October Wrap Up

If feels like just yesterday that I writing my September Wrap Up and mentioned how fast time has been flying, and then life really hit the accelerator. October flew by even faster than September mostly due to putting in some significant hours at work. Hurray for overtime!
This is my second monthly roundup and I hope to use these posts to discuss my current state of affairs including income/expenses, stock buys and sells, dividend income, and of course my progress on all of my yearly goals

Income/Expenses:
My expenses are listed to the side. On each line I have the budgeted amount per month, the actual amount spent for the month of October, and finally the total amount spent in that category for the year. Those items in yellow have either exceeded or are in danger of exceeding the total amount budgeted for the year.
With my total expenses around $2000, it was a pretty good month. My phone budget was high due to purchasing a used phone, otherwise I think everything was right in line with where it should be, I guess that is one thing that is good about being busy with work: less time to spend my money on other things.

INCOME:
Paycheck: $4,540 this is a bit higher than my usual 2 paycheck month due to all the overtime I have been putting in at work.

% Expenses = 46%  of income
Not bad at all, and it brings my yearly expense rate under 50% so hitting my goal is very likely.


Dividend Income:
Because I have been working hard on paying down my debts, I haven't been able to add much to my portfolio this year. But the great thing about dividend investing is that its still working whether I am adding to it or not. This month I earned $111 without lifting a finger, not bad. The following companies paid me this month:

Buys/Sells:
October was another boring month for trading for me, this is due to me focusing on paying down my student debt.

FRIP
Scottrade offers a Flexible Reinvestment Plan, where dividends from qualifying companies can be used to purchase shares in any other qualifying companies without any commission. So I take advantage of this every month and I usually use it to build up my positions in companies where my positions are lagging.
This month my dividends were used to purchase 3 shares of Kimco Realty Corporation (KIM) and 3 shares of Chimeria Investment Corporation (CIM).

Net Worth
Net worth will always be a secondary goal for me with generating passive income being my primary goal. But net worth is something I would like to start tracking and monitoring. Given how much of my net worth is in stocks, my net worth will have a tendency to fluctuate frequently with the market but hopefully my net worth continue an overall upward trend over time.
Assessets:

   - 401k:                   $66,712

   - Investments:        $58,722

Liabilities

   - Student Loan 1:  $1,018

   - Student Loan 2:  $6,980

   - Car Loan:           $9,630

NETWORTH:       $107,806

Goals:

• Spend less than 50% of my net income - This was a good month and helped protect my expense rate for the rest of the year.
• Pay off one of my student loans - I paid down this loan by another $2,000 this month for a current balance of $1,018, I should have no problem paying this off in November.
• Keep taxable income in the 25% tax bracket - My current federal taxable income is $71,720 from my day job and considering dividends, capital gains, and interest I am about 83% of the way to the 25% bracket limit of $89,350 and we are currently 84% complete with this year. So, I need to watch this carefully and probably increase my pretax 401k contribution, I have already increased my contribution since last month.
• Weight under 200 lbs - My current weight is 207 lbs which is actually higher than last month's but my body fat % was actually lower so I've been making some progress.
• Run a half marathon - COMPLETE
• Complete the Tough Mudder - COMPLETE
• Work out my legs regularly - I have not been as good as I would like you to be but I have been better than in the past. This one still needs some work.
• Increase my running pace - I have not been running lately because of all of basketball games so I need to figure some way to incorporate running back into my routine, perhaps I will start running on the treadmill at the gym as a warm up before a workout.
• Take an online class - I have chosen a class but have yet to start, when will I find the time?
• Work through my backlog of magazines - I started reading for a book club of sorts so I have not been getting around to the magazines lately.

How was your October?

Photo Credit: freedigitalphotos.net