Personally, I'm a Jingle Hater. There is no need for wasting money and resources and our mental energies on plastic trash that we don't need - decorations and bad gifts. However, I am getting keen to have big meals with friends and family, take a rest from work and enjoy the summer sun.
October Goals Update
Investing Goal: $110,000 in Vanguard
The goal is to have $110,000 in my Vanguard account by the end of the year. I started with $78,424, which means I want to gain just over $31,500. I hoped at the start that $5,500 would come from growth and dividends, and the remaining $25,000 would be from investments.
October scraped through $500 above the goal with another low returns/high saving month. It's really interesting that at the start of the year I planned to invest $25k and earn $5.5k in returns. Instead, it looks like I'm on track for $15-20k in returns, and a bit under $15k in investments. Have a look down at the bonus section to see what else is going on.
October scraped through $500 above the goal with another low returns/high saving month. It's really interesting that at the start of the year I planned to invest $25k and earn $5.5k in returns. Instead, it looks like I'm on track for $15-20k in returns, and a bit under $15k in investments. Have a look down at the bonus section to see what else is going on.
Full year
Opening Balance: $78,424.57
Deposit: $10,075
Dividends: $5,973.54
Market Gains: $10,653.84
Dividends: $5,973.54
Market Gains: $10,653.84
October
Opening Balance: $103,698.65
Deposit: $1,775
Dividends: $0
Market Gains: -$346.69
Current Balance: $105,126.96
Here we have a pretty standard October where we got stuff all from the markets, and all the portfolio gains are from me pumping money in. Across the month there was a lot of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, the annual gain is a beautiful five figures.
Dividends: $0
Market Gains: -$346.69
Current Balance: $105,126.96
Here we have a pretty standard October where we got stuff all from the markets, and all the portfolio gains are from me pumping money in. Across the month there was a lot of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, the annual gain is a beautiful five figures.
Spending Goal: Under Control!
The goal is simply to have my spending under control and for October...
Here's what I spent in October, which includes the save-to-spend amounts.
Category | Spent | Budgeted | 12 Month Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | $700 | $938.17 | $591.50 (up $55.67) |
| Under Budget. No Bills, just 2 rent payments. | |||
| OG Investment Property | $2,041.22 | $1,190.83 | $1,277.06 (down $44.61) |
| Over Budget! All the bills at once! But the 12-month average is down, so I can't complain. | |||
| Home turned Investment Property | $622.79 | $1,042.33 | $1,370.06 (down $64.59) |
| Under Budget! As I mentioned last month, I don't actually pay (most) of my bills. They're paid by the managing agent, so instead of seeing expensive months, I just see low income. Which means I need to review how much I've budgeted.. | |||
| Personal Bills | $127.26 | $127.33 | $126.99 (up 6cents) |
| Under Budget! I still haven't got a new phone, so still no change | |||
| Groceries | $86.90 | $190 | $194.51 (down $4.57) |
| Under Budget! Remember how I spent almost $400 last month and claimed it was restocking the panty? Well, turns out I was telling the truth :) | |||
| Pets | $94.83 | $50 | $69.60 (up $5.22) |
| Over Budget! It's an interesting month because I spent more on the new coop, and I bought a baby gate so we could petsit! Then the one dog we had visit decided to scratch through our new paint... and petsitting is probably off the cards again. We have one more guest coming because he was pre-booked, and we've seen him before (and we LOVE him). | |||
| Roller Derby | $122 | $175 | $249.61 (down $3.30) |
| Under Budget! I paid for the off-season bonus training and set aside $5 for new skates. | |||
| Traveling | $0 | $122.50 | $259.80 (down $9.16) |
| Under Budget! Nothing again! Still working to bring the average down before we start saving for another trip. | |||
| Comfort Food | $0 | $40 | $71.75 (down $1.39) |
| Under Budget! Nothing again! I probably should have put some of the regular groceries here? | |||
| Other | $125.44 | $187.00 | $207.20 (down $29.58) |
| Under Budget! What thrilling expensive thing did I buy? A frying pan and a shampoo bar... plus I put aside a bit of money for video games later in the year. So thrilling. | |||
| Total | $3,920.44 | $4,063.17 | $4,418.06 (down $96.31) |
| Under budget, with 7 out of 10 categories under. Another month under $4k makes me a happy camper. I didn't feel like I tightened the belt at all this month, and with $2k of the costs being one rental property, I just feel really smug about how easy this month was. | |||
Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asian Markets ethical and sustainability-focused ETF
As I mentioned last month, there is some humanitarian horrors happening in China and Hong Kong that have put me off investing there. Instead I sunk $10,000 into the Betashares FAIR fund - which tracks ethical and sustainable Australian companies. I already have $5k in the worldwide version of this fund, and I'm happy to put more money behind it - despite our scum-sucking coal loving moronic government...
One of the companies I've invested in accepted a takeover offer and paid out all the shareholders, so I now have an extra $5.5k looking for a new home. I also haven't done my tax return yet (please don't judge me!) so I'm expecting to be able to invest another bonus $10k before the end of the year. Double the initial goal. Heck yeah!
One of the companies I've invested in accepted a takeover offer and paid out all the shareholders, so I now have an extra $5.5k looking for a new home. I also haven't done my tax return yet (please don't judge me!) so I'm expecting to be able to invest another bonus $10k before the end of the year. Double the initial goal. Heck yeah!
