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Happy October!!! Final quarter of 2022!

September was good. I spent quite a bit of money that I didn’t plan on spending, but I still hit my savings goal. It just shows you can still splurge here and there while hitting your goals!

General $ Updates

I did a lot of personal spending!

I decided to buy quite a few Fall fashion pieces/staples including, turtle/mock neck shirts, puffer coats, neutral sweat pants, a flannel, and a pair of sneakers.

Sinking Funds save the day, yet again

I usually get my car serviced every October (oil change). However, Toyota sent an email with some deals so I decided to just go ahead and get some car maintenance done. I got an oil change, multi-point inspection, wheel alignment, new wiper blades, new engine air filter, and brake pads. It cost over $500, so I pulled that cash from my car maintenance sinking fund and didn’t feel any stress about it! Sinking funds are the best.

Debt

I started the month of September with my official debt at $36,000 and ended with $36,000. However, I technically started at $15,464.81 if you consider the money I have saved to pay those loans down

In September I saved an additional $1,314.81 for my student loans (bringing my total saved to $22,091.75) so my final debt for September would be $13,908.25.

I still have paid $0 in interest 😊 I did gain $41.75 in interest through my HYS account.

However, with the Debt Relief plan, I would technically be debt free! And I would have $6,091.75 cash left over.

Spending

Some main things to point out about my spending in September:

Groceries and Food out: I went quite a bit over budget on groceries. I bought a few unnecessary items and also spent more for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner!

Personal: I went way over budget on personal spending. As I mentioned above, I purchased quite a few Fall wardrobe pieces.

Car Wash/Maintenance: I didn’t end up getting a car wash, but I did get a bunch of maintenance! I pulled from my car maintenance sinking fund for this.

Fun/Entertainment: This was spent on 2 movie theater tickets (there was a day where tickets were only $3!) and a small orchestra concert in October.

Income

Full-time job (analyst/consultant) – Take home: $3,665.42

ONLINE/BUSINESS INCOME

Google AdSense (ad revenue from YouTube): $908.15
Financial Coaching: $75.00
Buy Me a Coffee/Venmo: $358.55
Mediavine (display ads on LivinglikeLeila): $92.33
Affiliates: $206.70

Online/Business Income Total: $1,640.73

EXTRA INCOME

Discover Cashback: $104.13 (1 referral)
CITI Custom Cashback: $22.04
BOA Cashback: $22.95
Facebook Marketplace: $55.00

Extra Income Total: $204.12

Total Income: $5,510.27

Net Worth

As of September 30th, my net worth is $15,968.07. Down about 3% compared to last month.

Total Assets = $51,968.07
Total Liabilities = $36,000
Net Worth = $15,968.07

Roth IRA (VTSAX): $9,340.04 (down 6.5% compared to last month)
401k: $3,702.42 (up 7% compared to last month)
M1 Invest (VTI): $5,245.55 (down 9.2% compared to last month)
Coinbase: $269.95 (down 3.3% compared to last month)
WeBull: $85.94 (up 1.3% compared to last month)
Fidelity: $138.98 (down 2.5% compared to last month)

Sinking Funds:

  • Emergency Fund = $6,058.86
  • Gifts = $226.62
  • Beauty = $771.03
  • Car/Car maintenance = $1,426.82
  • Travel = $503.49
  • Car insurance = $92.73
  • Project $0 to Profit = $14.16
  • Phone = $266.01
  • House (previously MacBook) = $0.72

Sinking Funds Total = $9,360.44

Credit Score

My VantageScore is at 778 which is the same as last month.

September Goals Update

  • Reach $22K saved for my student loans CHECK
  • Make at least $2K in online/extra income NO

October Money Goals

  • Reach $23K saved for my student loans
  • Make at least $2K in online/extra income