April 2017 FrugalMaster Results

April had some unexpected travel expenses from the death of my brother.  A few nights in a hotel and eating out triggered a few hundred dollars in travel and food expenses.  I think this is why having some type of cash buffer or emergency fund is very important for those just starting out on their Frugalmaster exercises.  When you live well below your means you tend to not worry about money as much and always have some extra cash just in case.

That buffer also helped me finish paying off my daughters school trip to Washington DC.  The trip was $500 total and she has been helping around the house with extra chores and kid watching to help pay it back.  They also stopped at Gettysburg and Flight 93 (911 crash site) Memorial.

April Expenses


I am not quite to the 50% mark yet but my expenses for the month where 62% of my normal income.  I say normal because this month the government paid me back the taxes they had over collected.  This refund is counted towards income because it was not recorded in the previous year where it was earned. 

With that said my savings rate for the month jumped to a whopping 67%.  This is my best month ever but I think is mostly due to my tax refund.  Without it the rate would have been around 38% which is close to my average so for this year.

This extra money was saved and part was put into the 401k.  I was finally eligible to put money into it when I reached 6 months with my current company.  My plan is to save the full $18,000 dollars max into it.  So I have adjusted my contribution rate to match that or roughly $1250 a paycheck (I am biweekly).  This will leave me little extra cash with each paycheck but all the previous months this year I have saved that cash to ensure I have an adequate buffer just in case.

There were some dividend stocks purchased but I will detail that later.  I am way past due for letting you all know what I have been buying over the past few months.

Happy saving,

Dividend Family Guy

Comments

  1. Buy, Hold LongMay 28, 2017 at 7:14 PM

    Great result in the end with that tax payback. I hope all that money goes to good uses. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dividend Family GuyMay 30, 2017 at 7:13 AM

    Thanks BHL. It will go towards pay down of mortgage or investments.
    Cheers,
    DFG

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Will Dividends Teach My Kids to Work Hard?

After reading an article about education and learning from Mr. Money Mustache last week I starting thinking about my kids and their upbringing vs. how I was raised.  There was lots of discipline but also a tremendous amount of freedom.  That combined with loving parents taught me many lessons in life that I believe have led me to a great career and the joy of raising a large family.  The one thing that worries me the most is a fear that my children do not value gifts or money they receive as much as I did as a child. As a child I remember talking with my sister days before my birthday.  We share the same birthday one year apart.  We would spend the time talking excitedly about what we might get for our birthday.  Gifts were usually only on birthdays or major holidays.  Easter baskets filled with candy, or presents on Christmas or birthdays. Growing up with one TV that didn’t get the best reception left us with plenty of time to day drea...
Read more

What to write about when you have no money to invest?

Image
Without any money to invest from January all I could do is screen and learn about some new stocks that came up this month.  It is my hope still to save enough where I can actually invest on a regular basis again.  Part of me wants to start using loyal3 or computershare.com .  Buy for free and sell for free on Loyal3 or for a fee on Computershare.  That way I can continue to invest in some of the strong dividend payers these companies allow you to buy.  The other part wants simplicity and is willing to pay the fee to keep all my money in one place with one tax document.   The third part just reminded me my goal is to first rebuild an emergency fund.  That part is such a downer and is no fun.  The fourth part is my wife who wants me to put any free money into home improvements.  I avoid that conversation at all costs.   The house will hold up and last longer than me.  My time is what I want not a nicer house. I cou...
Read more

The Cost of A Vacation for Six

Image
All investing and no fun can lead to a happy me but a not so happy family .  I am the only one who actually doesn't mind managing the finances and money matters in my family.  The kids are slowly learning and my wife leaves it to me since I use my computer and online services.  Both systems work but my system allows me to get things done faster and produce reports I enjoy studying. Here is the breakdown of our 7 night trip to the beach and a 2 day visit with my brother: Lodging $1,966 This was the largest expense.  We stayed at hotels during the trip there and while visiting my brother.  Luckily we have a relative that works at a major hotel chain and is able to pass a discount on to us.  The remainder of it which was the big chunk was the condo on the beach that we stayed at.   I found it as one of the deals on Kayak.com .  Overall the site was easy to use and compare different places.  Unfortunately I should have listened to ...
Read more

Investment Disclaimer

This webpage is provided for general information only and nothing contained in the material constitutes a recommendation for the purchase or sale of any security. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at dividendfamilyguy at gmail dot com.