March 2017 FrugalMaster Results

My brother was diagnosed with brain cancer this month.  It certainly puts life in perspective.  He is three years older than me and I looked up to him allow when I was a kid.  He didn't smoke or drink but did have a love for food.  He did work at a desk all day just like me.  I had stalled on my weight loss about a month ago but now I need to ramp that up.  Exercise, eating right and not stressing out about everything are things I need to continue so that I can keep on going and fight the good fight.

This is the second month of extra principal payments on the house.  I also found a route to work that shaves 20 miles off my commute each day.  That savings should become apparent next month.  Plus no more highway or tolls to pay.  The estimated savings per month there is $40. 
March

On the flip side the amount of money spent on food is above what I had predicted for the year.  I went out to lunch with coworkers twice.  That will have to be cut out just so I can stay within budget to meet my savings goals for the year.

Speaking of savings, we came pretty close to my goal of 35% savings rate.  This month was 32%, which is acceptable to me.  Again keeping a lid on food costs will be the hardest challenge for the year.  It was $250 over budget.  Family eat outs which we limited to once per week (mostly chinese or pizza) may have to come to an end.  Plus eating less is probably healthier for all of us.

Well that wraps up March.  I should have my dividends for the month posted soon.  We will see if I am making any progress on coming closer to financial independence.

Peace,

Dividend Family Guy

Comments

  1. passivecanadianincomeApril 20, 2017 at 4:24 PM

    shit, sorry to hear about your brother. Things like that definitely put life into perspective. Very cool finding that new route. I hate toll roads and will avoid them any chance I can.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyApril 23, 2017 at 7:33 AM

      Thanks and same here. The roads have been payed for for many years. Where does all the toll money go?

      Delete
  2. Buy, Hold LongApril 20, 2017 at 8:06 PM

    Very close to your savings rate. Keep it going and you will be able to achieve that soon. Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  3. DividendLifeApril 24, 2017 at 7:40 PM

    Hi DFG,
    Sorry to hear about your brother, I hope there are still treatment options. I lost my aunt to bone / brain cancer this year so I can relate to what you're going through.
    Definitely puts things into perspective and to be honest, it's one reason why I haven't been as frugal as I could be of late.
    Best wishes,
    -DL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyApril 25, 2017 at 7:30 AM

      Yep there is certainly a balance in life. Especially as we get older ;-)
      Thanks,
      DFG

      Delete

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