire gas bill and I also put more towards my student loan in order to get it paid quicker. Overall it wasn’t a bad month considering we went away on vacation. It shows that I have been very mindful of my spending as of late. Now let’s take a look at all of my passive income for the month. This month my passive income was a little high which was surprising to me. The passive income made up for the heavy spending this month. I am hoping that the passive income will keep increasing every month and will try to keep expenses a little lower.

Passive Income
Earnings
Mattel (MAT)
$2.58
Pepsi (PEP)
$1.79
American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP)
$3.00
Time Warner (TWX)
$0.22
Microsoft (MSFT)
$0.33
Dunkin Donuts (DNKN)
$1.23
McDonalds (MCD)
$5.07
Kellogg’s (K)
$1.90
Unilever (UL)
$2.11
Walmart (WMT)
$1.26
Hershey’s (HSY)
$0.59
VF Corp. (VFC)
$0.21
Seadrill (SDRL)
$15.00
Target (TGT)
$5.76
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
$4.90
1.5% Cash back Credit Card
$46.38
Savings Interest (.95% APY)
$6.42
CD (1.15% APY)
$0.47
Total Passive Income
$99.22

This was the first month that my passive income was nearly over the $100 mark. This is definitely a milestone and I can’t believe how many companies paid out this month. A total of 15 companies sent me a paycheck this month and that’s pretty exciting. The passive income was the highest this month but so were the expenses. The cash back rewards have been a great help because I have been using that money to reinvest into more shares. These cash back rewards are passive income because I don’t have to work extra and I am not holding a balance on my credit card. Therefore each month I am getting free money that I can receive in a paycheck or put it towards my current balance. Now let’s see how much of my expenses were covered by the passive income.



This was another surprising month to me. I already knew my expenses were going to be a little high this month, but I had no idea that my passive income would be $99.22 for the month. This is another record breaking month. Overall September was my best month because passive income covered 5.4% of my total expenses for the month. The blue bar (passive income) is catching up to the red bar (expenses) rather quickly.

 

How well did you do in September?

 

14 comments:

  1. The expenses go up and down over time, I would just keep track of the annual average and make sure it's not creeping up. Good job on almost hitting the $100 mark in passive income.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tawcan,
      You make a great point of keeping track of expenses on an annual basis. It would be interesting to see what I spend in a year. I am hoping to break the $100 mark in passive income very soon. I just have to stay consistent with my purchases.

      Delete
  2. Hi there! Great month of dividend! What credit card do you use for 1.5% rewards? Is it permanent or promo rate? Few tips on saving some expenses if I am in your shoes, I will start learning cutting my own hair and do BJJ every other month instead... but then again thats just me. Good looking income numbers tho :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Frugality,
      I am currently using the Capital One Quicksilver card and it is a permanent rewards program. I am glad I have it because I get free money every month by paying bills and buying stocks. I wish I could cut my own hair but I am not that talented. BJJ may seem expensive but it's actually cheaper than most gyms charging over $150. However when I get into real estate investing I may have to cut out many expenses. It's essential to have training partners in BJJ but reading books on it is never a bad thing and would expand my knowledge on the art. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Mongrel,

    Glad to hear you had a great vacation. Getting out and about definitely motivates one to pursue financial independence. All work and no play makes us dull boys.

    I also love my credit card rewards! I routinely cash them in and they're like little dividend checks all by themselves. :)

    Keep up the great work.

    Best regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Jason,
      Thanks for stopping by! I was very sad to come back to my normal life. I want to start planning a vacation every 3 to 4 months so I have more to look forward to. I am hoping to visit D.C. and Vermont for the upcoming year but we'll see. The cash back rewards has definitely helped get a little extra free money every month. I use my cc for expenses and stocks and pay my balance in full every month. Thanks for your support!

      Delete
  4. Good job on the Passive income. Keep stoking the fire. Also,I like the passive income/expense graph.

    Keep cranking,

    Robert the DividendDreamer

    ReplyDelete
  5. DD,
    I am happy with jow September turned out. I'm going to keep making consistent buys as the market dips this month. Feel free to use any of my charts for your personal use. Its cool to see the passive income start catching up to the expenses on the chart compared to when I first started.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations on a great month! You're almost over that triple digit mark! Next quarter you will smash through it with no problem at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I am hoping to break the $100 mark in December because many companies distribute dividends on that month. I just need to keep adding to my portfolio in order to get that snowball to accumulate.

      Delete
  7. Hey DM,
    congrats on a solid months of dividends, hitting that $100 mark is gonna be a swet feeling!
    I also completely agree with you that grocery is something we shouldn't feel guilty about splurging on. Food it self is an investment and its something that will allow to fully enjoy our free time when we achieve financial independence. Given that you fuel your body with healthy foods, you ought to be in good condition to fully reap the benefits of all your hard work.
    Have a good weekend bro!

    Ace

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ace,
      I am hoping I will continue to stay healthy and fit as I get older. I feel this is worth more than money in the bank. The problem is food prices are always on the rise. I am hoping organic foods will come down in price if it becomes increasingly popular. Have a great weekend as well!

      Delete
  8. Great month! I add my rewards from credit cards as a passive income too!
    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel like I am getting a steal when I get 1.5% cash back on my stock purchases. This extra money from the credit card helps build my passive income each month.

      Delete