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.