October 2020 Update

It happened! We bought a puppy!

On the 17th of this month, we went and finally picked up the puppy we've been impatiently waiting for since June. She is an absolute joy - super attentive and smart, already toilet trained, sleeps through the night (after a couple of weeks) and really affectionate - to me and my partner.

She's also expensive, and nervy around strangers. I knew she wasn't going to be cheap, but this first month has been overwhelming. However, it is reassuring that we're mostly paying puppy costs - in the first month (some of the spend in October, some in November) we've been to the vet three times for vaccinations, paid for two rounds of puppy preschool, collected up flea and worming meds, set up our grooming supplies, bought a lot of chew toys, plus the simple purchase of food. I've registered her with my local council, and need to pay for her membership with our local kennel club so we can trial for sports. Plus, we're definitely getting Pet Insurance - because she loves eating grass seeds, and any other junk she can find...

So October was predominantly getting ready for the puppy and then having a puppy. It's been amazing. And tiring.

Goals For 2020

Goal #1: 50% Savings

I have a confession to make: I'm a FIRE blogger and my savings rate sucks.

At the end of The Year of Investing in 2018, my savings rate was sitting comfortably at 55%. At the start of 2020, it was a weenie 35%.

Getting my 3-year average savings rate to 50% is going to be next to impossible, but I'm going to track it for interest. The actual goal is for this 12month period to sit comfortably above 50%.

October Rate: 41%

2020 Average: 29%

Three-Year Average: 34% 

 

So this year is going backwards, both on what I intended for the year, and what I planned for the 3-year period. This isn't okay, as in I am letting things fall by the wayside, but it is okay in that I bought a flipping car, survived a pandemic, and expanded my family. Puppyhood is expensive.

Goal #2 Reduce Average Spending by 10%

Having two investments has gotten expensive, and my spending has been creep-creep-creeping. From an average $3,500 spending back in 2018, now I'm sitting at $4,800 at the start of 2020.

The goal is to reduce my average spend by 10% from January.

October Spend: $4,802.41
2020 Average Spend: $5,167.01

Goal Spend: $4,378.30 (or less)

As I mentioned last month, buying a car has thrown everything out of whack. Prior to that, I was tracking nicely. I'm not sure there is enough time left in the year to bring the average back down again.

Spending

Here's what I spent in October, which includes the save-to-spend amounts and a new category for the car.  

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$700	$954.17	$952.59 (down $1.58)
Under Budget. Just the rent this month.
Investment Property 1	$1,851.09	$1,145.83	$1.186.88 (up $41.05)
Over Budget. Body corporate fees, council rates and mortgage.
Home turned IP2	$814.80	$833.33	$1,073.81 (up $16)
Over Budget. Mortgage, and electrifying the roller door. I always do a quality-of-life uplift to the property when a tenant renews their lease.
Personal Bills	$130.74	$130.83	$127.55 (up $0.29)
Under Budget. Health insurance went up
Groceries	$62.73	$200	$190.76 (down $2.02)
Under Budget. I guess I just didn't get out much :p
Pets	$630.35	$150	$198.03 (up $44.62)
Over Budget. We finally brought out puppy home!! I had $700 saved towards the price of the puppy, and the rest of this spend includes some last-minute purchase of essentials (i.e. cleaning products!) and our first vet trip for vaccinations.
Roller Derby	$119.35	$166.67	$176.11 (up $9.44)
Under Budget. At the start of the month, we went on a road trip to the country. It was great fun, even if the floor felt like we were skating on mud.
Travelling	$50	$105	$29.17 (up $4.17)
Under Budget. Just putting aside money for the future
Comfort Food	$8	$50	$41.07 (up $0.67)
Under Budget. I can't remember what I bought. Maybe a tin of fancy biscuits?
Car	$373.37	$200	$635.36 (up $31.11)
Over Budget. Just paid for insurance. Haven't bought petrol yet.
Donations	$0		$92.50
None
Other	$61.98	$183.33	$293.24 (down $5.29)
Under Budget. $8 on books and the rest is saving for future spending. The puppy took up my life and didn't leave much space for anything else.
Total	$4,802.41	$4,119.17	$4,997.08 (up $73.50)
Total ex. Donations	$4,802.41		$4,904.58 (up $73.50)
Over Budget. With 4 categories over. As usual, it's the big categories that are over budget. We spent a lot on puppy outside of her purchase price, however, most of it is set up costs (special cleaner, vet checks, stocking up on toys and chews, etc.). Puppyhood is likely to be expensive, but adulthood should come down.