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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
good morning, it looks like you spend more than you made. how did you add to your student loan, Roth and sinking funds if your income for the month was 5510. but expenses was over 7k. What am I missing.
I pulled over $1,200 from my sinking funds and I have money from the previous month that rolls over.