Thursday 6 November 2014

October 2014 Net Worth: $516,000 (+1.4%) and Expenditure Tracker

I have been off for several weeks as I travelled around South America.  The trip was fantastic and was one of my financial goals outlined at the start of this year.  I returned home yesterday and am still recovering from the jet lag.  I will be returning to my regular posting schedule over the coming weeks.

October 2014 Net Worth: $516,000 (+1.4%)


Value% Change
Assets$878,000+0.1%
Liabilities$362,000-1.7%
Net worth$516,000+1.4%


What drove my net worth performance this month?

I should note upfront that this data includes my performance up to the 5th of November - it was too hard to try and remove the last 5 days (since my return home).  As in previous months the big swing factor this month was my share portfolio performance however there were a number of other factors which also impacted the result.  I had originally targeted $510,000 this month and was pleased to do better than I had expected
  • Positive factors
    • Share portfolio
      • My share portfolio increased by 2% over the month which I was incredibly pleased with
      • My Australian shares continued to be weak however my US exposures which make up a significant part of my exposures did well (especially with the softer US$)
    • I paid down a significant amount of debt
      • Although my assets didn't move significantly, this month saw a big decrease in my debt balance as I paid down my credit card.
      • Last month saw my largest credit card bill to date (~$9,500) which was caused by the engagement ring that I had bought in prior months
    • My holiday cost less than I had budgeted
      • I will go through this in more detail below but I ended my holiday with more cash than I had forecast (~$1,500 more) which was an unexpected boost to my net worth
  • Negative factors
    • This month there were no large negative factors which affected my net worth.  Originally I had expected my cash contributions to my holiday to be a significant negative factor however as I came in under budget this didn't move the dial significantly

What is my outlook for next month?

There will be several swing factors in this coming month.  My bonus gets paid which is always a big positive however there will be A LOT of negative factors including 5 weddings (and bucks nights) which are likely to see me out of pocket ~$1000 in gifts and entertainment, I need to pay my tax bill (no refund for me this year) and other bills which all see to fall due at the same time.

I have not yet decided whether I will include the cash from my bonus in my net worth as I am using it to buy a car.  If I buy the car in November it will not make a huge difference as it will net out but if it takes me longer than that I am likely to see a big positive followed by a big negative.  Assuming I do include it I am targeting a net worth of $550,000 for the month.

October 2014 Expenditure Tracker

ItemOct 2014Monthly TargetPerf. vs Target
Accommodation / Living expenses $1,594$2,246-$652
Car expenses$28$692-$664
Health / Well being expenses$450$566-$116
Entertainment / Personal expenses $683$1,230-$548
Travel expenses$1,562$675+$887
Other 'big' expenses$2,000$3,508-$1,508
Savings / Investments$1,138$1,051+$87


If we look at the major line items in my tracker above

  • Accommodation and living expenses
    • My fiancée moved in with me this month which resulted in us splitting a lot of the utilities and grocery bills which feel due.  This combined with the lack of large one off expenses resulted in a large under-expenditure this month
  •  Car expenses
    • I couldn't quite believe how low my car expenses were for this month however I was away for half the month and in the first of the month I didn't need to fill fuel which resulted in the lowest car bill I have seen all year
  • Health / well being expenses
    • A lot of expenses in this category (e.g. gym and health insurance and charities) are automated however being away did help lower other expenses such as the hobbies and sports I engage in on a casual basis
  • Entertainment / personal expenses
    • This is where being away really helped - Friday nights, coffees, meals and drinks were all non-existent expenditures for half the month.  This performance is definitely not going to be repeated again
  • Travel expenses
    • Although I 'underperformed' in this category this month it was by far less than I had originally expected
    • I will do another post on why I spent less than I had budgeted but I came back from my holiday with $1,500 more in cash than I had originally thought I would.
  • Other 'big' expenses
    • I am no longer saving for the engagement ring which reduces the amount that I put towards 'big expenses' however in the next month or two I will be buying a car which is going to see this number completely blown out of the water
  • Savings / investments
    • I continued to save into my employee share plan and didn't need to dip into savings this month which helped keep me in positive territory
This coming month should be interesting, with my bonus payout, my car purchase as well as a lot of other expenses that I mentioned above.  I am starting to look forward to writing up my annual performance in a few months time.  I really hope I managed to stick to this budget.  Tracking every dollar has been a bit of a pain however it really has helped me focus my spending.

You May Also Be Interested In
September 2014 Net Worth: $509,000 (+0.1%) and Expenditure Tracker
2014 Financial Goals
What is a cheap, safe way to travel with money around South America?
How to buy a diamond ring (Part 1)

2 comments:

  1. Very interested to hear how the trip went! Did you love it? Must say wish I was back there but already planning on my next adventure, which will be less than a year away now..

    Awesome on the wealth side of things as well :)

    Good to have the 90M back on board

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trip was amazing! I'm definitely going to visit South America again...although those flights are a killer!

      It's good to be back on board and thanks for the comment on the post.

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