January 2021 Update - New year, same me

January is already over, how does this keep happening.

I read a theory that as you age, time seems to accelerate. When we encounter novel things, we form strong memories about them, but when we encounter common things, our recall is weaker. As we age and have more experiences under our belts, we form less strong memories - because our brains see 'oh, that again? not saving that'. 

December 2020 Update

Y'all we did it. The human race survived the year. Mostly, I guess.

I'm writing this in February and I honestly can't remember December. So I'll skip straight to the numbers.

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 12 month period to sit comfortably above 50%.

December Rate: 33%

2020 Average: 30%

Three-Year Average: 34% 

 

words about the year as a whole.

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.

December Spend: $4,814.69
2020 Average Spend: $5,005.41

Goal Spend: $4,378.30 (or less)

Closing words

Spending

Here's what I spent in December, which includes the save-to-spend amounts and a no-longer new category for the car.  

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$1,227.90	$954.17	$962.07 (up $9.48)
Over Budget. Utilities are no fun. Well, having them is fun. Paying for them isnt.
Investment Property 1	$1,100	$1,145.83	$1,260.22 (up $37.84)
Under Budget. The mortgage and $500 set aside for later.
Home turned IP2	$750	$833.33	$1,098.39 (up $4.09)
Under Budget. The mortgage, plus $210 for later needs.
Personal Bills	$130.74	$130.83	$128.13 (up $0.29)
Under Budget. Trucking along
Groceries	$353.71	$200	$210.96 (up $11.66)
Over Budget.  A little bit christmas, a little bit hungry.
Pets	$331.77	$150	$251.06 (up $19.31)
Over Budget. Our last vaccination (woo!) and our second bag of puppy food. In January I'll probably pay for her sporting and showing membership.
Roller Derby	$94	$166.67	$171.51 (down $2.16)
Under Budget. Christmas camp with the team, not much else.
Travelling	$50	$105	$37.50 (up $4.17)
Under Budget. Just putting aside money for the future
Comfort Food	$40	$50	$33.98 (up $1.04)
Under Budget. Christmas Snacks :)
Car	$659.74	$200	$693.23 (up $54.98)
Over Budget. A year of registration fees.
Donations	$0		$6.25 (down $86.67)
None. December last year was when I made all my big donations, so the average dropped a lot as well.
Other	$76.83	$183.33	$189.42 (down $66.87)
Under Budget. A little clothes shopping, and a couple of books. I was going to buy a Switch, but my partner beat me to it.
Total	$4,814.69	$4,119.17	$5,042.71 (down $3.85)
Total ex. Donations	$4,814.69		$5,036.46 (up $82.81)
Over Budget. Entirely due to paying car rego. It's part of the reason I'm spending more on food as well. I can just pop over to the shops now with a lot less effort. I think as a family our spend is about the same, and I'm picking up the slack from my partner.