What I've Saved So Far This Year and July Expenses

 So many changes and thoughts and we know what calms me down is spreadsheets. We know there are few changes to be made to my ledgers or accounts at this point. I'm on that set it and forget it game. 

While the feeling of impending doom still lingers, I will press on like the bloggers before me who have made their intentions known. 

When I started this journey, I realized monthly check-ins with my budgets led to emotional fluctuations which are to be avoided at all cost. So I settled on quarterly check-ins.  With the new budget apps I've tried, it's a little enticing to see the growth monthly. And with the wild returns other people are reporting on their blogs, I can't help but feel a bit curious. Additionally with COVID isolation, I've run out of things to do.

So that's what bring us here. Let's get into it. 

How much have I saved so far?

 Well in this instance, the easiest thing to track is how much I've invested. I actually don't know how other people track regular savings because for the most part my savings accounts hold my emergency fund or serve as a holding place for my auto-investments.

Anyway, let's get into it. 

As of Jul 31, 2021 (all rounded), I have invested:

401k:  $13k

After tax 401k: $14k

Roth IRA: $3.5k

Regular brokerage:  $31.5k

GRAND Total Saved/Invested YTD: $62k

Savings Goal at Beginning of Year:  ~$50k

Reach Savings Goal (w/COVID isolation factored in): $65k

Note:  For future me, the numbers don't quite make sense because a lot of what was invested earlier in the year was leftover cash I was hoarding from 2020 because I'd just bought a house and because of COVID job insecurity. But either way, I've been curious how much I've dumped into investments in the market this year. 

According to My FIRE Tracker, I ended 2020 with an investment balance around: $238k

And as of June 2021,  I was around $340k.

That's up about $100k as of June having invested only $60k (a little less as of Jun 2021). So that's pretty good! For literally the blood, sweat, and TEARS that go into earning this money, it's a little reassuring to know it isn't all for nothing. 

For perspective because this helped me when I started my FIRE journey, here's what my earnings look like thus far. 

Earnings

Gross W-2 earnings YTD: $86k

Net W-2 earnings YTD (gross - 401k and other payroll deductions like taxes):  $30.5k

As you can see, at this point with set it and forget it (and taxes), I don't bring a lot home (about a 1/3 of earnings). At the beginning of the year or late 2020, I made the choice to just go for the after tax 401k to further automate my investment vs seeing that money as net pay and then taking the extra step to invest it.  I'm sure the expense ratio is higher with my 401k fund vs picking a Vanguard fund or something, but this made sense for what I'm trying to do. The less steps for me, the better.  Plus with after tax 401k I can rollover to Roth 401k for tax free growth. So, yeah, that. 

July expenses.. because why not

Your Spending

CATEGORY	SPENDING
Total	$1,458.69
Gifts & Donations	$625.56
Auto & Transport	$272.30
Food & Dining	$257.91
Bills & Utilities	$196.03
Personal Care	$70.00
Fees & Charges	$36.89

Let's run through these for funsies.

Gifts and Donations - I sent money to family overseas and bought My Old Boss a mug.

Auto and Transport - Renewed my car insurance and bought gas.

Food and Dining - Groceries and Takeout. A little high because I spent about $75 at Trader Joe's for my 6 month stock up on silly snacks.  The nearest Trader Joe's is about a 2-hr drive and I was in town for a dentist appointment so... I mostly just got plantain chips since it was so hot and the other stuff I wanted wasn't in stock. Not sure if I'll be making that trip again in 6 months because my craving for those things is significantly less.

Bills and Utilities - Same old expensive monthly utilities and internet bill. 

Personal Care - I got my hair done to get ready for video chats with New Job.

Fees - I'm pretty sure that's my robo advisor that I still have done nothing about. I stopped dumping money into those accounts so for now I mostly just keep it to see how it compares with my other accounts.

My July expenses would have been over $2k if I were paying student loan and mortgage that month but with COVID, I've had a bit of a reprieve.

And there you have it! A little peak behind my financial curtain and a little task to keep my mind from circling the drain. 

Unrelated, it's been extremely weird to experience my FIRST weekend with no work to check or have in mind over the weekend (or weeknights). I'm doing better than I thought because I've been working toward this transition.

I even ventured to plot when to use 2 of my 3 weeks of vacation that I will accrue by the end of the year. Old Me would have thought twice about making some sort of impression by not using vacation time so soon after starting New Job. But since it's the same company, I'm going to not let myself feel anything other than this is time I earned and have the right to use. And even with nowhere to go, going through the motions will be a good step to break out of my overachieving-burnout tendencies. I want to do things differently.

Admittedly, this weekend I've already had some flashbacks to Old Job. My Brain is rounding it up to trauma given how it all ended. The way it ended just confirmed some of my most negative thoughts. But let's move away from that for now.

I'm self-medicating with sweets and silly TV shows.