Each month I will post an update on my finances to both give you, the reader, some insight into my situation and to give me markers of my progress on my financial journey. My updates consist of two parts:
- Financial Progress Table – Tracks joint net worth progress.
- Spending Table – Compares monthly spending to an average (for us) budget, keeping us accountable for additional expenses. I will also include my personal discretionary budget as well; I will not include my spouse’s discretionary spending, which I do not see.
Financial Progress
Each net worth goal in the Financial Progress table is broken down into undisclosed units of money. Our current goal is to reach “Financial Freedom.” By the time we reach this goal we will have:
- A retirement account that can support us when my husband hits 65
- Two college savings funds funded for four years of in-state public university tuition, room, and board
- An emergency fund for six or more months of living expenses
- Sufficient liquidity for my husband and/or I to make a career change with one to two years’ runway
- A mortgage less than two times our combined gross salaries without bonuses or equity.
Once “Financial Freedom” is achieved, the focus will then working be towards “Financial Equilibrium”, where the income from investments covers all our ongoing expenses.
Spending
We’ve created a joint budget which represents the average amount we can expect to spend each month. This is average amount we need to comfortably live in case of a job loss, emergency, etc. I expect to frequently mostly keep in line with our budget when amortized over the year, even though amounts may vary from month to month.
For privacy reasons, there are two things I do not include in our joint spending updates: our monthly mortgage and charitable donations (pegged at 10% of our net income).
Here is my own personal discretionary spending for the month. I try to spend $600 or less each month for my “fun money” since that’s the allowance that’s apportioned to me and my husband.
Monthly Summary
Lots of money towards travel to Copenhagen to see my friend get married this summer. In other news, got my money refunded from my 401(k) over-contribution, but still waiting on my amended W2 to file my taxes (due for a few thousand dollars refund). All in all, things are going fine money-wise.
Notable things that happened in March include:
- Sigh, nothing. Again.
How were your finances in March?
Yet Another PF Blog 
Thankfully not as expensive as January or February but still on the high side of spending as we had a ton of pet related expenses in March. I am hoping that we are going to be set on the front for almost the rest of the year. We loaded up on 12 weeks of dog food this month but that leaves half a year of the normal expenses (dog food and supplements) for them. May we be done with vet bills for at least a year.
Oh right and a massive check is going to the IRS this month too. Boo. Stupid tax code changes.
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Woot bulk food buys!
I was also pretty disappointed when I went through my taxes. On the bright side, screwing over coastal dwellers and the botched rollout at least means they forfeited the “we cut your taxes” bump they otherwise might have gotten. #silverlinings
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