December 2019 Wrap Up - End of the Decade!

End of a Decade!

The end of 2019 has been and gone and it was a pretty quiet wrap up. Mr. FIRE and I went out to the beach, watched some fireworks, and agreed that firework tech really hasn't changed in 20years so maybe it's time to move on to something new.

2020 is set to be an interesting year because while we haven't reached FI yet, Mr/ FIRE and I are starting to feel really comfortably rich and questioning why we live the way we do. Building better relationships and working through our mid-life identity crises is taking a higher priority to building our bank accounts.

With that being said, we're both on track to FIRE before I'm thirty-five, so we're comfortable to take a wider look at our lives and question what our aims are.

December, End of Year, Goals Summary

Investing Goal: $110,000 in Vanguard

The goal was 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.

In November we ticked over $110k a couple of times, and in December we were... flat. There was less than $100 growth even after deposits, but we did hit our goal.

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $13,775
Dividends: $5,973.54
Market Gains: $11,872.14

December

Opening Balance: $109,912.21

Deposit: $1,600
Dividends: $0
Market Gains: -$1,466.95

Current Balance: $110,045.26

And we're done!! Let's break it down a bit:
Goal: $110k Done
Goal to deposit $25k - umm... no
Goal to have $5.5k of gains - smashed.

So it's great that I hit my goal, but I was supposed to deposit $25k over the year and I only deposited $13,775. If I'd put in the rest as intended, I'd have over $121k. Things to think about... but also not to kick ourselves over. It was a good year both in saving, and in spending :) 

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control and for December I did quite well - the numbers are inflated because Tax Returns are expensive ($580 for me and Mr. FIRE) and given the state of Australia and my disdain for our government, I donated my $1,040 'tax relief' to Conservation and Homeless charities. Basically places where the government should have spent that money, rather than trying to buy the middle-class vote.

Here's what I spent in December, which includes the save-to-spend amounts.  

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$1,114.19	$938.17	$738.49 (up $91.59)
Over Budget. Bills bills bills - for the end of the year Mr FIRE and I tallied up what we've spent and balanced the books - I had to throw $90 over to him, not bad. We also paid gas and electricity - I'm pretty pleased that this was only $200 for electricity and $130 for gas.
OG Investment Property	$645.93	$1,190.83	$1,257.08 (down $10.13)
Under Budget Just the mortgage again. I've already received two bills to pay in January though.
Home turned Investment Property	$692.88	$1,042.33	$1,287.00 (down $29.50)
Under Budget! Just the mortgage. In January I should be replacing the air-conditioner, which I may need to pay out of my actual account, not just from the rent. Either way, I believe I'll lower the budget next year.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$127.10 (up 6cents)
Under Budget! I still haven't got a new phone, and I don't know when I will. It's great.
Groceries	$213.87	$190	$192.71 (down $1.81)
Over Budget! It was Christmaaaaas. We got fat for Christmas!
Pets	$100	$50	$46.05 (down $9.21)
Over Budget! We spent a lot on shade cloth, a misting kit and more supplies for building out the chicken coop. It's almost done now, and honestly, I don't want to think about what I spent on it. It's good quality and I like it, but most importantly I enjoyed the process of building it.
Roller Derby	$120	$175	$252.40 (up $7.08)
Under Budget! This is entirely saving money for new skates! Which is problematic because the season starts in a couple of weeks, and I haven't bought new skates and no one wants to break in new skates during the season. Dilemmas...
Travelling	$0	$122.50	$241.45 (down $9.18)
Under Budget! Nothing again! Next year I'll start saving for my next trip.
Comfort Food	$27.50	$40	$74.20 (down 16cents)
Under Budget! Christmas lunch with my work pals.
Donations	$1,040		$86.67
This is a new, none budgeted category. As I mentioned above, I would rather my taxes are paying for a better country, not being given to me as a vote grabbing manoeuvre. The only appropriate thing for me to do was to donate the money to issues I want actioned.
Other	$879.35	$187.00	$265.53 (up $53.07)
Over Budget! So the majority of this is just paying for tax returns. My partner tends to spend a bit more in our relationship, so I always pay for our tax returns. He has an ABN and I have two investment properties. Our tax returns are not cheap.
Total	$4,860.98	$4,063.17	$4,568.69
Total ex. Donations	$3,820.98		$4,482.02 (up $95.45)
Under budget, with 6 out of 10 categories under.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asian Markets ethical and sustainability-focused ETF

I sunk $10k into the Betashares FAIR ETF in November, so this goal is met!

I have another $5k ready to go, but I'm holding out to see how much the air-conditioner in my second rental is going to cost before I lock this money up in investments.

November 2019 Wrap-Up

Merry almost Christmas! Just a couple of weeks left of 2020 - how did your year go?

November felt like a really quiet month. My biggest memories are the wild weather, swinging from pouring rains on a Monday to heatwaves on a Friday. It might be a bit late in the year, but I'm hoping to plant out a lot of annuals in December to reduce the heat in the yard of summer. I say annuals because I haven't finalised te plans for the yard yet and don't want to stress about planting perenialls that will stick around for years - or that I'll have to move and replant wen I decide what I'm doing.

November 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.

November ticked over $110,000 a couple of times, but at the end of the month, we sat sliiiiightly under. Unless the markets nosedive heavily, we're sitting pretty for kicking goals.

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $12,175
Dividends: $5,973.54
Market Gains: $13,339.09

November

Opening Balance: $105,126.96

Deposit: $2,100
Dividends: $0
Market Gains: $2,685.25

Current Balance: $109,912.21

I've almost hit my target but it's interesting to see the breakdown. At that start of the year, I planned to achieve this goal with $25,000 of investments and only $5,500 of gains. Instead, I've only deposited $12k and seen almost $20k of gains.
It's amazing to see my money doing the heavy lifting, but it's also upsetting to realise that I didn't get anywhere near my deposit goal. I have invested elsewhere (see my bonus goal below) but invest 50% less than planned isn't ideal. Something to keep in mind for 2020.

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control and for November I did really nicely. I spent a bit at the dentist, which normally adds up quickly, but the totals still stayed nice and low.

Here's what I spent in November, which includes the save-to-spend amounts.  

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$700	$938.17	$646.90 (up $55.40)
Under Budget. No Bills, just 2 rent payments. All the bills are due next month though, Merry Christmas? We've now lived in this house for 9 months, so the average still not representative of a full year, but it's getting closer.
OG Investment Property	$674.04	$1,190.83	$1,267.21 (down $9.85)
Under Budget Just the mortgage. Very nice
Home turned Investment Property	$612.20	$1,042.33	$1,316.50 (down $53.56)
Under Budget! Just the mortgage. The water bill was paid out on my rental income.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$127.04 (up 5cents)
Under Budget! I still haven't got a new phone, so still no change. The ol' phone does struggle some days though.
Groceries	$241.02	$190	$190.90 (down $3.51)
Over Budget! I've been experimenting with cooking tofu and absolutely loving it. I've been buying a couple of different spices as well.
Pets	-$79.08	$50	$55.26 (down $14.34)
Under Budget! That's right, I MADE money. I had a pet sitting guest, and he was lovely. Since it's an inconsistent income, I made the choice to put it as a negative cost.
Roller Derby	$120	$175	$245.32 (down $4.29)
Under Budget! This is entirely saving money for new skates!
Travelling	$0	$122.50	$250.63 (down $9.17)
Under Budget! Nothing again! In January I'll probably start putting money aside again for the next trip.
Comfort Food	$97.60	$40	$74.36 (up $2.61)
Under Budget! Mr. FIRE and I went on a couple of dates :)
Other	$493.35	$187.00	$212.46 (up $5.26)
Over Budget! No shame here! I went to the dentist (boring) a friends birthday wine tour (fun!) bought tickets for my favourite artist (yay) and spent up on Black Friday sales. Here's the thing, for Black Friday, I make a list of what I want, and what I'm willing to pay for it - then I buy it. Everything I bought had been on my list for months, and I saved an average 50%
Total	$2,986.39	$4,063.17	$4,386.57 (down $31.49)
Under budget, with 8 out of 10 categories under. Spending less than $3k is a great month. Plus I splurged on 2 dates, trips out with friends, and a whole stack of video games. November was pretty darn good.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asian Markets ethical and sustainability-focused ETF

I sunk $10k into the Betashares FAIR ETF in November, so this goal is met!

I may have the funds to do another purchase in January, but I may also have to replace my tenants' air-conditioner. We'll see how things go.

October 2019 Wrap-Up

Happy November! Are you one of those '51 sleeps till Christmas' people or a Jingle-hater?


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.

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $10,075
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. 

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!

September 2019 Wrap-Up

 The year is flying away from us and I'm so keen for long sunshiney days.


This isn't my photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, but I did ride over it on a foggy day! So it's how I remember it - great tourist attraction, super crowded.

September was the last month before Australia kicked off daylight savings. That means the mornings were bright but it was still dark when I was getting home. When summer kicks in properly I'll complain about the heat but right now I'm just desperate for some more daylight. Once the sun comes out I'll find the energy to do things and work on projects again.

September 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. With just three months to go, I'm back in the $100k club and a bit more comfortable than last time.

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $8,300
Dividends: $5,973.54
Market Gains: $11,000.53

September

Opening Balance: $99,784.11

Deposit: $1,225
Dividends: $358.24
Market Gains: $2,331.30

Current Balance: $103,698.65

It's nice to report this number because as I write this mid-month (I'm behind on the report, again) things are going backwards once more. It's that time of year for yo-yo numbers. Given I'm still six years from the goal retirement date I'm not worried. If prices go down, I buy more units, if they go up, I have more value.

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control and for September... I don't even know. As a whole, it's a good month but I spent almost double my grocery budget! We did have to restock a lot of things when we got back from our holiday, but I really didn't expect this.

Here's what I spent in September, which includes the save-to-spend amounts. Note that the average change covers two months because I lost half my data from August, so I'm comparing September averages to July.  

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$1,400.43	$938.17	$535.83 (up $174.30)
Over Budget! The thing about paying rent fortnightly is that some months you pay rent three times. Plus our power bill for the last quarter (while we had housesitters) was ridiculous.
OG Investment Property	$715.13	$1,190.83	$1,321.67 (down $44.97)
Under Budget! Once again this is only the mortgage. I have already scheduled $1,500 worth of bill payments for October though, so that will be a fun report.
Home turned Investment Property	$635.64	$1,042.33	$1,434.65 (down $85.84)
Under Budget! Again, just the mortgage. The managing agent for this property pay my bills out of the rents, so I won't (often) see big spend months, but I do see reductions in my income.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$126.93 (down $1.97)
Under Budget! I still haven't got a new phone, so still no change
Groceries	$383.93	$190	$199.08 (up $16.35)
Over Budget! I am baffled. There are two parts to this - firstly I had to restock a lot of staples after being away for a month. Secondly, I bought a lot of the meat this month, normally Mr. FIRE does that.
Pets	$88.00	$50	$64.38 (down $0.37)
Over Budget! I have finally started building my new chicken coop! The current one is five years old and it was very cheap and very nasty when I first bought it. The new one I'm building myself and will mirror the design I had a my childhood home. It should last a good decade, and hold twice as many hens.
Roller Derby	$65	$175	$252.91 (down $48.32)
Under Budget! I bought some drinks at our end of the year celebration, and I did put aside $50 towards new skates.
Traveling	$0	$122.50	$268.96 (down $2.09)
Under Budget! Nothing! I need to bring the average back down after a pricey trip overseas. In a couple of months, I'll start saving again for the next trip.
Comfort Food	$0	$40	$73.14 (up $28.46)
Under Budget! Nothing! I'm telling myself I'll do more baking so we have snacks around the house and I can keep this cost down.
Other	$52.53	$187.00	$236.78 (down $10.57)
Under Budget! I went on a date at the start of the month! Other than that, it was a really cheap month.
Total	$3,467.92	$4,063.17	$4,514.34 (up $24.99)
Under budget, with 7 out of 10 categories under. How great are cheap months! I thought I'd had a terrible month because the grocery budget was so ridiculous, but it was nice to see that I kept everything else under tabs.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asian Markets focused ETF

I have $3,700 ready to go and will deposit another $2,400 into this account by the end of the month. If all goes to plan I'll be telling you next month about how I bought $5,000 of either Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan Shares Index ETF (VAE), or BetaShares Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (FAIR).

I am on the fence about investing in the Asian markets at the moment. I still believe that there is a good investment opportunity there and that it's a chunk of the global market I'd like to be invested in, but I have been reading about a lot of ethically questionable events in China and Hong Kong, and I'm questioning the impact of pouring my money into those places. I need to do some digging.

August 2019 Wrap-Up

Welcome back from the States! It has been super busy.



Here I am again, putting up my monthly report super late. I came back from the States all full of energy and pizzaz. I had plans to take up more hobbies, spend time with friends, be a tourist in my own town, maybe even start volunteering! Then my 40-hour work week kicked in and I got sick and I'm so drained. I'm seriously contemplating dropping to 4 days a week as a 30th birthday present to myself (just under 18months!). It might delay FIRE (it also might not) but it might also mean having energy to enjoy my life.

It's an idea that deserves an entire post.. if I find the time.

August 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. Halfway through he year, I've cracked the hundred thousand mark!! I've been kicked out of the $100k club, how rude!

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $7,075
Dividends: $5,615.30
Market Gains: $8,669.23

August

Opening Balance: $101,350.67

Deposit: $0
Dividends: $0
Market Gains: -$1,566.56

Current Balance: $99,784.11

Sometimes the market goes up, and sometimes it laughs at you for thinking you've finally broken the $100k threshold and it goes back down again. Swings and roundabouts - as I type this mid-September I'm already back above $100k, so there is no stress here.

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control, and for August... I was on holidays! These numbers are super rough because I tracked what I withdrew, but then kinda guessed where I spent it. For honesty sake, I also listed a significant negative spending item as my mother gave me some spending money for while I was away.

Here's what I spent in August, which includes the save-to-spend amounts. Also, I had this post written up, and then Blogger ate it... because of that I lost the annual averages so I've left the ones from July in here. 

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$700	$938.17	$361.53
Under Budget! No bills in August, nice.
OG Investment Property	$719.17	$1,190.83	$1,366.64
Under Budget! Just the rent, lovely times
Home turned Investment Property	$650.37	$1,042.33	$1,520.49
Under Budget! Rent only, it was a great month.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$128.90
Under Budget Just the phone bill and health insurance. Sometime soon I need to replace my phone, before it falls apart entirely
Groceries	$227.50	$190	$182.73
Over Budget! This is a bit of a guess. We did a lot of cooking our own meals while we were in the States, but I didn't recorded dollar-for-dollar how much was spent.
Pets	$6.25	$50	$64.75
Under Budget. My house sitters decided that my cat didn't like the food I left her, and they bought her different food... I don't get it.
Roller Derby	$175.23	$175	$301.23
Over Budget! This is a rough split of the money spent in the States. I split the spend between derby, travel, food and 'other'.
Travelling	$175	$122.50	$271.05
Over Budget. Again, a rough split of spending in the States
Comfort Food	$428.52	$40	$44.68
Over Budget! We went out to a lot of restaurants, and ate a lot of snacks. I was told I'd gain weight in the States, but since we did so much hiking I actually lost weight.
Other	$217.17	$187.00	$247.35
Over Budget. Travel :)
Total	$3,426.47	$4,063.17	$4,489.35
Under budget, with 5 out of 10 categories under  Honestly, I actually spent more than this, but my mum gave us a big chunk of spending money, so I listed it in the budget as a negative transaction, and here we are..

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asian Markets focused ETF

Now that my Utah trip is over I've been able to assess the likelihood of meeting this goal, and I'm happy to say we're going to be smashing it out of the park! I could actually invest this money tomorrow, but it would leave me with a very small cash cushion. Instead I'm shifting $600 a week into one of my mortgage accounts, where I can redraw it without any penalties.

I'm still keen to purchase an Asian Markets focussed ETF such as Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan Shares Index ETF (VAE), though I'm also looking closely at BetaShares Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (FAIR) as I mentioned last time.

I'll be investing the first $5k in late October, and the second $5k just before the end of December. Although given all the public holidays in December, and the tendency for prices to drop a bit in the first week of January, I might wait till the new year.

July 2019 Wrap-Up

This post is super late because I didnt get it finished before going to the States for a month. Woopsie!

July 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. Halfway through he year, I've cracked the hundred thousand mark!!

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $7,075
Dividends: $5,615.30
Market Gains: $10,235.79

July

Opening Balance: $98,829.35

Deposit: $0
Dividends: $4,051.04
Market Gains: -$1,529.72

Current Balance: $101,350.67

I love July dividends. As usual paying dividends its generally a bit more than the market gains, but more units owned means more payments next time. Finally cracking the $100k mark is such an exciting thing as well. It finally truly feels like my money is working hard for me.

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control, and for July (with the exception of travel spend) I think we did pretty okay.

Here's what I spent in July, which includes the save-to-spend amounts. 

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$822.06	$938.17	$361.53 (up $62.67)
Under Budget! Paid the gas bill and still under budget :) I don't expect the average to settle down until we've lived here for a year, which means April-ish next year.
OG Investment Property	$1,559.23	$1,190.83	$1,366.64 (up 39.61)
Over Budget Had to pay the water bill and the council rates. Standard practice when you own a property.
Home turned Investment Property	$669.24	$1,042.33	$1,520.49 (down $26.41)
Under Budget! Just the mortgage. As part of my contract with my agent all my bills are sent to them, and all bill paid before the rent makes it to me. Once I'm back from Utah I'll need to reassess how much is budgeted, because I originally set the budget based on paying my own bills from my own pocket.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$128.90 (down $2.03)
Under Budget Down down, averages down. I decided not to get a new phone till I'm back from the States.
Groceries	$142.61	$190	$182.73 (down $7.70)
Under Budget. Down again :) I made an effort to clean out the cupboard before going to Utah, but it turns out I have lots of condiments, and not much real food. Nice to know I'm not wasting things.
Pets	-$10	$50	$64.75 (down $3.86)
Under Budget. No, that's not a typo. I didn't spend anything this month, but I did sell two dozen eggs, so my 'expense' really is negative $10
Roller Derby	$1,199.87	$175	$301.23 (up $91.53)
Over Budget! UTAH! I'm so so excited that we qualified for a tournament in the States. It's expensive but it's such an amazing opportunity.
Travelling	$1,882.56	$122.50	$271.05 (up $152.72)
Over Budget. Utah, then Las Vegas, then San Francisco. We fly out on Tuesday.
Comfort Food	$50	$40	$44.68 (down $4.06)
On Budget. I pushed all the money in this category into a 'Save to Spend' for the trip. My actual spend was zero.
Other	$192.89	$187.00	$247.35 (up $2.72)
Over Budget. Most of the spending was Utah prep, including buying new contact lenses so I can, umm, see. I'm kinda a fan of seeing.
Total	$6,675.71	$4,063.17	$4,489.35 (up $305.20)
Over budget overall, with 4 out of 10 categories over. Did you know international trips are expensive? What a shocker. $1,100 of it this spend passing money to my partner to put on our Global Currency Card, so I've kinda pre-paid for parts of the trip.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asian Markets focused ETF

I've just discovered the Raiz has doubled their fees, and for me that's enough to show them the door. There will be a blog incoming, once I'm back from my travels - but in the meantime you can check out my two posts containing my original review of Raiz (then Acorns) and 12 month wrap-up - both of those posts note that their fees were a big negative, and it's just gotten bigger. I've pulled $5,200 out to close my account and that will sit in my bank account while I'm away in Utah.

Once I come back I'll be making a decision about how to best deploy that money - I'm still keen to purchase an Asian Markets focussed ETF such as Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan Shares Index ETF (VAE), though I'm also looking closely at BetaShares Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (FAIR).

I'll probably end up investing into both, it's just a question of which one first.

June 2019 Wrap-Up

 Guess who forgot to publish their June update! Awkward



Clearly June wasn't a very exciting month, and July was a busy one because I forgot to hit go on this post. I wrote all of it but this introduction, and just never got back to it. Oopsie

June 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. Halfway through he year, I've seen a full $11,000 from growth alone - might be time to aim higher!

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $7,075
Dividends: $1,564.26
Market Gains: $11,765.51

June

Opening Balance: $95,715.30

Deposit: $725
Dividends: $0
Market Gains: $2,389.05

Current Balance: $98,829.35

Utter madness. I stripped back my contributions because I'm saving for an international trip, and the market prices are going mental. 

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control, and for June it was! A wonderful way to found out the tax year, and nice to see considering I'm about to spend way too much on a trip to the USA.  

Here's what I spent in June, which includes the save-to-spend amounts. 

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$787.34	$938.17	$298.86 (down $7.52)
Under Budget! Paid both rent and electricty this month. This was our first power bill at the new house and at $180 for a quarter including a connection fee, we're stoked.
OG Investment Property	$784.52	$1,190.83	$1,327.03 (up $2.46)
Under Budget! Just the mortgage, nice.
Home turned Investment Property	$1,075.94	$1,042.33	$1,546.89 (up $82.08)
Over Budget! I paid the closing utility bills (I thought I did that last month, I was wrong), and then the mortgage. Now we should be back to normal. I also got my first rent check!
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$130.93 (down $4.06)
Under Budget Still nothing new. I plan to get a new phone in July so I'm not carrying my dodgy barely-surviving one on an international trip (or maybe I should.. no worries about losing it!).
Groceries	$185.05	$190	$190.43 (up $1.17)
Under Budget. Bang on target.
Pets	$96	$50	$68.61 (down 4.21)
Over Budget! Over budget, but I should have enough cat food, chicken food, quail food and kitty litter to last until September. Just need a box of budgie seed and everyone is fed!
Roller Derby	$196	$175	$209.70 (down $17.37)
Over Budget! Over budget... cause I AM GOING TO UTAH. Pending any sneaky jiggery pokery, we qualified for the tournament and fly out on the 7th of August. Talk about giving us plenty of notice! Sheesh.
Travelling	$200	$122.50	$118.33 (up $33.33)
Over Budget. Utah prep. Nothing spent, just a whole lot saved.
Comfort Food	$50	$40	$48.74 (up $0.89)
On Budget Technically next to nothing spent, but I put this money aside for all the eating I'll be doing in the States.
Other	$191.15	$187.00	$244.63 (down $21.63)
Over Budget. Just a little over... I had to buy new bike tyres because I was getting punctures almost weekly. Other than that, it's mostly money put aside for future (USA) spending.
Total	$3,693.26	$4,063.17	$4184.15 (up $78.75)
Under budget overall, with 5 out of 10 categories under. How wonderful! For the first time in three months having the budget behaving. Since I've been putting money aside for Utah it'll ease the sting next month. It's not going to completely cover it (not by a long shot) but it will soften the blow.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asia focused ETF

Obviously not happening right now because (in case you missed it) Utah! But, I have hope. I'm going to set up a graph when I get back from Utah and see what the required savings is. With the house changes this year, and the overseas trip, this bonus goal is looking very tenuous.

Turning home into a rental

Let's start with the obvious - turning your home into a rental is hard.

First, there's the moving out - we all know moving is hard, but add into that wanting to leave the place in perfect condition because any tiny smudges are still your problem.



Then there's sprucing the place up - this can start before you move out but some of it just needs to wait until you're out. Before we left we were able to patch up dodgy light switches, cracked walls and damaged door frames that we were used to but the tenants would definitely not tolerate.

Once we moved out we shelled out for a professional clean, painting, new lawn, fresh bark for the front yard and a new smoke alarm. To make things more exciting the cleaners did such a poor job that the rental agency got them back (at no cost thankfully) to have another go...

For the two months between moving out and having tenants move in I was at the property three or four times a week - watering the lawn, weeding the front yard to keep the curb appeal up, letting tradies in and out, flicking lights on and off to make it look like people lived there...

On the 24th of May the tenants finally moved in, putting an end to two months of stressful back-of-my-mind worry. Finally I had rent coming in.

Three days later I received multiple maintenance requests with an estimated cost of three months worth of rent.

Get yourself a good agent

This is my second rental and I cannot stress enough how good a good agent is. I rarely hear from my first rental property - the rent comes in twice a month, and every six months I receive an inspection report stating the property is in good shape. Each year we renew the lease, I offer a quality of life upgrade and then sink back into obscurity.

So far the agent for my new rental has been excellent. They've sent me multiple updates as the tenants settled in, negotiated a higher rent when the tenants requested pets, and organised quotes for the maintenance requests that came in well under the expected amount. Thanks to their actions I'm comfortable with the tenants (so far) and will be receiving a rent payment before the end of the financial year - after paying off all the repairs and upgrades.

Lock away your keys

Once the property handed over, lock away your keys. The agents were kind enough to send me photos of how the tenants have furnished the property, but now that I am comfortable it's in safe hands I want nothing to do with the property. It's not a passive investment if you are actively involved.

I still have a set of keys to the property if anything untoward happens, but unless there is an emergency, I don't want to think about it.

Paperwork and Necessaries

Disconnecting from a property is a pain in the... here's some tips:

• Switch every correspondence you possibly can to email - it will make it easier next time
• Pay for a mail redirection. It's worth it, especially to avoid paying late fees on bills that went astray
• Switch your insurance, and then get more - you need landlords insurance and home insurance. It cost me a couple of weeks worth of rent, and it's definitely better to be safe than sorry.
•  Call the utility company - turns out gas and electricity companies are useless at disconnecting a service. The idea that you might want to be connected for two properties at once is especially baffling to them. Get them on the phone, because their online services wont cut it.
• Make the agent do it - everything you can possibly lump on the agent, do it. You're paying them for it, so make sure you get your moneys worth.

Automate everything, and enjoy

In hindsight, turning our home into a rental wasn't as much of a chore as expected. The hardest part was moving houses - especially since our new house wasn't quite ready on the only weekend we had free.

Once we had moved, the biggest chore was watering the newly installed lawn. If not for that task, I could have visited the house less often while waiting for a tenant to arrive.

Now that we've moved out, and the tenants have moved in, all payments are being funneled through the agent. They manage repairs, they pay my bills, and they collect my rent. Two a month they pay the rent into my offset account, and my mortgage payments are automatically drawn from there.

At the end of the year, the agents will send me a tax report. I already have a depreciation schedule arranged. All of the heavy lifting is now being done for me, and I just get to sit back and watch the money roll in.

For the 2019/2020 tax year, I'm expecting to bring in enough to cover the mortgage, and most of the bills. By the time of my retirement goal (February 2026) this house alone should be paying for itself, and covering 10-15% of my desired retirement income.

Not bad for moving into a nicer house and a couple of months work.

Beating Brown Bag Boredom

One of the biggest costs of working in an office can be lunches - a 'low cost' takeaway can be $10 a day, whereas a fancier lunch can run up to $30.. plus drinks. For office workers going out to lunch every day can cost up to $100 a week.

Bringing lunch from home (Brown Bagging) is an easy way to bring the costs down, but after a while ham and cheese sandwiches get really boring. While it can be tempting to go out for some variety, it's easy to change up the basics to keep things interesting, and on budget.

Satisfying sandwiches

In summer my sandwiches are ham, cheese, tomato and cucumber. In winter it's ham, cheese and tomato on the grill. While the staples are delicious the same thing week in and week out can get dull. 

Whenever I ask google for some new ideas the suggestions are extremely costly and elaborate. Instead, there are some super simple options to make it interesting.

• Salad dressing and sauces - Thousand Island Dressing, Mayonaisse and Pesto are delicious on a sandwich. A dollar worth of dressing or sauces can last an entire week and turn a same-same sandwich into something new.
• Herbs and spices - salt and pepper are an obvious choice, but a sprinkle of Oregano turns a ham, cheese tomato sandwich into a pizza sandwich. 
• Change up to protein - swap ham for turkey, chicken or roast beef. Each protein has a different flavour and opens the door for different cheese, veg, or sauce options.

Pasta playground

Pasta is a winter favourite, but it's easy to fall into the trap of minced beef, garlic, tomatoes and cheese.

• Change your colour - red sauce pasta is the easy choice, but what about white sauces, that can be creamy, or cheesy, or garlicky. A green sauce can be made with a pesto base, or if you're feeling like something light, a simple lemon juice or olive oil dressing can make a great variety.  
• Protein options - mince beef is the staple for spaghetti, but meatballs can give the same flavour and a new texture. Chicken pairs beautifully with bacon and potato. Turkey tastes wonderful with pesto. Chorizo can add a smokey flavour. 
• Leveraging Keto for comfort - a favourite trick of mine is to take a 'keto' casserole and add pasta. Keto recipes alone can be heavy and expensive, with an abundance or cream and butter. Adding pasta to a keto casserole reduces the cost per serve, and creates a delicious comfort food that warms any winter.

Salads made special

When summer rolls around, pastas are heavy and warm. Leafy greens by themselves might not seem exciting, but there are so many flavours that can be added.

• Sauce it up - sauce is the trick to any tasty salad. There are the obvious ones like thousand island or ceaser dressing, but you can make your own with a little effort. Olive oil, mustard and lemon juice is cheap, tasty, and the oil will help keep you full. Mayonnaise can be flavoured with ketchup, or garlic, or pepper. For an even easier one, mix hummus with a bit of olive oil.
• Meat and Dairy (or tofu and beans) - salads can be boring when it's just vegetables. they have a reputation for being paired with flavourless poached chicken. Instead try different cheeses like feta or haloumi. Try crumbed chicken tenders, or salmon. And don't skimp on the nuts - cashews are both flavour and texture!
• Sweetness - lastly, try sweet additions. strawberries in a salad are divine (mix with feta, cashews, balsamic vinegar and honey). Apples and walnuts go together. Pomegranate seeds add a crunchy texture and a rich taste.

Vegetarian Variety

We have a high dependence on meat to be the stand out star of our meals. Yet, more than two million people are vegetarians. While for many this is a moral or ethical choice, it can also be a benefit to the budget. While it's easy to see a vegetarian diet as a boring one, it forces creativity, especially for those of us who are not so reliant on meat.

When meat is removed from the dish, we're forced to think harder about how to add flavour. Mushrooms and beans are the obvious alternatives, but other stand outs include roast pumpkin, zucchini and eggplant.

You can also draw inspiration from other cultures - lots of Indian and Japanese cuisines are light on meat. Both cultures use large amounts of rice, however the two approaches are markedly different.


If you're struggling to stay inspired, small changes can be some of the better ones - keeping you on an easy routine without letting boredom set in. Once you've tried something new for a while, the old classics will still be waiting for you.

May 2019 Wrap-Up

It is Winter and it's 100% time for naps. Staying awake and motivated is becoming a challenging and sunlight is a rare commodity.

As much as the calendar says it's Winter, I wonder whether that's accurate. There is no daylight to be seen, but trees are still dropping leaves now in mid-June, and plants that are supposed to bloom in summer haven't completely given up yet.

I have engaged Winter-mode though. I've been fighting a cold for about two weeks, and perpetually chasing naps. To get through the days I've been taking lunch time walkies whenever the sun it out and soaking up any daylight I see.

May 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 hope that $5,500 will come from growth and dividends, and the remaining $25,000 will be investments.

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $6,350
Dividends: $1,564.26
Market Gains: $9,376.46

May

Opening Balance: $93,916.51

Deposit: $1,175
Dividends: $0.00
Market Gains: $623.79

Current Balance: $95,715.30

Umm... wow... just wow. Still waiting for this mad growth to stop, but apparently it's not! I wanted $5,500 growth in the calendar and I've had almost $10,000 in five months. Just wow. 

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control, and for May... yeah nah... It wasn't under control. Also due to some lovely accounting errors I didn't work out the averages this month. Oops. I've left them at the previous averages from April.  

Here's what I spent in May, which includes the (very small) save-to-spend amounts. 

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$700	$938.17	$306.38 ()
Under Budget! Just paid rent. Tidy.
OG Investment Property	$1,794.21	$1,190.83	$1,324.57 ()
Over Budget! The big bill arrived again. Joyous days...
Home turned Investment Property	$2,193.44	$1,042.33	$1,464.81 ()
Over Budget! I paid the closing utility bills, set up landlord insurance and ordered a depreciation schedule so I'm ready for tax time. From June onwards this should come down to much more sane levels.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$134.99 ()
Under Budget Nothing new. I'll be getting a new phone very shortly though as mines on it's last legs, so this will go up when that happens.
Groceries	$198.45	$190	$189.26 ()
Over Budget. Ever so slightly over budget - but $50 of this was buying a discounted giftcard to use next month.
Pets	$50	$50	$72.82 ()
On Budget. Exactly on budget - because I'm squirreling money away each month to build a new chicken coop and possibly catio in the new house.
Roller Derby	$175	$175	$227.07 ()
On Budget Also on budget! We're going to a tournament in Utah soon, and I need new gear so again - squirreling every budget-allowed dollar away for future spending
Travelling	$200	$122.50	$85 ()
Over Budget. So when I said Utah soon... I mean in August. I got my passport in May, and I'll be spending a lot in the next couple of months sorting flights and Visas and such. I'm glad I've been saving for 'someday' for the last few months.
Comfort Food	$25.35	$40	$47.85 ()
Under Budget. Pleasantly under budget, and I thought I snacked well for the month.
Other	$191.20	$187.00	$266.26 ()
Over Budget. Not very over - a surprise considering I bought $60 worth of deluxe teas in the first week of May... I'm also putting aside some money for vital things like New Glasses, High-Vis Riding Gear, and Video Games
Total	$5,689.44	$4,063.17	$4.105.40 ()
Over budget overall, with 5 out of 10 categories over. Both investments went over due to bills, which is unpleasant, but not something to kick myself over. The travel, derby and other categories are going to be the real blow-outs in the coming months.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asia focused ETF

Since I'm going to Utah and that trip is far more expensive than the original ones I had in mind, this bonus goal is looking tenuous. But I do have two investment properties now, so there is still hope!

April 2019 Wrap-Up

I thought time flew in March, but April has done a one up on that! I blinked and I missed it.

Financially, nothing interesting happened in April. Everything chugged along as it normally would - all my automated investments continued, and the markets gave me more money again.It was an expensive month as the bills came due for my house renovations, but now it's on the market and waiting for a tenant! As soon as someone moves in I can offer up a summary of the costs, both for set up and ongoing.

April 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 hope that $5,500 will come from growth and dividends, and the remaining $25,000 will be investments.

Full year

Opening Balance: $78,424.57

Deposit: $5,175
Dividends: $1,564.26
Market Gains: $8,752.67

March

Opening Balance: $90,084.95

Deposit: $1,475
Dividends: $349.41
Market Gains: $2,007.15

Current Balance: $93,916.51

This growth is wonderful, I'm wondering when it will stop? Surely this can't keep going. I'm up 20% on the start of the year (including deposits, which is about a third of the growth) and if we keep going at this pace, it would come out to a 40% + growth in a year, which is crazy. Surely this sort of growth needs to be followed by a crash, or at least a stall. 

Spending Goal: Under Control!

The goal is simply to have my spending under control, and for April... Look, I paid for painting, lawn, and a professional exit clean. I'm allowed to have spent a lot!! 

Here's what I spent in April, which includes the (very small) save-to-spend amounts.

Category	Spent	Budgeted	12 Month Average
Home	$817.30	$938.17	$306.38 (up $79.77)
Under Budget! This is great low spend, which is great because the other houses weren't so nice... All I paid for at home this month was rent and buying us a clothes line. Details post over here about how we bought a house, but I'm paying rent. Also, the 12 Month Average will climb over the next year because I've never had to calculate rent before.
OG Investment Property	$1,636.84	$1,190.83	$1,324.57 (up $0.34)
Over Budget! Oh hey bills :( This month was the water and council rates - pretty consistent on the average though.
Home turned Investment Property	$3,971.64	$1,042.33	$1,464.81 (up $238.30)
Over Budget! Ouch - except not really. I had the entire property professionally painted and cleaned, replaced the clothes line and installed a new lawn. Plus paying the mortgage - which all came in under $4,000. Not that I love spending this much money, but it was planned for.
Personal Bills	$127.26	$127.33	$134.99 (down $2.03)
Under Budget Technically under budget... because I increased the budget :p My annual health insurance premiums went up for the year, by less than a dollar.
Groceries	$237.01	$190	$189.26 (down $13.64)
Over Budget. I'm not sure how this is over again, but I'm mad about it :( I've started to shift to pasta for lunches instead of sandwiches and I think that helps. As much as sandwiches should be a cheap option I like a well loaded sandwich, and it comes out much pricier than pasta.
Pets	$128.69	$50	$72.82 (up $10.54)
Over Budget. I bought food for everyone in April. And I restocked on Kitty Litter. And I started transitioning my cat from a Raw Food diet to high quality dry food because I can't get the variety of meats anymore to put together a full diet. Oh, and the neighbourhood birds figured out how to rob my chicken feeder and went through 2 weeks of food in 2 days :(
Roller Derby	$175	$175	$227.07 (down $12.32)
On Budget. Whaaaat? Madness! I under spent this month, so I put all the extra aside to replace my skate boots - they're six years old and I've started patching the toes with duct-tape.
Travelling	$110	$122.50	$85 (up $9.17)
Under Budget. Still trucking along saving for a future holiday. It's entirely possible I'll be trekking to the States later this year to play roller derby!! The downside to this is we won't know if we get a tournament invite until June / July at best. Which means paying stupid amounts for flights :(
Comfort Food	$40	$40	$47.85 (up $0.08)
On Budget. It was Easter, and I hosted a breakfast, and kept this spending on track. Wonderful!
Other	$106.49	$187.00	$266.26 (down $9.77)
Under Budget. Nothing thrilling, we went on a dinner date, I bought a new book, and I found my favourite shoes on sale and bought three pairs :)
Total	$7,350.23	$4,063.17	$4.105.40 (up $302.45)
Over budget overall, with only 4 out of 10 categories over. So yeah, unsurprisingly shelling out for the house renovations has meant an expensive month. I'm not happy that it has pushed my overall average above my target average. Beyond that my real frustration is the expenses of groceries, settling into the new house has thrown all my routines out.

Bonus Goal, if we can: $10,000 worth of an Asia focused ETF

My savings took a massive hit in April, so there is no good news here. We haven't found a tenant for our old house yet so saving is a challenge. Fingers crossed for tenancy soon.